YOU may be sent $500 payments per month as part of the experimental universal basic income program.
The pilot programme received more attention during the pandemic as millions of workers were idled.
3
Now places from Compton, California, to Richmond, Virginia, are trying out guaranteed income programs, as researchers hope to get a fuller picture of what happens when a range of people are sent payments that guarantee a basic living, AP reported.
The pilot program which is funded by private donations, sees 100 county residents making less than $46,900 annually getting a boost of $500 a month for a year.
The income threshold was based on 80% of the county’s average median income, meaning it includes both the poor and a slice of the middle class — people who face financial stress but might not ordinarily qualify for government aid based on income.
One of the participants, Annette Steele, a special education school aide, is getting her payments through a program in Ulster County, which covers parts of the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson River Valley.
The 57-year-old who lives in the village of Ellenville with her retired husband welcomed the financial boost and said it helps her pay for car insurance and groceries.
"It lessens my bills," she said.
"People think because you’ve been working so many years, that you make this tremendous amount of money. But no, actually."
With most basic income programs elsewhere focusing on cities, this upstate program stretches out over a mix of places: a city, small towns and remote areas many miles from bus lines and supermarkets.
"Showing that this approach will work not just in urban areas, but for rural parts of the country — which we know is one of our big national problems — I think there’s great opportunity there," Ulster County Executive Patrick Ryan told AP.
Ryan saw cash payments as a way to help struggling local families struggling during the pandemic.
3
Many people in the county were already stretched thin by housing costs before the pandemic when a large influx of New York City residents led to skyrocketing real estate prices, he said.
Recipients got the first payments in mid-May and they were told they can spend the money as they wish.
They were also told they will be asked to participate in periodic surveys about their physical health, mental health and employment status.
The Center for Guaranteed Income Research at the University of Pennsylvania, which the school formed with the Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, is evaluating the pilot program.
Recipient Eric Luna, a 26-year-old electrical lab technician, said the money will help pay the bills at the home he recently helped his parents buy in Wallkill. But he also hopes to set some aside, possibly for a master’s degree.
"I’m also learning how to save money as well," he said. "So this will be a learning experience."
Center for Guaranteed Income Research co-founder Stacia West, who is evaluating more than 20 such pilot programs, is interested in seeing how spending compares to cities like Stockton, California, where more that a third went for food.
"Knowing what we know about barriers to employment, especially in rural areas, we may see more money going toward transportation than we’ve ever seen before in any other experiment," said West, also a professor at the University of Tennessee College of Social Work. "But it remains to be seen."
Proponents of guaranteed incomes say recipients can decide to spend as they see fit — be it for food, job searches or to replace a refrigerator.
The money can complement the existing social safety net, they say, or can be used as an emergency response when the economy starts tanking.
The end goal for a number of advocates is a universal basic income (UBI) which would distribute cash payment programs for all adults.
The UBI idea helped fuel a stronger-than-expected Democratic presidential primary run last year by Andrew Yang, who proposed $1,000 a month for every American adult.
Yang, who has a second home in Ulster County, is now running for New York City mayor with a basic income proposal to help lower-income residents.
Officials say Yang hasn’t been involved in Ulster’s program, but that the nonprofit he founded, Humanity Forward, was helpful in sharing experiences on starting a UBI pilot.
Critics of cash transfer programs worry about their effectiveness and cost compared to aid programs that target funds for food, shelter or for help raising children.
Most read in Money
BAD BOBA 'Return it' blasts Costco shopper after fan wants to return 'disgusting' drinks
CUSTOMER CASH Ex-Home Depot employee reveals how to get a $50 discount for certain issues
GET CASH Payments of up to $300 going out now - but you need to meet 3 criteria
SWITCH UP Michaels to shut 1k stores for 24 hours in days - shoppers must find alternative
Drake University economics professor Heath Henderson is concerned the programs miss needier people less likely to apply, including those without homes.
Read More on The US Sun
While there are times people might benefit from a cash infusion, the money is unlikely to address the structural issues holding people back, like inadequate health care and schools, he said.
“If we keep thinking about remedying poverty in terms of just throwing cash at people, you’re not thinking about the structures that kind of reproduce poverty in the first place and you’re not really solving the problem at all,” Henderson said.
