Should the poor get paid for being good parents and students? New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg prompted that question when he announced Opportunity NYC, a pilot program that will give cash to people as compensation for good behavior.
Parents will get up to $6,000 a year if they guarantee that their family has health insurance and they get active in their kids’ education.
Poor adults will get up to $3,000 if they hold onto a job and get skills training.
There’s a little cash for kids, too. Fourth graders will get up to $250 with either top scores or significant improvement in standardized tests. It’ll be an even better deal for 7th graders — they’ll get up to $500.
This is a 2 1/2-year, privately funded program based on an aid initiative from Mexico called Oportunidades, which helps pay poor parents who take care of their kids.
So why should anyone be paid for taking care of their own kids? Or for doing what they’re supposed to do in school? Shouldn’t a good education and a child’s success be enough incentive?
Well, think back. Were you one of those kids whose parents paid $5 for each “A” on a report card? Or were you jealous of the kids who collected? That was an incentive plan.
Supporters of the program say there are cost-benefit decisions the poor make that most people never think about. If you work at an hourly wage job with no paid sick days, skipping work for a doctor’s appointment or a parent-teacher conference can be a choice between taking care of your family and buying groceries.
Money does provide motivation for a lot of things. Yes, it sounds as if they’re making a crass calculation here, but nobody’s going to know if it’ll work until it’s tried.
So, New York, give it a go.
