Speaker's Profile

Owen Poindexter is a long time advocate of Basic Income as a program to help eradicate poverty. He is a freelance journalist and co-hosts the Basic Income Podcase. Owen's work appeared in Slate, the Huffington Post, Forbes.com, Commonwealth, Marie Claire, Salon, the Athletic, Earth Island Journal, Alternet, GovTech, The Hardball Times, Cannabis Now Magazine and many more.

As the economy has changed over the last 40 years, the rich have done incredibly well, but everyone else is running hard just to stay in place. Housing costs are pushing people out of the East Bay, while our healthcare system is a patchwork that allows some people to fall through the cracks. The time has come for California to lead with bold initiatives that lift everyone up.

I'm calling for a universal basic income of $400 a month for everyone who has lived in California for at least 3 years. This will lift millions out of poverty, stimulate the economy, help kids stay in school and provide a true social safety net. For minors, this amount would go to their parents or legal guardians as a child allowance. We can address our housing crisis with a multi-pronged plan that doubles down on affordable housing, compels every city to do its part and enforces the renter protections already on the books. For healthcare, we can bridge the gap to a single-payer system by creating a public option and investing in cost-saving public health initiatives. With a basic income, stable housing and healthcare that stays with you even if you lose your job, we can all benefit from the tremendous prosperity in our great state.

Politics can be about more than halfway solving the problems of the last generation. It's time for California to invest in all of us.

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