Los Angeles will pay 1,000 residents to receive $1,000 universal income over three years

Los Angeles has just launched a Guaranteed Income Program that will select 1,000 residents to earn $ 1,000 over three years.

On Thursday, dozens of residents in South Los Angeles stood up to apply for the ‘Breathe: LA County’s Guaranteed Income Program’- California‘s latest Universal Basic Income program.

The no strings attached program will provide $ 1,000 to 1,000 Los Angeles residents each month for three calendar years through a debit card provided by the County.

To be eligible for the program, LA residents must be at least 18 years old, have a household income below $ 56,000 for one person or $ 96,000 for a household of four, and be financially affected by the pandemic.

Applicants must also live in a neighborhood where the median household income is not higher than that of the province.

Application for the program, which launched on Thursday, will be open until April 13.

This is the last such program in California, last year LA county launched BIG: LEAP, will give $ 1,000 in cash to 3,200 households and Compton and Long Beach also launched similar programs over the last year.

Mayor Eric Garcetti at the time called it “the largest guaranteed basic income program anywhere in the United States of America.”

A version of the UBI program, which became popular with former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, has received more attention after the pandemic silenced millions of workers.

Cities across the country are trying pilot programs for guaranteed income, as researchers hope the results will give them a fuller picture of what happens when a variety of people are sent payments that guarantee a basic life.

Last October Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the launch of a $ 31 million universal basic income pilot who would give $ 500 a month to low-income families.

In New York City, a pilot program was announced this summer that would provide payments of $ 1,250 to as many as 40 homeless people between the ages of 18 and 24 for two years – without strings attached.

Recipients can apply how they want their money, such as in incremental payments or in advance as cash, and have no limits on how they could spend it.

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chairman Holly Mitchell, who formally opened the application period at Thursday’s launch event CBS Los Angeles the program is an attempt to figure out how they can reduce systemic poverty by providing people with a minimum income to care for their families.

“We all know what we have experienced over the last two years, a double pandemic, both public health and economically, and honestly, it has hit communities hardest that have already suffered and challenged to come from month to month,” he said. Mitchell.

Mitchell said funding for the program comes from the government and a number of foundations and that it will be overseen by the LA County Poverty Alleviation Initiative and a research team from the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Guaranteed Income Research, which will investigate which long-term impact on the extra income has on the economic well-being of residents.

Since 2019, about 40 mayors have begun considering or successfully launching guaranteed income programs.

But critics warn of a potential downside, people who rely on fixed income may be discouraged from joining the staff.

In October, the National Federation of Independent Business reported that more than half of small businesses have problems filling jobs.