Mayor Garcia: Guaranteed Income Is Key to Eradicating Poverty
By Mayor Robert Garcia
In the wake of a pandemic which took the greatest toll on the poor and working class, there is no better time for Congress to take action and lift millions of Americans from poverty.
Guaranteed income is not a new idea. Originating in the 1970s, studies of guaranteed income tend to be an exercise in setting out to prove what the majority of the country, and the world, already knows: The simplest way to lift people out of poverty and help them on their feet is to give them money and let them spend it on their needs.
In Long Beach, California, we worked to model what a guaranteed income program could look like by launching a pilot. Our initiative is aimed at helping 700 single parents, mostly mothers, who are living in poverty and struggling to meet basic needs, by providing 18 months of $600 direct payments. They will also receive childcare support and broadband connectivity. These payments and benefits will focus on a single ZIP code with the highest concentrated area of family poverty.
These payments will be life-changing for these families, and we will be measuring the impact these payments have on the lives of these families by working with our local university, Cal State Long Beach. The data we collect will be combined with the work of nearly 100 other cities around the country that will be used to help other cities and levels of government further support their residents through guaranteed income initiatives.
Our collective efforts are widely popular. New polling from Data for Progress shows that 61 percent of Americans (including 82 percent of Democrats, 59 percent of Independents, and 41 percent of Republicans) support a guaranteed income program providing monthly direct cash payments to those in need.
When voters are given more information about the structure and specific features of a guaranteed income program, the level of support slightly rises across the board. A majority (63 percent) of likely voters overall support such a program, with 83 percent of Democrats, 61 percent of Independents, and 44 percent of Republicans indicating support.
Guaranteed income is a proven policy tool that also enjoys widespread public support. These results demonstrate Americans understand that a guaranteed income offers bright opportunities in the fight to eradicate poverty and create a fairer society.
Robert Garcia (@RobertGarcia) is mayor of Long Beach, California.