California’s leading voice on guaranteed basic income has established a new nonprofit that could have implications for Fresno and beyond. Former Stockon Mayor Michael Tubbs (now special advisor on economic mobility to Governor Gavin Newsom) on Thursday announced the launch of End Poverty in California (EPIC), a new nonprofit that will focus on developing pilot programs that address poverty, such as guaranteed basic income and baby bonds.
EPIC builds on Michael Tubbs former work with Mayors for Guaranteed Income (MFGI), and coincides with the report “A Blueprint for an Inclusive and Just Economy” released by the Stanford Center of Poverty and Inequality. While Fresno’s current mayor is not part of the MFGI, there is an effort to launch universal basic income. Tubbs also sees Fresno as potentially becoming an EPIC community hub, as a ‘North Star’ for the Central Valley.