The pilots seek to prove the effectiveness of social safety net programs that aspire to put monthly sums in families’ pockets with no restrictions on how they can use the cash. The idea has gained national prominence in recent years as a result of its high-profile liberal backers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang. Universal basic income seeks to spread those payments widely, and guaranteed income -- the idea backed by mayors -- generally calibrates the aid to economic need.
These and other advocates say there’s great economic promise in the idea of no-strings-attached monthly assistance — pointing to the success of the one-time, $1,200 payments that the federal government made to millions of Americans as part of the $2 trillion stimulus Congress adopted earlier this year.
Critics, however, balk at a wide array of issues, including the cost of such payments delivered on a nationwide scale. The same fiscal constraints have loomed large over Congress in recent months, precluding lawmakers from authorizing another round of direct aid. The new $908 billion blueprint that Senate Democrats and Republicans unveiled last week did not include another round of stimulus checks, frustrating the likes of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who quickly announced his opposition to the measure.
On Tuesday, mayors from across the country called on Congress to authorize additional aid for millions of Americans and adopt a form of UBI at a national level, arguing that their experiments so far had proven that direct monetary assistance to Americans can help them escape poverty while providing their local economies with a much-needed boost.
“We see this as one step closer to meeting the immediate needs of some of our constituents,” said, Michael Tubbs, the mayor of Stockton and founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. He faulted Republicans in Congress for standing in the way of a stimulus bill and stressed that the country needs “a covid relief package that includes monthly stimulus checks.”
Twenty-six cities’ mayors have signed onto the mayors’ campaign since it launched earlier this year. Pilot programs are already operational in Compton, Calif., which is funding 800 residents at varying amounts for the next two years, and St. Paul, MN, which is providing $500 each month to 150 low-income families for up to 18 months.
Cities including Madison, Pittsburgh and Richmond previously have announced efforts to write monthly checks to their residents for a year or more, relying on a mix of philanthropic dollars and some aid adopted as part of the $2 trillion Cares Act to fund their work. Others including New Orleans and Columbia, S.C., announced plans to do so in the coming months.
The mayors’ initiative itself grew out of support from the Economic Security Project, a nonprofit created with the help of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes that previously had experimented with guaranteed income projects in cities across the country. Their work benefited from an earlier $3 million donation from Dorsey, the chief executive of Twitter as well as the payments company Square, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The drive to deliver direct payments reflects a growing push on the part of city and state leaders to adopt their own, local stimulus efforts -- as their economies worsen and Washington fails to provide swift help. Policymakers nationwide have explored a flurry of efforts to authorize stimulus payments, boost aid for unemployed workers and tackle housing affordability, citing months of political deadlock between Democrats and Republicans in Congress.
In doing so, though, many mayors on Tuesday warned they are limited in their ability to act independently, citing their own budget difficulties at a time when the pandemic continues to cut deeply into their finances as well.
Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles, pointed to his city’s efforts to distribute $36 million in cash cards to residents in greatest need over the summer — money, he said, that helped many pay for food and other expenses at a time of widespread unemployment.
But, he warned: “American cities won’t be able to lift this long term by themselves. This is to prove the concept so we can have national and state leadership.”
December 09, 2020 at 12:58AM
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/12/08/cities-stimulus-checks-twitter-dorsey/
Cities ramp up efforts to send direct checks to residents after $15 million donation from Twitter CEO - Washington Post
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