From pilot to policy: a closer look at guaranteed income initiatives in the US
Michael D. Tubbs, mayor of Stockton, California, initiated a daring experiment in February 2019. He randomly selected 125 residents at or below the city's median household income to receive $500 a month for 24 months. Two years later, the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, as the pilot Read More...
Guaranteed income for poor mothers boosts infant brain activity
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that uses data from the Baby’s First Years study, put forth results that offer a strong argument for the implementation of basic or guaranteed income payments for families. The study demonstrates that infants in Read More...
Compton to launch America’s biggest guaranteed income program
In 2019, the city of Stockton, California, became the first city in America to launch an experimental guaranteed income program that would provide 125 residents with monthly payments of $500 over the course of 18 months, with no strings attached. From the first results of Stockton’s basic income Read More...
This study gave homeless people $5,660 each. The results are beautiful
In 2018, a Vancouver-based charitable organization called Foundations for Social Change started a groundbreaking research project that gave cash payments of $7,500 CAD ($5,660 USD) to 50 homeless people. The idea was to check on recipients over the course of a year to see how they were faring. Read More...
Spain is implementing a universal minimum income. What is that?
In April, we shared a story about the Spanish government’s plans to introduce a basic income program—though it wasn’t clear whether it would be implemented on a country-wide scale. This week we got to know that Spain has decided to implement what it’s calling a national minimum income, Read More...
This is what happens when you give emergency cash to gig workers
What happens when you give gig workers no-strings-attached emergency cash grants of up to $1,000? In a new study, researchers found they were able to get back to work quicker after an emergency, felt less stressed, and, in some instances, got on track toward new financial goals, like saving to be Read More...
Coronavirus exposed the social safety net for what it truly is: a good idea
While there are many grim aspects of coronavirus and the ensuing quarantine, we can not deny that some very positive developments are taking place. At the policy level, many of the ideas that were once deemed crazy are now being seen as viable. Suddenly even federal lawmakers who have long resisted Read More...
Spain is on the verge of implementing a basic income program
The coronavirus has prompted governments around the world to think of ways to pandemic-proof the world. One of the main ideas that is gaining traction is universal basic income (UBI), something we’ve written quite a few stories about (see here and here). If you’re not familiar with UBI, Read More...
This is what happens when people win a basic income raffle
The rough premise of a basic income (BI) involves distributing small cash stipends to people, with no restrictions on how it can be spent. While some economists dismiss BI as inefficient and expensive, evidence shows it has real benefits. Recent experiments—in places as far flung Read More...
Brazil is rolling out a full-on basic income program for over 50,000 people
Can basic income programs help people achieve a better standard of living and rise out of poverty? The jury is still out, mainly because we don’t have enough data to inform the jury. That’s why it’s great news that a massive basic income program featuring more than 50,000 participants is Read More...