universal basic income
The documentary shows how a guaranteed check can be a path out of poverty and why communities can’t bank on the idea alone.
Cook County will send up to 3,250 eligible residents $500 a month in cash assistance for two years, becoming a leader in the movement for universal basic income.
Omar’s bill would fund guaranteed income pilots in hundreds of communities, then launch a national program to send $1,200 monthly to people making up to $75,000 a year.
The former Democratic presidential hopeful, now running for New York mayor, staked his national candidacy on the idea of unconditional cash assistance.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
The guaranteed income program follows in the footsteps of Stockton’s, which found recipients had better mental health and got full-time jobs at higher rates.
The first-in-the-nation program aims to support young people when they age out of the foster care system often with no security net whatsoever.
A guaranteed income program gave $500 per month to 125 people in Stockton and found that their job prospects and mental health got better.
The mayors will distribute the money as no-strings-attached cash payments to hundreds of residents in their cities.
The idea of a universal basic income is going mainstream as the coronavirus pandemic collapses economies and wipes away millions of jobs.
The coronavirus pandemic is especially hurting workers who have no steady income, the pope wrote in a letter to social activists.