Unlike the more widely known universal basic income proposal, the guaranteed income program being tested here offers no-strings-attached cash transfers to families based on trust. Households can spend the money on whatever they want rather than abide by strict and often invasive rules.
Advocates Are Piloting a New Kind of Income Assistance
by Jesse Marx, Voice of San Diego, 9/8/22
Name a physically demanding job and it’s probably on Kelvin Marshall’s resume. He’s been in the workforce for decades but struggled to keep pace with San Diego’s extreme cost of living when the pandemic hit.
The single dad was selected earlier this year for a program experimenting with a different kind of assistance known as guaranteed income. Contrary to most other forms of welfare, this one can be spent on whatever he wants.
The Marshalls are one of 150 local families in the pilot led by San Diego for Every Child, a nonprofit sponsored by Jewish Family Service. Those households make less than $53,000 a year and have a child under 12. They must also reside in Encanto, Paradise Hills, San Ysidro or National City — zip codes experiencing high levels of poverty, food insecurity and environmental health concerns.
Marshall used his $500 a month to buy backpacks for his daughters as well as clothing, shoes and food. The direct-cash payments haven’t alleviated all the financial pressure in the household, but it has certainly helped.
