In recent years, there has been a trend in the United States towards Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) programs. 100 GBI pilots launched since 2018.
Fox News Digital interviewed Michael D. Tubbs, president of the group Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, last week to discuss why cities are beginning to pilot GBIs.
Tubbs, then mayor of Stockton, California, noticed a “lack of economic opportunity” in Stockton and abroad and founded an organization called Mayors for a Guaranteed Income.
Tubbs said he knew a GBI program wouldn’t be feasible given Stockton’s small size and limited budget.
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Tubbs, on the other hand, knew he could test and evaluate the idea and use the data to make a case to state and federal governments.
The Mayors for a Guaranteed Income Coalition has grown into a coalition of 150 mayors who are promoting a GBI pilot program that would provide up to $1,000 a month to low-income participants with no strings attached. The group is promoting the GBI pilot program, Local governments across the country.
But while studies have shown that pilot programs have been beneficial, some of these programs face funding and legal challenges.
Fox News Digital interviewed Michael D. Tubbs, president of the Association of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, last week to discuss why cities are beginning to pilot guaranteed income programs. (Fox News Digital)
“No city can offer a large guaranteed income because they can’t cover the deficit,” Tubbs said. “A large guaranteed income has to come from the federal government, like they did with the child tax credit.”
“This is something we’ve been saying for a long time, but we can’t wait for the federal government, and in many cases we have to push and lobby the federal government to take action,” Tubbs concluded.
Here are four examples where GBI is being promoted.
Austin, Texas
The Austin City Council in April approved a $1.3 million contract to continue the guaranteed income program, which began in 2022.
later Austin City Council Forms The measure makes the state capital the first large city in Texas to use tax money to fund a “guaranteed income” program.
Guaranteed Income Program The program was funded by taxpayers with $1.1 million in funding at its inception and raised more than $500,000 in charitable donations.
A recent study found that the city’s guaranteed income program has helped address the problem of housing insecurity in the city.
San Antonio is another Texas city that has implemented an income pilot program.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
a Guaranteed Basics income The program pilot in Cambridge was well received by program participants.
To qualify for the program, Cambridge residents must be 18 years of age or older, earn less than 80% of the area median income, and live as a sole caregiver raising at least one child under the age of 18.
Due to the program’s success, the City of Cambridge expanded it last year using COVID relief funds and $22 million in charitable donations. Now called “Rise Up,” the program has expanded citywide to provide $500 cash assistance to nearly 2,000 households for 18 months.
Keeping the program funded is now a challenge for city officials as federal COVID relief funds dry up. According to the Boston Globe, Cambridge officials are hampered by a Massachusetts law that prohibits them from using city funds for the program.
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Phoenix, Arizona
The city of Phoenix used $12 million in federal COVID relief funds in 2022 to implement a one-year universal basic income program.
According to the Arizona Mirror, the bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Lupe Diaz, likened the guaranteed income to socialism and slammed the program, which would give 1,000 low-income families $1,000 a month.
Eligibility required participants to earn less than 80% of the city’s median income of $63,200. Local news media.
Arizona Republican Rep. Lupe Diaz introduced House Bill 2375, which would ban guaranteed minimum income in the state. The bill has the support of all Republicans but no Democrats. To become law, the bill must pass the state Senate, which is made up of 16 Republicans and 14 Democrats. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)
The Arizona House of Representatives voted in March Basic Income Guarantee Program It is in good condition.
House Bill 2375 was supported by all Republicans but no Democrats. To become law, the bill must pass the state Senate, which is made up of 16 Republicans and 14 Democrats.
Other cities that have launched guaranteed income pilot programs include Durham, North Carolina, and Baltimore, Maryland.
Harris County, Texas
The Harris County Magistrate’s Court approved Uplift Harris last year by a 4-1 vote.
But the Supreme Court Issued by Texas Friday’s ruling bars Harris County from operating the guaranteed income program.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Harris County, claiming the program is “clearly unconstitutional.” State lawmakers told Fox News Digital that the program violates the Texas Constitution and “Lottery Socialism“
Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee “We are extremely disappointed with the Texas Supreme Court’s decision,” he said.
“Local governments exist to help those less fortunate, and the Supreme Court’s decision effectively ends a program that has proven highly effective in helping low-income people lift themselves out of poverty,” he added.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Harris County over a program that would have given residents $500 a month for 18 months, arguing that the program is “plainly unconstitutional.” (Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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The guaranteed income pilot program will allow participating households to receive $500 per month for 18 months. The program launched on January 12 and currently has 1,924 applicants signed up.
Other counties that have launched pilot programs include Cook County, Illinois; Wayne County, Michigan; and Los Angeles County, California.
While the GBI has received some backlash, Tubbs told Fox News Digital that such critics “don’t understand what’s actually going on in the community.”
“I think this issue is about politics and I think this issue is about ignorant elected officials who are out of touch with their constituents because they’ve been making six figures off the people’s, taxpayer’s, money for a long time,” Tubbs said. Fox News Digital.
“American voters support a guaranteed income, including 40% of Republicans,” Tubbs added.
