# Cato’s Project on Poverty and Inequality in California Final Report [ #CatoCalifornia ](https://x.com/hashtag/CatoCalifornia) ![Coastal California](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_3x/public/2021-10/Edited_GettyImages-520798492.jpg?itok=1bYHXE3v) #### Essays 6-part series - [![San Francisco skyline](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/mega_menu_aside/public/2022-08/california_skyline-min.jpg?itok=wSTv9bTF)](https://www.cato.org/study/overview-poverty-inequality-california) ##### [An Overview of Poverty and Inequality in California](/study/overview-poverty-inequality-california) By [Michael D. Tanner](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-d-tanner) - [![Sacramento skyline](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/mega_menu_aside/public/2021-10/Sacramento_GettyImages-1248279413.jpg?itok=EXw-0HFI)](https://www.cato.org/study/housing-homelessness) ##### [Housing and Homelessness](/study/housing-homelessness) By [Michael D. Tanner](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-d-tanner) - [![Coastal California](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/mega_menu_aside/public/2021-10/Edited_GettyImages-520798492.jpg?itok=gPGaDzPi)](https://www.cato.org/study/poverty-criminal-justice-reform) ##### [Poverty and Criminal Justice Reform](/study/poverty-criminal-justice-reform) By [Michael D. Tanner](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-d-tanner) - [![Golden gate bridge](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/mega_menu_aside/public/2021-10/Edited_GettyImages-1059094548.jpg?itok=csAM4DYR)](https://www.cato.org/study/education-workforce-development) ##### [Education and Workforce Development](/study/education-workforce-development) By [Michael D. Tanner](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-d-tanner) - [![California city skyline](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/mega_menu_aside/public/2021-10/GettyImages-478821794_Edited.jpg?itok=eQOhGwVP)](https://www.cato.org/study/welfare-reform) ##### [Welfare Reform](/study/welfare-reform) By [Michael D. Tanner](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-d-tanner) - [![California city skyline](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/mega_menu_aside/public/2022-06/california_skyline-min.jpeg?itok=DeR-sOBa)](https://www.cato.org/study/inclusive-economic-growth) ##### [Inclusive Economic Growth](/study/inclusive-economic-growth) By [Michael D. Tanner](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-d-tanner) How is it that a state like California, with pockets of vast wealth, solid economic growth, and an extensive social safety net, can nonetheless have the highest poverty rate in the nation? For the past two and a half years, the Cato Institute’s Project on Poverty and Inequality in California has been asking this question and seeking ways in which California should reform its policies to help lift people out of poverty and to enable them to fully participate in the state’s economy. Simply put, too many policies and regulations—at the state, county, and municipal levels—are regressive, trapping people in poverty and making it harder for them to climb the economic ladder. If the goal of public policy is to enable every Californian to flourish and rise as far as their talents will take them, it is not nearly enough to simply provide social welfare benefits to those in need. Rather, California must remove those policy barriers to economic participation and individual achievement that push people into poverty. Accordingly, this report offers 24 specific proposals for reform, addressing such issues as housing and homelessness, education and workforce, the criminal justice system, welfare and the existing social safety net, and barriers to economic participation. These reforms move beyond the usual debate over how much money to spend or what new regulations to enact, calling instead for a broad reexamination of the state’s approach to fighting poverty and creating a more inclusive economy. [Download the Full Report]() [Download the Summary]() ### Our recommendations for California’s leaders: ##### Housing and Homelessness - End exclusionary zoning - Move to a ministerial approval process - Restructure the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) - Standardize and cap building fees - Reduce the power of local agency formation commissions - Reverse efforts to criminalize homelessness - Strengthen California’s conservatorship laws - Expand CEQA exemptions for homeless housing/​shelter projects ##### Economic Inclusion - Repeal unnecessary occupational licensing laws - Rethink occupational zoning - Deregulate childcare - Reduce barriers to entrepreneurship ##### Criminal Justice - Resist any effort to roll back recent criminal justice reforms - Reduce overcriminalization; decriminalize victimless crimes - Curtail the use of fines and fees as punishment - Establish a mechanism to automatically expunge criminal records - Upgrade rehabilitation programs within the prison system ##### Education and Workforce - Remove barriers to the growth of charter schools and other alternatives - Establish a tuition tax credit program - Restructure future pension obligations - Increase emphasis on vocational and technical education ##### Welfare Reform - Abolish asset tests for California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids, or CalWORKs, and other programs - Expand welfare diversion programs - Prioritize cash payments over in-kind benefits and indirect payments [View the Full Project](/project-poverty-inequality-california) #### Related Videos [![Cato’s Project on Poverty and inequality in California: In Their Own Words](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser_2x/public/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_23216.jpg?itok=gWxwAa2v) Cato’s Project on Poverty and Inequality in California: In Their Own Words ](/node/90051/embed) [ ![After COVID-19 social image](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser_2x/public/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_25594.jpg?itok=_rcXx_hM) After COVID-19: Building an Inclusive Economy for California — Keynote Address and Closing Speaker ](/node/93284/embed) [ ![](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser_2x/public/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_23343.jpg?itok=dWci6T8r) Crisis: Housing and Homelessness in California: Panel Discussion: Barriers to Affordable Housing ](/node/90231/embed) [ ![](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser_2x/public/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_23210.jpg?itok=ciV9dTAi) Cato’s Project on Poverty and inequality in California: Barriers to Affordable Housing ](/node/90052/embed) [ ![Inequality in California and COVID-19](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser_2x/public/2021-04/inequality-california-covid-19-1x1.png?itok=S9cJbc8o) Inequality in California and COVID-19 ](/node/93230/embed) [ ![](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser_2x/public/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_20881.jpg?itok=934XRf6o) How California Zoning Makes Homes More Expensive ](/node/87398/embed)