TELL ME YA CHEESIN FAM?
I walk around a little edgy already
Cotidamn you're a c00nGive a fish instead of teaching how to fish
A 29-year-old Black mayor is giving his city's poorest residents $500 per month.
- Thread starter Sonic Boom of the South
- Start date
I'm torn on this. On one hand its a positive, on another hand I'm not fond of handouts.
Imma c00n for wanting my people to learn how to make money instead of handouts...
Its unsustainable.
Every little bit helps.
This city is giving residents $500 per month. Some hope it can become a national plan
This city is giving residents $500 per month. Some hope it can become a national plan
Published Sun, Jul 12 202
09:45 AM EDT
Updated Sun, Jul 12 2020
12:35 PM EDT
Lorie Konish@LorieKonish
Key Points
Tomas Vargas, Jr., of Stockton, Calif., says that receiving money through the city’s universal basic income experiment has been life changing.
Snap Jackson Photography
A few years ago, Tomas Vargas, Jr., was having a tough time supporting his family.
The Stockton, California, resident, a part-time supervisor at UPS, found his paychecks were not enough to cover his expenses. To pick up extra cash, he looked for more work, by fixing cars and helping neighbors out around their houses.
“I was stressed out,” Vargas, 36, said. “I was living paycheck by paycheck but I was having to hustle on top of it to get my bills paid.”
Then, something changed. He was selected to participate in a new program offered by the city.
Called SEED, which stands for Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, the program set out to give 125 city residents $500 per month for 18 months.
At first, Vargas said he thought it was a joke. Today, he says the money has made a real difference in his life.
Having the extra income enabled him to think about his future and find more meaningful full-time work. He could also spend more time with his family.
watch now
VIDEO03:12
Debate over extending coronavirus unemployment benefits continues
“The most important time is with your kids when they’re young,” Vargas said. “I got the opportunity to do that.”
Stockton’s experiment comes amid a national debate over how to give Americans more financial support. The coronavirus pandemic has prompted Congress to send millions of Americans $1,200 stimulus checks and give unemployed individuals an extra $600 per week to help limit the financial damage.
But that help is limited, while COVID-19 rages on. All eyes are on Congress to see whether they will send a second wave of stimulus checks and extend the extra $600 per month in unemployment benefits.
While some Republicans have called for reining in spending, some Democrats have suggested even more generous programs. One bill proposed by Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.; Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; and Ed Markey, D-Mass.; would send as much as $10,000 per month to American families for the duration of the pandemic.
People know what they need, and so it’s just very efficient to deliver a cash payment.
Elaine Maag
Senior research associate, Urban Institute
The plan is a spin on universal basic income, whereby the government provides people with a guaranteed amount of money per month.
Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs first learned of the concept as a student at Stanford University, when reading Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” in which he calls for a basic income to help fight wealth inequality.
“I remember reading that as a college freshman and thinking, ‘Wow, I had never heard this part of his legacy. I wonder what happened. Why was that not taught?’” Tubbs said.
Years later, Tubbs came upon the idea again in 2017, when he was elected mayor of Stockton, his home town. He asked his policy team to research ideas for programs to address various issues, and universal basic income popped up again.
Michael Tubbs, Mayor of Stockton, poses for a photograph at his office in Stockton, California on February 7, 2020.
Nick Otto | AFP | Getty Images
“I think the crux of most of our issues in Stockton are poverty and systemic universal poverty,” Tubbs said.
Putting something together required careful planning. As a first-year mayor, Tubbs said he knew the idea was politically risky.
In February 2019, SEED began sending $500 per month to 125 randomly selected residents.
The program was originally an 18-month experiment. However, it has been extended to 24 months, due to COVID-19 and through donations from philanthropist Carol Tonan. The last payments will be issued in January.
To qualify, residents must be 18 or over and live in a neighborhood at or below Stockton’s median household income of $46,000.
There is no racial justice without economic justice. It’s a key policy moment right now for guaranteed income.
Sukhi Samra
Director, Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration
The program studies recipients with one key question in mind: How is guaranteed income impacting their income volatility?
Evidence points to a positive difference in the lives of the recipients, said Sukhi Samra, director of SEED.
Most are using the money for basic expenses which allows them to spend more time with their children, Samra said. One woman he cited was able to quit her second job as an Uber driver, which made her feel unsafe, but was forced to do to make ends meet.
Others have said they have less anxiety and stress, are sleeping better and have improved relationships with their spouses and children.
Critics say such programs are a handout for people who should work to earn more money.
“There’s always the fear that we’re going to give money to someone who doesn’t deserve it,” said Elaine Maag, senior research associate at the Urban Institute.
Yet other government programs might not provide support exactly where individuals and families most need it, she said.
“People know what they need, and so it’s just very efficient to deliver a cash payment,” Maag said.
SEED’s goal goes beyond improving the lives of local recipients. It also strives to make the case for universal basic income on a national level.
To that end, the program is gathering data to compare people who are receiving the money to those who are not.
“Covid-19 has illustrated what we already intuitively knew to be true,” Samra said. “The economy just isn’t working for most working class Americans.”
Stockton is the county seat of San Joaquin County in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California
DenisTangneyJr
The movement also coincides with the racial protests taking place around the country.
“These conversations are inextricably linked. There is no racial justice without economic justice,” Samra said. “It’s a key policy moment right now for guaranteed income.”
Tubbs said he is advocating for bigger adoption of the idea. To that end, he has spoken with House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and almost every major Democratic presidential campaign.
In the meantime, more cities are making plans to implement similar programs.
Last month, 11 U.S. mayors including Tubbs formed a coalition called Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. They represent cities including Jackson, Miss.; St. Paul, Minn.; Newark, N.J.; Compton, Calif., Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif.; Shreveport, La.; Tacoma, Wash.; Columbia, S.C.; and Atlanta.
Some mayors will initiate a program in their cities before the end of the year, while others are more tentative, Tubbs said. Together, they are advocating for the concept to be duplicated on a federal level.
“This is not Democrat or Republican. This is really an American thing,” Tubbs said. “Hopefully with enough conversation, with enough mayors, we can push our federal friends to come together and put this in place for our residents.”
For people like Vargas, the difference the extra income can make is tangible. But the program’s benefits go beyond just money.
Earlier this year, Vargas’ new job a local airport fell through due to COVID-19. But he was able to find a new one from a connection he made through the SEED program. Now, he works at a non-profit helping to educate young people who are about to become parents.
It’s part of the positive example he promised he would set a decade ago, after attending 13 funerals in one year mostly due to street violence.
“It gives a lot of hope to people who have nothing at all,” Vargas said of the SEED program. “Even the little bit they’re doing now makes the biggest difference. I hope it gets bigger and helps other people out.”
This city is giving residents $500 per month. Some hope it can become a national plan
Published Sun, Jul 12 202
09:45 AM EDT
Updated Sun, Jul 12 2020
12:35 PM EDT
Lorie Konish@LorieKonish
Key Points
- Stockton, California, recently extended its universal basic income experiment, which gives some residents $500 per month, to help them cope with the COVID-19 crisis.
- Now, a coalition of 11 mayors, including Stockton’s, are taking a look at implementing similar programs.
- The experiments bring to life a concept written about by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and come at a time when Congress faces big questions about how to best support Americans families.
Tomas Vargas, Jr., of Stockton, Calif., says that receiving money through the city’s universal basic income experiment has been life changing.
Snap Jackson Photography
A few years ago, Tomas Vargas, Jr., was having a tough time supporting his family.
The Stockton, California, resident, a part-time supervisor at UPS, found his paychecks were not enough to cover his expenses. To pick up extra cash, he looked for more work, by fixing cars and helping neighbors out around their houses.
“I was stressed out,” Vargas, 36, said. “I was living paycheck by paycheck but I was having to hustle on top of it to get my bills paid.”
Then, something changed. He was selected to participate in a new program offered by the city.
Called SEED, which stands for Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, the program set out to give 125 city residents $500 per month for 18 months.
At first, Vargas said he thought it was a joke. Today, he says the money has made a real difference in his life.
Having the extra income enabled him to think about his future and find more meaningful full-time work. He could also spend more time with his family.
watch now
VIDEO03:12
Debate over extending coronavirus unemployment benefits continues
“The most important time is with your kids when they’re young,” Vargas said. “I got the opportunity to do that.”
Stockton’s experiment comes amid a national debate over how to give Americans more financial support. The coronavirus pandemic has prompted Congress to send millions of Americans $1,200 stimulus checks and give unemployed individuals an extra $600 per week to help limit the financial damage.
But that help is limited, while COVID-19 rages on. All eyes are on Congress to see whether they will send a second wave of stimulus checks and extend the extra $600 per month in unemployment benefits.
While some Republicans have called for reining in spending, some Democrats have suggested even more generous programs. One bill proposed by Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.; Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; and Ed Markey, D-Mass.; would send as much as $10,000 per month to American families for the duration of the pandemic.
People know what they need, and so it’s just very efficient to deliver a cash payment.
Elaine Maag
Senior research associate, Urban Institute
The plan is a spin on universal basic income, whereby the government provides people with a guaranteed amount of money per month.
Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs first learned of the concept as a student at Stanford University, when reading Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” in which he calls for a basic income to help fight wealth inequality.
“I remember reading that as a college freshman and thinking, ‘Wow, I had never heard this part of his legacy. I wonder what happened. Why was that not taught?’” Tubbs said.
Years later, Tubbs came upon the idea again in 2017, when he was elected mayor of Stockton, his home town. He asked his policy team to research ideas for programs to address various issues, and universal basic income popped up again.
Michael Tubbs, Mayor of Stockton, poses for a photograph at his office in Stockton, California on February 7, 2020.
Nick Otto | AFP | Getty Images
“I think the crux of most of our issues in Stockton are poverty and systemic universal poverty,” Tubbs said.
Putting something together required careful planning. As a first-year mayor, Tubbs said he knew the idea was politically risky.
In February 2019, SEED began sending $500 per month to 125 randomly selected residents.
The program was originally an 18-month experiment. However, it has been extended to 24 months, due to COVID-19 and through donations from philanthropist Carol Tonan. The last payments will be issued in January.
To qualify, residents must be 18 or over and live in a neighborhood at or below Stockton’s median household income of $46,000.
There is no racial justice without economic justice. It’s a key policy moment right now for guaranteed income.
Sukhi Samra
Director, Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration
The program studies recipients with one key question in mind: How is guaranteed income impacting their income volatility?
Evidence points to a positive difference in the lives of the recipients, said Sukhi Samra, director of SEED.
Most are using the money for basic expenses which allows them to spend more time with their children, Samra said. One woman he cited was able to quit her second job as an Uber driver, which made her feel unsafe, but was forced to do to make ends meet.
Others have said they have less anxiety and stress, are sleeping better and have improved relationships with their spouses and children.
Critics say such programs are a handout for people who should work to earn more money.
“There’s always the fear that we’re going to give money to someone who doesn’t deserve it,” said Elaine Maag, senior research associate at the Urban Institute.
Yet other government programs might not provide support exactly where individuals and families most need it, she said.
“People know what they need, and so it’s just very efficient to deliver a cash payment,” Maag said.
SEED’s goal goes beyond improving the lives of local recipients. It also strives to make the case for universal basic income on a national level.
To that end, the program is gathering data to compare people who are receiving the money to those who are not.
“Covid-19 has illustrated what we already intuitively knew to be true,” Samra said. “The economy just isn’t working for most working class Americans.”
Stockton is the county seat of San Joaquin County in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California
DenisTangneyJr
The movement also coincides with the racial protests taking place around the country.
“These conversations are inextricably linked. There is no racial justice without economic justice,” Samra said. “It’s a key policy moment right now for guaranteed income.”
Tubbs said he is advocating for bigger adoption of the idea. To that end, he has spoken with House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and almost every major Democratic presidential campaign.
In the meantime, more cities are making plans to implement similar programs.
Last month, 11 U.S. mayors including Tubbs formed a coalition called Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. They represent cities including Jackson, Miss.; St. Paul, Minn.; Newark, N.J.; Compton, Calif., Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif.; Shreveport, La.; Tacoma, Wash.; Columbia, S.C.; and Atlanta.
Some mayors will initiate a program in their cities before the end of the year, while others are more tentative, Tubbs said. Together, they are advocating for the concept to be duplicated on a federal level.
“This is not Democrat or Republican. This is really an American thing,” Tubbs said. “Hopefully with enough conversation, with enough mayors, we can push our federal friends to come together and put this in place for our residents.”
For people like Vargas, the difference the extra income can make is tangible. But the program’s benefits go beyond just money.
Earlier this year, Vargas’ new job a local airport fell through due to COVID-19. But he was able to find a new one from a connection he made through the SEED program. Now, he works at a non-profit helping to educate young people who are about to become parents.
It’s part of the positive example he promised he would set a decade ago, after attending 13 funerals in one year mostly due to street violence.
“It gives a lot of hope to people who have nothing at all,” Vargas said of the SEED program. “Even the little bit they’re doing now makes the biggest difference. I hope it gets bigger and helps other people out.”
Isn't this just welfare? 
Basic income is just welfare. Why do people act like this is some revolutionary thing?
Basic income is just welfare. Why do people act like this is some revolutionary thing?
Isn't this just welfare?
Basic income is just welfare. Why do people act like this is some revolutionary thing?
welfare is for specific allocation of goods or services, basic income is cash in hand so individuals can use it according to their own immediate needs.
VoTiNg DoEnSt hElP bLaCk PeOplE 
A 29-year-old mayor is giving his city's poorest residents $500 per month. He thinks his policy could work on a national scale.
Aria Bendix
Dec 15, 2019, 7:19 AM
Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs during an interview on August 14, 2019.
Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo
- Michael Tubbs, the 29-year-old mayor of Stockton, California, is piloting a basic-income program in his city.
- The experiment gives monthly payments of $500 to 125 residents.
- Tubbs said a similar program could work on a national level, but the money would have to come without any strings attached.
- That's why he doesn't support Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang's basic-income plan.
In California's Central Valley, a small city is testing a big idea. Since February, 125 residents of Stockton have been getting monthly payments of $500, no strings attached.
It's a trial of universal basic income that's set to last for 18 months. With about eight months left to go, the mayor of Stockton, 29-year-old Michael Tubbs, told Business Insider that the experiment is showing early signs of success.
Tubbs hopes the monthly payments will help lift some Stockton residents out of poverty. In 2012, the city became the largest in the US to file for bankruptcy. It's no longer bankrupt, but about a quarter of Stockton's population still lives below the federal poverty line.
Early data from the trial shows that the basic-income recipients have so far spent about 40% of their stipends on food and another 24% on sales and merchandise, like trips to Walmart or dollar stores. Another 11% went to paying their utilities, and about 9% went to buying gas and repairing their cars.
For Tubbs, those findings support the idea that people who get a basic income spend the money wisely, on necessities. But critics of the basic-income concept argue that cash stipends reduce the incentive for people to find jobs and may encourage recipients to make more frivolous purchases.
"When I first announced we were doing this pilot almost two years ago now, people thought of it as scary or crazy," Tubbs said. "It has now become mainstream in a way. People are really debating its merit. So from that nature, I think we're very successful."
Eventually, he said, basic income could be a way to reduce poverty across the US. Here's how Tubbs thinks a national basic-income program could work.
Tubbs doesn't support Andrew Yang's plan
Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang has made basic income a prominent part of his platform. Yang says that if elected, he would give $1,000 a month, or $12,000 a year, to every adult US citizen over 18. He calls this basic-income plan the "Freedom Dividend."
But his proposed program would require participants to forgo their existing social-security benefits (with the exception of retirement benefits). Veterans and differently abled citizens would continue to receive their current benefits alongside a basic income.
Andrew Yang enjoys a corn dog at the Iowa State Fair.
Many basic-income proponents, however, don't think that residents should have to choose between stipends and existing welfare programs (also known as "conditional" income policies). Tubbs is among them.
"I would oppose any policy that will get rid of the existing safety net and replace it with a cash transfer," he said.
As a result, Tubbs has been critical of Yang's plan. Earlier this week, he surprised many of his constituents by endorsing Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, for president.
But Tubbs acknowledged that he and Yang are working toward a similar goal.
"The timing of his ride is great because he's not just running off something that's theoretical," Tubbs said. "Stockton actually grounds his talking points to something that's real and tangible."
Could a national basic-income policy resemble the pilot in Stockton?
Tubbs has ideas about a few national policies that would resemble his pilot in Stockton.
One is a small tax that would fund a $500 monthly stipend for every American earning $50,000 or less. (Tubbs didn't specify who or what that tax would apply to.) Another possibility, he said, would be to repeal the Trump administration's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which slashed tax rates for many individuals and corporations, and use that recovered revenue to fund a basic-income policy that gives $500 per month to every household making $100,000 or less.
"There are a lot of ways to get there," Tubbs said. "I've just been very clear that I don't think people should have to opt out of existing benefits to opt in."
The type of conditional policy Tubbs doesn't support was recently tested in Finland. For two years, nearly 2,000 of the nation's unemployed residents were given a regular monthly stipend of 560 euros ($640) per month — but they had to forgo some other benefits in order to receive the money. The experiment was declared a flop.
While the US has never conducted a nationwide universal basic-income trial, it has tested a few welfare experiments since the 1960s.
Participants in Stockton's basic-income trial receive their monthly payments on a debit card provided by the city.
From 1968 to 1982, the US experimented with a negative-income tax, which allowed low-income citizens to receive money from the government instead of paying taxes. The trials ultimately involved around 9,000 citizens in New Jersey, Iowa, North Carolina, Indiana, Seattle, and Denver. The results showed a decrease in employment by the end of the program, but the experiments were considered too small to generate significant conclusions.
Since then, a few politicians have voiced support for a national basic-income policy in the US. The Green Party made it a central plank of its platform in 2010.
California Senator Kamala Harris — who most people thought Tubbs would endorse in the presidential race until she dropped out — proposed a policy that would to deliver up to $250 per month ($3,000 per year) to single Americans and up to $500 per month ($6,000 per year) to married couples. She advocated for the legislation on the campaign trial.
Harris' LIFT the Middle Class Act, however, would not apply to the nation's poorest residents, since single people had to earn at least $3,000 per year and couples had to earn at least $6,000 per year to get the full benefit. Those without any income at all wouldn't receive the money.
Susie Garza, a participant in Stockton's basic income trial, used some of the cash to finance her dog's surgery.
The act is not so different from the current earned income tax credit (EITC), which delivers a tax credit to low- and moderate-income working Americans. That policy has been criticized for favoring adults with children, since they are eligible for more money. For 2019, for instance, single people can receive a credit of up to $529, while families with three or more kids can receive up to $$6,557. All of those people have to be employed to be eligible.
Tubbs said one way to provide "an income floor for everyone" would be to expand the definition of work under the EITC to include people like caregivers and students.
Tubbs said the US isn't ready for basic income yet
Tubbs does not think a basic-income policy would ever be considered under the current administration.
"I do think the majority of Americans want to get there," he said. "But I think national leadership — particularly in the White House and the party that controls the Senate — isn't there yet."
In a conversation with Business Insider in April, Tubbs said the reason the US hasn't seriously entertained a basic-income program yet has little to do with previous trials — many of which have shown the approach has promise as a poverty-alleviating tool.
"The funny thing about basic income is that it has to be one of the most tested welfare policies in history that hasn't in fact been implemented," Michael Stynes, CEO of the nonprofit Jain Family Institute, told Business Insider.
The problem, according to Tubbs, is that many Americans don't recognize that one person's economic mobility can benefit another.
"If data just moved policy, our world would look different," he said. "It's really the storytelling and the emotion that oftentimes lead policy."
Off topic, but what's going on with your glitch-in-the-matrix-ass signature?
Jean toomer
Superstar
It’s shocking how people think UBI is just a handout. Black people mimicking republican talking points is just tragic.
Imma c00n for wanting my people to learn how to make money instead of handouts...
chill homie.VoTiNg DoEnSt hElP bLaCk PeOplE
its the NBAs responsibilty to fix these communities...
not Gov't officials.
chill homie.
its the NBAs responsibilty to fix these communities...
not Gov't officials.
