The tragedy of America is that while we celebrate the birthday of the Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr., today millions of Americans still live below the poverty
level.

In the San Fernando Valley, the number of men, women and children requesting
assistance at soup kitchens has soared. Three SOVA food pantries currently
provide free groceries for more than 4,800 people a month. Five years ago, it
was 2,500.

With the current recession and California unemployment rate of 8.4 percent
and climbing, many more Valley residents could well be six months from poverty.

In his 1967 book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” the Rev.
King wrote, “I am now convinced that the simplest solution to poverty is to
abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income. A
host of positive psychological changes inevitably will result from wide-spread
economic security.”

The concept of a guaranteed income is not discussed much anymore, especially
in light of our current financial crisis. But it remains, as the late economist
Milton Friedman always maintained, the most practical and sensible way to end
poverty in America and provide economic security to all Americans.

President Obama is on the right track with his economic stimulus plan. Give
the money directly to the people, not just to the big banks and corporations.

But don’t stop there. Keep the stimulus coming. Every year.

Today there are more than 200 income-tested federal social programs costing more than $300 billion a
year. Much of that money goes for administrative expenses, not to the needy. 

Charles Murray, whose 1984 book “Losing Ground” claimed that welfare was
doing more harm than good, now agrees with the Rev. King’s approach. Murray
calls for giving an annual cash grant of $10,000 – with no work requirements –
to every adult over age 21.

“American’s population is wealthier than any in history,” Murray writes in
his book, “In Our Hands.” “Every year, the American government redistributes
more than a trillion dollars of that wealth to provide for retirements, health
care, and the alleviation of poverty. We still have millions of people without
comfortable retirements, without adequate health care, and living in poverty.
Only a government can spend so much money so ineffectually. The solution is to
give the money to the people.”

Indeed, the state of Alaska has given an annual cash grant to its people for
the past 26 years. Last year, each resident got a check for $3,269. There are no
work requirements. The program is so popular that an attempt to kill it was
defeated by more than a 2-1 majority.

The U.S. is a wealthy nation. Our Gross Domestic Product is $13 trillion.
That’s an average of $42,000 for each man, woman and child in the country.

Poverty is wrong. A guaranteed income would establish economic security as a
universal right. It gives all of us the assurance that, no matter what happens,
we won’t go hungry.

Today, as we celebrate what would have been King’s 80th birthday, the
adoption of a guaranteed income would help to fulfill his dream of economic
security as a universal right for all Americans.

Al Sheahen lives in Sherman Oaks and can be reached at
alsheahen@prodigy.net. He is a member of Results, a citizens lobby to help end
poverty at home and abroad. To learn more about a Basic Income Guarantee, go to
www.usbig.net