Free money for Valley farm workers? In a drought, state leaders should back the idea

For now, jobs for farm workers are plentiful. But come this fall, when the full impact of the 2021 drought hits, those jobs may dry up as quickly as last winter’s rains.

To cushion the economic blows of the drought on farm workers, state Sen. Melissa Hurtado, the Democrat from Sanger, is proposing to offer universal basic income to those who toil in California’s fields, orchards and dairies.

Under universal basic income, a recipient gets a monthly payment from the state with no strings attached. Hurtado says her idea would involve pilot projects managed by counties and cities.

“IThe UBI concept sounds radical,” she admits, “but we can make it work even for the county Board of Supervisors in Fresno.

“All the counties I represent are conservative, but I can make the case that this pilot program can be brought to the Valley and can work for farm workers and farmers.”

Hurtado’s 14th Senate District includes parts of Fresno, Kern, Kings and Tulare counties.

Farm workers are the backbone of California’s $50 billion agriculture industry. Growers know this only too well. The COVID pandemic exacerbated labor shortages already occurring from former President Trump’s moves to limit immigration and tighten border security.

For now, there is more work than there are laborers. But that will likely change this fall, when growers have to decide about planting crops that would get harvested next spring, such as garlic, onions and broccoli.

If growers don’t have enough water — which seems a certainty in this bone-dry year — they will probably choose to skip the planting or scale it back. If the farm land does not need to be worked, there will be no need for workers, either.

Hurtado’s basic income proposal would at least cover some of the financial loss to the workers. And what is good for farm workers would ultimately be good for growers, and the Valley’s farm economy overall.

Is universal income valid?

Critics of the basic income concept say it borders on socialism. Hurtado is sensitive to such criticism, saying she only will back a program targeting specific groups, and that farm workers qualify.

The leading example of how basic income can make a difference is Stockton. There, 125 people living at or below the city’s median income were given $500 stipends every month to use as they wanted in a two-year pilot. The result? Researchers who tracked the recipients found “that full-time employment rose among those who received the guaranteed income and that their financial, physical and emotional health improved,” according to National Public Radio.

Most of the money was spent “on basic needs, including food, merchandise, utilities and auto costs, with less than 1% going toward alcohol and/or tobacco,” researchers found.

Just that extra bit of financial help reduced the financial stress on recipients so they could focus on activities like finding a job. Among the participants, full-time employment rose 12%. Get people working, and they turn around and buy goods and services, helping the economy where they live.

Farmworker pilot

Newsom has included $35 million in his new budget to be spent in basic income pilot projects over five years. Local governments need to apply and would agree to a local matching amount.

Given that the money will be spent, there is no reason for Fresno, Tulare, Madera and Kings counties and local cities to miss out. If anything, Valley agencies should be at the front of the line for the money.

In 2020, when many people worked from home and stayed socially distant due to COVID, farm workers showed up to do the labor that the California’s food supply depends on. Many of them came down with the virus.

Honoring that sacrifice and commitment with a basic income project that helps workers in the Valley’s farming counties makes sense. Newsom and legislative leaders could do a good turn by including them in the outreach.