Guaranteed income is the ‘solution to poverty’ we need across America 

A recent pilot program for guaranteed income, a direct and regular cash payment, is improving the daily lives of hard-working Americans across the country.

Lucille O’Quinn, who lives in St. Paul, Minn., uses her $500 a month to pay for gas to get to work an hour away and pay people to watch her children before daycare opens at 6 a.m. I used it to pay. Without a small amount of funding from a guaranteed income program called pilot of people’s prosperityif she were, she would be stranded, unable to find a job in her own town, unable to travel to another town far away, unable to feed her children, and unable to do anything while working. , I also wouldn’t have been able to pay someone else to take care of my child.

The City of St. Paul launched the People’s Prosperity Pilot at the height of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, providing $500 per month to 150 low-income families with newborns.thanks to recent datawe know how successful it was.

The number of program participants who were employed increased from 49 percent at the start of the study to 63 percent six months after the program ended. 7% of households were able to move into higher quality housing. Participating families were able to maintain or improve their financial stability, save money, and smooth out income fluctuations. Recipients reported less anxiety and depression, better health, and increased feelings of hope. Other programs Across the country, guaranteed income programs have been shown to produce similar results in small towns and large cities.

Lucille’s story, along with countless others, inspires hope. We hope for a future where people can find better jobs, move into safer housing, and spend more time with their children. We hope that communities that need a little help will thrive and prosper. Hopes for a nation that recognizes poverty are bad for the soul and bad for the nation.

So why are some Republican lawmakers working to block and ban a program that provides tremendous benefits to hardworking Americans, especially when guaranteed income programs are supported by voters on both sides of the aisle? I wonder?

in new poll, Nearly two-thirds of American voters (Democrats, Republicans, and independents) say they support a guaranteed income. Voters investigated an assistance program that would directly give individuals between $500 and $1,000 per month without onerous requirements or conditions. They understood that these payments would be used to make necessary purchases for those in need, empowering people living in poverty to change their lives.

These findings are a political earthquake and should mark the beginning of a policy shift that will see leaders at all levels of government work together to ensure that every family across the country can thrive. But despite overwhelming bipartisan support from ordinary Americans, efforts by Republican state legislators to block these anti-poverty policies are growing.

The poverty rate in Harris County, Texas is among the best In this country, Texas is Top 10 poorest states.in harris county uplift harris The Guaranteed Income Pilot, which will provide eligible low-income households with $500 a month for 18 months starting this spring, has received more than 90,000 applications.Despite the need and demand, some Republican state leaders try to block the effort Instead of working with local leaders to build a truly prosperous and prosperous state where everyone can protect their families and build a better life, they engage in cynical legal gamesmanship.

Guaranteed income is an important solution to the poverty that plagues too many of our communities, especially Black and brown communities.Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called it that. “Solutions to Poverty” But for decades and generations, the policy has not received the attention or action it deserves, while policy failures and half-measures have contributed to the racial wealth gap. It expanded, worsened poverty rates, and reduced economic mobility for black families. .

Without meaningful action, families would struggle to survive with no means of moving forward and no options left to break out of entrenched cycles of poverty.

To break this cycle, First in Japan A city-led income guarantee program began in Stockton, California, in 2019. Since then, a national effort called Mayors for a Guaranteed Income has Number of mayors increased to 150the county for guaranteed income. doubled in size A year later, dozens of pilots were introduced that guaranteed more than $250 million in income to Americans across the country.

A guaranteed income program is an investment in the power and potential of our employees and the power of our communities. They are what Dr. King called investments. bank of justice And it’s a deposit into America’s great treasure trove of opportunity.

We are not naive. We know that establishing a nationally guaranteed income will require extraordinary action and courage from public servants, at a time when there is little hope for either. We have seen valuable and effective programs like this one sidelined by politicians who thought their ambitions were too big and their consequences too destructive. But we know now is the time to take action.

Michael Tubbs is the former mayor of Stockton, California, and is piloting a first-of-its-kind guaranteed income (seedHe currently serves as Special Advisor for Economic Mobility and Opportunity to California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Rodney Ellis is a representative from Harris County, Texas, and has served in the Texas State Senate since 2017.