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14 GROUNDCOVER NEWS VENDOR VOICES The great gig of life PEDRO CAMPOS Groundcover vendor No. 652 Doing gigs wasn’t new for me when I was 16 and started making some money. I'm the oldest of five, and I’ve always helped my parents raise the little ones — not just babysitting, but also teaching them. Especially math. I was always helping with their homework since both my parents worked. Soon enough, I was also helping their friends, sharing what I knew. I managed to keep my grades at school. When I was 18, I came to Michigan as an exchange student and landed in Fenton. As a citizen there, my first official job was at Taco Bell as a “stuffer” — that was in 1995. Later, I worked for a couple of weeks as a landscaper, still in Fenton, before going back to Brazil. Back in Brazil, I did all kinds of gigs. I taught a variety of subjects — math, physics, chemistry, drawing, Portuguese, English, even chess. I was only 20 when I started writing poems professionally, publishing them in a magazine in São Paulo. From there, I moved on to writing articles, and soon enough I was editing and correcting every piece that went into the magazine. I participated in marketing campaigns, translated from English and Spanish to Portuguese, and did tons of street-level data collection as a field researcher. That job carried me through college. I got into the University of São Paulo when I was 19. I passed the entrance exam and earned a full scholarship. Still, I didn’t know exactly what to study at first, so I started out in engineering for two years before deciding to switch to social sciences. That degree included anthropology, sociology and political science. I also took courses in statistics, economics, geography and history. One thing I learned from engineering is to be curious and proactive in my self-learning process — so I kept going, enrolling in psychology and philosophy classes too. I took full advantage of attending such a great school as USP, sitting in on classes across more than 30 departments, mixing undergrad and postgrad courses whenever I could. My first job after starting university was as a tech support assistant, helping people navigate university systems and access resources for their own businesses. After that, I had a gig conducting socio-economic surveys for the Ayrton Senna Project — an initiative to keep teens off the streets through sports and education. As a sociologist, I’ve had experience at all levels of scientific research — from data collection to analysis. I’ve had the privilege of participating in a few government studies, too. I also worked with a magazine called Revista Metropoli, which led us to create a nonprofit called Voice Institute (Ivoz). We worked directly with the community, using their cultural expressions — graffiti, rap, dance — to create visibility and sustainable businesses for them. It was about helping people make a living by doing what they love. Along the way, I’ve done restaurant work too — cooking, cleaning and serving tables by the beach and also in the city of São Paulo. I helped my dad with all sorts of odd jobs, doing some of his accounting, running little errands, but my favorites were anything involving carpentry or general construction work. Living on my own for many years taught me that there are no demeaning jobs. You do what you have to do. If you walk on the floor, you better sweep it. If you use the bathroom, same deal. If the washing machine breaks, you figure out how to fix it. I always say: “The bed you lie in is the one you made.” First, get the job done. Then, think about making a living. Once that’s handled, you can enjoy a little quality time — or maybe work on your next project. When you work for money, you're selling the most precious moments of your life. Work is a cycle. Whatever you're doing now probably needs doing again soon. I take it as a mature thing to recognize your place in society — you should be useful in some way, help your community, and not only do what you’re paid for. In this context, there are no demeaning jobs. You gotta do what you gotta do. The things you do not for direct profit show who you really are, what your intentions are and what you're capable of. Today, I keep looking for good gigs that will challenge me mentally and physically, as I do my work as a Groundcover News vendor and also as a writer. One of my favorite songs is “The Great Gig in the Sky” by Pink Floyd. That title says it all. Life’s one big gig — you just have to play in tune. "And I am not frightened of dying, you know Any time will do, I don't mind Why should I be frightened of dying? There's no reason for it You've gotta go sometime” — Pink Floyd, The Great Gig in the Sky exp. 06/31/2025 MAY 2, 2025  RESEARCH from page 12 businesses going. Some of them are barely getting by so it's great to see people have a little money to invest in their own business. There is a lot of love in Ann Arbor, it’s a beautiful place to live. I was pleasantly surprised that people talk about their city as much as they do in a study about income. GCN: Why do you research this topic out of all the potential programs to improve quality of life outcomes? WL: I think guaranteed income programs are great because they take away all of the bureaucracy and red tape and wasted time that applicants can find frustrating and dehumanizing. It allows you to spend money on what is best for you and that shows trust in the applicants. GCN: Why is it important to popularize these findings through Groundcover, events, etc.? What is the potential impact? WL: Because we want to share how powerful guaranteed income programs can be so that more people support them and more cities adopt them. GCN: What stigma do you observe surrounding cash assistance? WL: There is often a stigma that people don’t work very hard or put effort into finding jobs or use that cash assistance on things that are unhealthy. After taking a closer look at the research process, we learned how important autonomy and dignity are to the investigation team. The undertone seems to be “these people are adults and can solve their own problems if given the right support.” Some might say GIG A2 is just throwing money at a problem, but the team sees something else. They see the integrity and industry of the entrepreneurs of the gig economy. The team seems hopeful that a future with guaranteed income will have a positive impact on Ann Arbor. What will that look like? Fewer evictions? Less food insecurity? Will it truly give small business owners and gig workers an advantage? The project is still going on, so the jury is still out. The investigators seem confident there will be an improvement in the quality of life for the recipients.

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