$500 each and every month for 5 years. Guaranteed. No strings attached. Life-changing for most. But imagine you’re living in poverty. It’s like winning the lottery. In fact, it is winning the lottery. But who gets to enter? And which 20 people are ultimately selected? That’s what we’re trying to figure out as we launch the HudsonUP UBI pilot.
Here’s what we’ve decided: no matter what the outcome, it needs to be a fair, community-driven process.
But there’s tension. The money is all accounted for — $600,000 waiting to be distributed. Countless families are in desperate need of cash (particularly these days). So we need to move quickly. At the same time, we want to ensure the community has real input into how the process is designed. Which takes time.
Here’s what we’re doing: we’re fast-tracking a series of meetings (via Zoom for now) with various Hudson stakeholders (community leaders, individual groups, religious organizations, government officials, students, etc). We’re also planning a series of town hall meetings/calls to which the general Hudson public will be invited.
We’re also translating materials into Spanish and Bengali (first languages for a number of Hudson residents) — and arranging for simultaneous or asynchronous translations of presentations. We want to make sure we reach all members of the Hudson community.
With each meeting, we’re educating, discussing, rethinking and refining our approach. And with each meeting it seems more and more questions arise. Here’s a taste of some we’re grappling with:
-Should applicants be limited to those living at or below the poverty line?
-Should they be at least 18 years old?
-Should the pilot be limited to the City of Hudson or extend to those in the Hudson School District?
-Should we include individuals who can’t afford to live in the City of Hudson and have been forced to move out into surrounding rural areas? Or should we focus on keeping families together, stemming the tide of others leaving town?
-If we decide to limit the pilot to the City of Hudson, should applicants be limited to certain areas or wards in town -- or even to specific (low-income) buildings?
-Should we ensure a diversity of recipients, reflecting the town make-up? So for instance if the Bengladeshi community makes up x% of the Hudson community, should we ensure a similar percentage receives the cash?
-What about groups that have suffered more institutional discrimination or those with specific hardships? Should they be allotted more slots? More women than men? More people of color? How about slots for specific categories (e.g. single, black mothers)? What about the formerly incarcerated or undocumented immigrants?
Lots of questions to parse through. And an urgency on top of it all. Not an easy process. But important we get it right. Or at least try our best.