Currently there are 16 cities and counties that are providing payments to some low-income residence with no-strings-attached. 31 other local governments intend on providing the same during the coming months.
Over the past two years, the federal government sent more than $800 billion to families in three COVID-19 aid packages. Washington gave another $93 billion to 36 million families this year because of a new child tax credit. The packages included $500 billion to state and local governments. At least 16 local governments have used the money to set up Stockton-style basic income programs for low-income people, records show.
Giving the poor money
The idea of giving money to poor people still feels very new, says Melvin Carter, the mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota, even though it’s been 60 years since the war on poverty began. Paul, Minnesota, is one of the places to launch a basic income program which began in the city last year.
There are new city-based programs that are smaller than Andrew Yang’s plan, which would have covered everyone. They are only for people who make very little money. It’s a project in Jackson, Mississippi, that helps Black mothers who live in public housing in the city.
In the end, they hope that these efforts will convince the government to set up a national basic income program. The people who took part in Stockton’s program reported positive effects and were more likely to be working full-time, while the people who took part in Jackson were more likely to pay their bills on time. Many businesses are having a hard time finding new employees. Some people think it would be better to keep expanding existing programs. It would cost $876 billion to keep everyone in the U.S. above the poverty line, which is set at $26,500 for a family of four in 2021. This would more than double the amount the U.S. spends on anti-poverty programs.
