California Voices

Last week, a bipartisan coalition came together at the state capitol to launch Step Up California, a statewide campaign to reduce poverty in the state. After the press conference, over 70 legislative staffers participated in an interactive poverty simulation, that had them assume the role of a member of a struggling family.

My colleague Maria Sotero took part in the exercise, and explained it as such:

The hour was split into four fifteen-minute “weeks.” Attendees were assigned an identity, a family, and a particular set of resources and burdens. The rules were merely to eat, pay the bills or face the consequences, show up for work on time. Transportation passes were required upon arriving at each destination.

And through the strivings of a group of families, a temporary community was created. For a short time, the players in California’s most important policy and budget decisions were faced with the same challenges as those in poverty. And the employers they bargained with, the check cashers, the shelter boss, the Social Services clerk? All were Californians and community volunteers who have been in the system in their own lives, finally seeing the other side of the table.

The exercise proved eye opening for many of the participants, who were evicted or foreclosed upon due to the inability to make rent or mortgage payments. Afterwards, participants gathered to discuss the experience. One "mother" said that just as she thought she was going to make it, her child had a medical emergency, which was an expense they couldn't afford. She had to take out a payday loan to make it to the next paycheck, only to find out that it came with a 300% interest rate. (In reality, payday loans often charge over 400%; the Asset Building Program supports a smart alternative.) Another was surprised when he went to cash his paycheck and found that there was a $20 fee for being "unbanked" meaning he didn't have a bank account. And in order to get a bank account, he needed to deposit a minimum amount of $150, money he needed to pay bills.

My colleague Olivia Calderon sat down with three participants to discuss their experience and found that each was deeply affected by the exercise. And one big realization was, "how expensive it is to be poor, because everything costs more."  After experiencing life as a struggling Californian, capitol staffers were able to put a face on poverty, which could potentially impact future legislative decisions and budget cuts.