Friday, March 29, 2024

Oakland to Give Some Low-Income Families of Color $500 a Month With No Strings Attached (Video)

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A person walks by a boarded-up shop in Oakland, California on February 12, 2021. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

*In an effort to address poverty and income inequality, Oakland, California on Tuesday launched a privately funded program that will give 600 low-income families of color in the city $500 per month with no rules on how they can spend it.

Oakland follows Stockton, CA in experimenting with a “guaranteed income” program, which aims to confirm that giving low-income individuals a regular, monthly stipend helps ease the stresses of poverty and results in better health and upward economic mobility.

Some mayors across the country launched smaller scale pilot programs in a coordinated campaign to convince Congress to adopt a national guaranteed income program. The first was launched in 2019 in Stockton by former Mayor Michael Tubbs, who later founded the group Mayors for a Guaranteed Income.

An analysis of the first year of the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) found that compared to a control group, residents who received regular payments experienced less income volatility, secured more full-time employment, were better parents and partners, and even saw improvements in their health and overall well-being. Six other cities to launch similar programs by this summer.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf joined CBSN Wednesday to talk more about her decision to carry out the experiment.

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