Lift a Yoke From the Poorest : The county shouldn’t squeeze general relief recipients any further

Living on $212 a month in Los Angeles is a true definition of hardship. Yet more than 100,000 very poor men and women who depend on the county’s general relief program are expected to keep a roof over their heads on that amount. The stipend was recently cut from $293 because of the county budget crunch.

Worse yet, recipients are penalized if they are industrious enough to earn even $2 a day collecting empty bottles or doing odd jobs to pay for things like toothpaste, toilet paper and soap, which food stamps don’t cover. This is absurd. Welfare policies should encourage ambition.

The County Board of Supervisors can reward independence by approving on Tuesday a policy allowing general relief recipients to earn up to $200 a month without penalty. Sponsored by Gloria Molina, the change would cost about $6.6 million. The proposal parallels new rules that govern Aid to Families with Dependent Children, the program for poor parents; those recipients are now allowed to keep part of any income they earn, which is an incentive to work. Molina’s motion also would allow general relief recipients to save up to $1,500, a change that would cost the county nothing.

Her motion would end as well the penalty for shared housing. People who double up get reduced checks of $174 per month. Room-sharing is a common survival strategy, and should be encouraged to reduce homelessness. This would cost $5.2 million.

Another worthy proposal is for a pilot housing program in which the county would pay rent directly to Skid Row single-room-occupancy landlords, just as the federal government pays housing subsidies directly to landlords. The program would cost $1.2 million a year because the county would pay $245 a month in rent and give participants $40 a month for other necessities. A second pilot would spend $1.2 million on job training.

Molina would pay the $14.2 million for these changes from the county’s unexpected surplus of $44 million. Some supervisors want to save that in anticipation of more budget cuts next year. But some humanitarian spending now is obviously needed.