D.C. Council OKs crime bill with provision to pay people to stay out trouble

The D.C. Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a sweeping anti-crime bill that includes a provision to pay would-be criminals and victims to stay out of trouble.

The legislation’s pay-for-peace provision is based on a similar program in Richmond, California.

Under the provision, the District would pay up to $9,000 a year to as many as 200 at-risk residents as long as they participate in behavioral therapy and remain crime-free. Participation in the program would be anonymous.

 Why the projected increase? 

A major barrier that keeps people, especially those with pre-existing conditions, from starting their own business is the ability to get robust and affordable health insurance. People seek out and keep corporate jobs, not because they want to, but because they feel like they have to. Entrepreneurs call the phenomenon "entrepreneurship lock." 

The Affordable Care Act could potentially solve that by offering people who start businesses coverage through state- or federally-run marketplaces for insurance (exchanges). 

To see that full 33% increase in new businesses, coverage from exchanges would have to be equivalent to that from corporate plans, which is unlikely in the short run. 

For young people, the idea of being unable to pay for massive medical bills seems distant and unlikely. But many older people have seen it in others or experienced it themselves, or have dependents that they have to worry about. 

Without a significant savings cushion, a luxury many people don't have, leaving a safe corporate job with benefits just doesn't seem like an option. 

Great business ideas aren't limited to the affluent or the young, and though it might take a while to play out, this looks like an unsung benefit of the new health care legislation.