The Year Basic Income Programs Went Mainstream
At least 20 guaranteed income pilots have launched in cities and counties across the U.S. since 2018, and more than 5,400 families and individuals have started receiving between $300 and $1,000 a month, according to a Bloomberg CityLab analysis. If all these programs complete their pilot periods as planned, they’ll have given out at least $35 million.....
Some are designed as randomized controlled trials, where researchers track outcomes for both control and recipient groups. Others are experimenting with different payment methods and periods: Compton compensates families between $300 and $600, on a sliding scale based on their size; Newark, New Jersey, which is starting its second phase this month, is paying half its participants $250 on a bi-weekly basis, and the other half twice a year, in two $3,000 installments.
Time ranges vary, with San Francisco’s $1,000-a-month for 130 artists lasting 6 months, while Hudson, New York, is paying a random selection of 25 low-income residents $500 a month for 5 years.
And unlike a universal program, which would include everyone, regardless of class, many of these guaranteed income pilots are laser-focused on specific communities that have experienced historic disinvestment, or have been most impacted by Covid, such as Black mothers and fathers, artists and low-income families. Other programs still in their design phase will target
unhoused youth and
foster youth.
