Progressive social justice activists continue to advance their new application of “equity”, which in their vernacular is a system in which everyone who is in the pool, ends up with the same prize. Similar to their idea of participation trophies given to everyone who competes in an event, even if they have never won an event, game, or a season.

They have abanded the pursuit of equality, which provides each person the same opportunity to try to succeed. Typically the results include winners and losers.

In Oakland, CA a program to give $500 monthly checks to low-income families, only of color, has been criticized for explicitly excluding the 10,000 white residents living in poverty in the city.

The lottery system, funded by private philanthropists, will see the no-strings-attached checks go to households with an annual income of less than $59,000 if they have at least one child. The other half of the $500 checks will go to those earning under $30,000.

According to data from an Oakland Equity Indicators Report, cited by officials to justify favoring people of color, white households earn about three times that of African-American ones.

The purpose of this report is to develop a baseline quantitative framework that can be used by City staff and community members alike to better understand the impacts of race, measure inequities, and track changes in the disparities for different groups over time.

This framework can then be used to guide and inform policies that address these disparities. The program with a “guaranteed income,” also referred to as Basic Universal Income (BUI) gives poor people a set amount of money each month with the intent it will help ease the stresses of poverty, so the recipients feel like looking for full-time work. Read more