donate money by Reuters

Author: Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Driven by the Coronavirus pandemic, dozens of U.S. cities are launching a new tool in the war on poverty: money.

At least 16 cities and counties are receiving unlimited payments to some low-income residents, according to a Reuters count. At least 31 other local governments plan to do so in the coming months.

This has moved away from most U.S. anti-poverty programs, which provide benefits for specific needs such as food or rent, and require recipients to have a job or seek employment.

Lawyers say that those who receive help, not bureaucrats, know best how to spend money.

“It’s a complete rejection of the idea that we need to get the Big Brother people out of poverty,” said Michael Tubbs, who created the nation’s “basic income” program in 2019 while he was mayor of Stockton, California.

Jonathan Peter, 37, said he was able to pay off his 11-year-old son’s debt and buy hockey equipment through a $ 500 monthly check he received through a Cambridge (Massachusetts) single-parent program in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

“I’ve tried very hard to bounce back and this check makes it a lot easier,” he said.

Cash payments were a pillar of the U.S. security network in the twentieth century. for much of the twentieth century, but they were left in the lurch because of the criticism that people were being encouraged to work. Democratic President Bill Clinton backed them down, made them temporary, and added a job demand in 1996. Less than one in four poor families now receive these benefits.

In recent years, the idea of ​​universal basic income has gained momentum in the face of concerns that automation will lead to widespread layoffs, and a belief in racial justice argues that the current system is inadequate and corrupt. Andrew Yang became the focal point of his bid for the 2020 presidential candidacy.

The federal government provided proof of the concept over the past two years, sending more than $ 800 billion to households in three COVID-19 aid packages. Washington has provided another $ 93 billion to 36 million families this year through an expanded child tax credit.

These aid packages have raised $ 500 billion for state and local governments, and at least 16 local governments are using the money to implement basic Stockton-style income programs for low-income residents, records show.

Others are using funds provided by Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, a promotion group made up of Tubbs, or private philanthropy.

“We’ve been in the war against poverty for 60 years, and the idea of ​​giving money to poor people is still very new. Maybe that’s the problem,” said Melvin Carter. The mayor of Paul, Minnesota, who launched the basic income. last year’s program.

Unlike Yang’s proposals, which would cover them all, new city-based programs are small-scale, typically serve hundreds of families, and are aimed only at low-income people.

Some cities invite people to apply and then make a random drawing. Others focus on specific populations: St. Paul is aimed at families with newborn children, and Pittsburgh says half of its 200 participants will be black women.

Durham, North Carolina, will issue checks to people released from prison. In Jackson, a Mississippi program focuses on black mothers in public housing.

Advocates hope that these efforts will ultimately convince Washington to launch a national basic income program.

They point to a range of research that shows positive results. Stockton program participants were more likely to work full-time, while Jackson participants were more likely to pay their bills on time. According to a survey, recipients spent less on alcohol and tobacco than before.

‘ALTERNATIVES’

With so many U.S. businesses struggling to hire staff, some say it would be better to expand existing programs.

“If the goal is more work, then we have alternative options,” said Kevin Corinth, who served as the White House’s chief economist in the Trump administration and is now at Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

A national program would also be expensive. A proposal to keep every American above the poverty line, set at $ 26,500 for four people in 2021, would cost $ 876 billion, more than double the cost of anti-poverty spending in the U.S. Another would cost more than double that amount.

Lawyers say their first step is to extend the children’s tax credit, which expires later this year. The cost-cutting Democrats cut off the ongoing expansion of the $ 1.75 trillion “Build Better” spending proposal that Democrats risked by President Joe Biden.

Meanwhile, low-income participants like 40-year-old Andrea Coleman are finding it a little easier to deal with them. The mother of three children who works as a home nurse said she plans to buy a suitable pair of shoes for St. Replacing foam sandals that serve as Paul’s only shoe in Minnesota, where the temperature is expected to drop to 7 degrees. Fahrenheit (-13.9 ° Celsius) this week.

“It’s that extra amount of money that helps you overcome that small amount, that helps you take that burden off your back,” he said. “It gives me a free heart.”