From Fox News · Joshua Nelson · · 2m
Cash handouts become the answer to the affordability crisis
Pandemic money is running out, so mayors are hunting for new ways to keep guaranteed income checks flowing.
In brief
Pandemic money is running out, so mayors are hunting for new ways to keep guaranteed income checks flowing. Guaranteed income is shifting from a temporary pilot funded by COVID relief to a permanent line item paid for by local taxes. Originally reported by Fox News.
Cash as the fix
The Economic Security Project, which helped launch over 100 guaranteed income programs, says rising costs make direct cash payments more urgent than ever.
“Amid the affordability crisis, we have a responsibility to share what we know about cash”
Prices are the politics
Housing, food and energy costs are squeezing households, and both parties want credit for a fix before the midterms. Labor Day brought record gas prices for nearly 40 million travelers.
This started in 2016
ESP was not born from the current squeeze. It launched with more than 100 entrepreneurs, activists, researchers and philanthropists pushing direct payments years before affordability dominated headlines.
The August report
On Aug. 12, ESP published "Right on Time," a case for making no-strings-attached cash assistance a permanent tool rather than a temporary experiment.
The evidence they cite
Authors point to data from more than 250 cash and guaranteed income pilots across 40 states and Washington, D.C., arguing the results prove cash is a legitimate policy tool.
“a wealth of data collected from over 250 cash and guaranteed-income pilots”
Target the hard moments
Instead of universal payments, the report suggests tying cash to life transitions: a new baby, a move, reentry after incarceration. ESP also frames this around job churn in an AI economy.
“cash does its strongest work in moments of transition”
The funding cliff
Cities had until Dec. 31, 2024 to obligate American Rescue Plan money and must spend most of it by Dec. 31, 2026. Dozens of mayors are scrambling to keep their pilots alive.
Evanston spends it down
The Chicago suburb is expanding its guaranteed income program with leftover ARPA funds before the clock runs out, one of over 100 municipalities running pilots since 2018.
Mayors organize
Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, led by former Stockton mayor Michael Tubbs, argues federal tax dollars should supplement incomes as rent and grocery bills climb.
Taxes replace donors
ESP wants states and cities to build dedicated revenue streams from local taxes. California already hosts more than 60 pilots, and a Texas lawmaker calls the model "lottery socialism."
“there's an active and growing movement for cash in hundreds of communities”
The key point
Guaranteed income is shifting from a temporary pilot funded by COVID relief to a permanent line item paid for by local taxes.
