Fresno can become a great city. The trick is overcoming poverty. Here’s how to do it

Michael Tubbs did not mince words.

“Fresno should be embarrassed at its high rate of poverty,” the former mayor of Stockton said.

The 31-year-old had come to Fresno as an envoy for Gov. Gavin Newsom. Tubbs is in charge of a campaign called End Poverty in California, or EPIC. As part of that effort, he is traveling around the state to hear from low-income residents about the challenges they face and what they need from government to improve their lives.

Fresno’s poverty, especially in the southwest part of the city, is something I’ve written about several times in recent years. The line is sharply drawn between residents in the city’s north who live comfortably in safe, tree-lined neighborhoods, and those south of Shaw who have low incomes, deal with frequent crime, face few job opportunities and enjoy nearly none of the amenities most Americans take for granted, like easy access to a grocery store.

This column is not a knock on north Fresnans. Rather, it is a reminder of the ways Fresno developed in the last century that purposely kept Black, Latino, Asian and Armenian residents segregated from the rest of the city. Bank practices that red-lined areas where loans were not to be given, and sales covenants restricting by race who could own homes, are dark facts of Fresno’s past that, unfortunately, make for tough times for many today.

Back to the poverty rate: The percentage of people in poverty in California in 2020 was 15.4%. But Fresno’s poverty rate was 17.1%, according to the U.S. Census.

Losing her home

About 30 people met Tubbs in an office complex in south Fresno Wednesday evening. Some of them told him heart-wrenching stories, through tears and sobs, about their lives and lack of housing, jobs or opportunities.

Imelda Cruz said in Spanish (through an interpreter) about how her rental home had escalated in value, and the landlord gave notice that she, her husband and son would have to move, as the house was to be sold.

“The American dream of having a house — I see it far away now,” Cruz said.

Jessica Ramirez told how she works 10 hours a day at the Amazon distribution center in the south part of the city, then has to care for her mother, an undocumented person who still tries to do field work but is handicapped by having only one good eye.

Like other families, Ramirez and her parents face challenges paying for rent, food and gas. “The struggle is real. All we can do is keep working, working, working, working.”

Paloma Sanchez, a 23-year-old who is undocumented, said she would receive nothing from the government were it not for her 2-year-old daughter.

Sanchez sounded a cynical note about elected leaders. “They knock on our doors and take our vote. Why not knock on our doors and ask what we need.”

Income guarantee

Tubbs notes how California has more billionaires than any other state, but also the highest poverty rate in the nation.

To lift up those lower on the economic scale, End Poverty in California has a multipart plan with key elements:

▪ Guaranteed basic income: Cash assistance paid by the state to qualified participants who can choose how to spend it. Tubbs did in Stockton, giving $500 a month to 125 participants, and the result was people landing jobs or going back to school while having fewer incidents of depression and anxiety.

▪ Baby bonds: Savings accounts started with government assistance. Lower-income participants would get larger contributions. At age 18, a participant could withdraw the funds for college expenses, buying a home, starting a business or creating a retirement account.

▪ Home ownership: Expand current programs that help low-income residents with loans and down-payment assistance.

Are these radical ideas? To those who don’t face losing their home, caring for aging, undocumented parents or working low-wage jobs that don’t allow for savings or investing, perhaps.

But it was clear from hearing the participants in Tubbs’ listening session that these ideas could be life-changing.

Fresno’s grinding poverty is a fact for tens of thousands. Big ideas are needed if any improvements are to happen. Here is hoping Newsom listens as intently to Tubbs as the young politician did to a group of Fresnans.