Calif. Proposes Universal Basic Income Pilot Programs For Poor, Local Level

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'California budget has $35 million for basic income pilot program,' PBS NewsHour, May 14, 2021.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to use a sliver of the state’s massive budget surplus to give poor people money each month with no rules on how they spend it. Newsom’s budget proposal, announced Friday, includes $35 million over five years to pay for “universal basic income pilot programs.” The idea is to give poor people money each month to help ease the stresses of poverty that can make it harder to find full-time jobs and stay healthy.

It’s believed to be the first statewide funding for such programs, which are gaining traction in cities. The idea has been around since at least the 18th century. Even the U.S. government experimented with it in the 1960s and 1970s under President Richard Nixon. It’s gotten new life in recent years thanks to former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, who launched a privately funded guaranteed income program in his Northern California city in 2019.

Since then, mayors across the country have started their own programs, including one in Oakland earlier this year that pledges to give up to 600 families $500 each month. Last month, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the city would spend $24 million to provide $1,000 per month to 2,000 households a year with “no questions asked.”

Newsom’s proposal would not create a statewide guaranteed income program. Instead, it would help pay for local governments to start their own programs. Local governments would have to help pay for it — either using local taxpayer money or finding private donors — and the programs must target low-income families...

More, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/california-budget-has-35-million-for-basic-income-pilot-programs
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- Pilot Program, Stockton, Calif. 2020
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-city-made-the-case-for-universal-basic-income-dozens-are-following-suit