A growing number of cities across the United States are testing out guaranteed income pilots, which give regular sums (between $100 - $1000) to primarily low-income residents. As USA Today reported on March 4, these pilots are a part of a wider discourse that supports guaranteed income as a mechanism to fight income instability, wealth inequality for low-income families, and to protect against unexpected shocks such as COVID-induced unemployment. From Andrew Yang’s election platform of universal basic income, to tax credit policy proposals currently in Congress, cash grants are increasingly recognized as an effective and flexible policy tool.
“Guaranteed income has become more critical in the longer-term as the nation’s gig economy spawns a growing population of freelance and contract workers who don’t receive benefits and whose income fluctuates from week to week,” said FAI’s Executive Director Jonathan Morduch, who is part of the research team designing a pilot in California.
Read more of Morduch’s comments on the limitations of public aid in helping to manage unexpected expenses, and the reasons to trust people with no-strings-attached cash in USA Today’s coverage.