A year of GRIT in Tacoma: Today So Far

• Tacoma's GRIT pilot program has been paying people a guaranteed income for nearly a year now. How has it been going?
• Washington's pandemic state of emergency has ended. Did you notice?
• Takeaways from the Schrier / Larkin debate.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for November 1, 2022.

You can work a full-time job around Western Washington these days and still not make ends meet. Most folks know this. Beyond the traditional thinking of spending a third of income on rent, putting away money elsewhere, and so on, is the local reality of out-of-reach rents, and ever rising costs of living. Not to mention the inflation that has recently struck.

This creates a unique pocket of people: those with jobs, but who don't qualify for assistance like food cards, etc. That's why Tacoma has been conducting an experiment — guaranteed income. Since December 2021, 110 Tacoma families have received $500 a month. The program is called "GRIT" (Growing Resilience in Tacoma). There were no strings attached, though participants had to be ALICE households (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). Such families earn above federal poverty limits, but still can't afford regular expenses like child care, transportation, or housing.

"It's been a massive help for getting myself back on my feet, because before I joined the program I felt like I was barely making it," Geno Rosario told Seattle Now.

Rosario is a single father. He used some of the funds for tutoring for his son amid pandemic shutdowns. Before the program, he notes that small incidents would dramatically affect day-to-day life.

"Like a flat tire or my son's unexpected insulin refills, small things that would normally be small for other people, would just trip me up and set me back for, sometimes, weeks or months at a time."

Abigail Lawson is the director for Tacoma's guaranteed income pilot. Data for the first six months of the pilot was recently released, providing the first peek into how it has worked so far.

"Families are using the funds, the guaranteed income, for food or hygiene products, for mechanical repairs, for tuition expenses, for after-school programming like football or soccer, tutoring, things like that," Lawson told Seattle Now.

"It contradicts, directly, a lot of the narratives that float around guaranteed income, that say that it stimulates laziness and disincentives work, etc. We've seen the opposite. We've seen that (for) families, it has lit the spark of their own self-empowerment, and we're seeing families really work to better their situation, fix up their credit, so they have longer term financial wellness."

Tacoma's GRIT pilot will end on Dec. 15. Check out the full Seattle Now discussion here.

As of today, Washington state is no longer in a state of emergency over the Covid pandemic, and the governor's last few emergency orders have expired. Did you notice? Me neither. That's probably because most orders have already phased out, or because most folks don't work in settings where masks will still be required (health care, clinics, etc.).

Such masking rules are an example of one corner of life that will remain changed because of Covid. Moving forward, Washington state (and the city of Seattle) is keeping the Covid vaccination requirement for public employees. No boosters will be required, however. There are some workplace rules that will be sticking around, too. Such as the requirement for employers to make accommodations for high-risk employees, or to notify staff when a Covid case is detected at work. Read more here.

KUOW's David Hyde was recently among the panel of journalists pressing questions to Democrat Kim Schrier and Republican Matt Larkin who are competing for votes in Washington's 8th Congressional District.

David had a few takeaways from the debate over the weekend, but what I found interesting is that he notes when the candidates dodged questions. Reporters need to do this a lot more. We all see candidates do it. If you asked them if the sky is blue, they generally say, "Look..." and then go into a lengthy statement that does not include "yes" anywhere in it, and if they have time, work in some jab to their opponent. Here's a little tip for future debate organizers: work in time for follow ups from panelists to press candidates for a real answer. Maybe keep a record of questions that were dodged.

The other pet peeve I have is when candidates just reiterate the problem instead of giving an answer, a stance, or a solution. If political candidates were in a situation that needed immediate action, I want to be nowhere near them.

"Is there a hole in the boat?!"

Candidate: "Look, I'm not going to stand here and speculate on if, or how, holes exists and what they do to boats when, at the end of the day, my opponent has favored pro-sinking policies. We need someone in DC who will look at the situation without bias and do what is best for people in boats."

"Was that a yes or a no? Never mind, I see there is a hole in the boat, we're taking on water, and we are sinking. What are you going to do about it?!"

Candidate: "Look, when holes are in boats, you have to assess where the hole is. Is it above the water line, or below? Holes let in water and that is bad for boats, and for voters who want to stay dry. Boats float because they don't have holes. We all know that. For years, career politicians have seen holes in boats and have done nothing. Not under my watch ... and I'm out of time."

Read David's recent takeaways here.

AS SEEN ON KUOW

In Recompose Seattle's Gathering Space, families and friends can say goodbye to their loved ones, before the body begins the process of being composted. California legalized the burial practice of human composting last month. The practice has been legal in Washington since 2019. It’s one of many signs that, for the first time in a long time, the funeral industry is changing. (Recompose Seattle)

DID YOU KNOW?

Martin Luther King Jr and his wife Coretta Scott King paid the hospital bill for actress Julia Roberts' birth. It's a factoid that has gone viral recently around Roberts' birthday on Oct. 28.

As NPR reports, Roberts' parents ran an acting school in Atlanta, Georgia in the 1960s. It was integrated and The King children attended it. Through that connection, the Roberts and the Kings developed a friendship. When Julia was born, the Roberts family couldn't afford to pay for the hospital bill, so the King family stepped in.

ALSO ON OUR MINDS

Voters everywhere are talking about the same issues. Here's why that matters

Often, the nationalization of politics is cast as bad for voters and democracy as a whole, for a number of reasons. One is that it flattens geographical representation, meaning regional issues like agriculture and economic development get less attention. Another is that it reduces the importance of candidate quality and qualifications, making party the most important factor; one basic measure of nationalization is the decline of split-ticket voting.

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