Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Fresno Leaders Voice ‘Full Support’ for Pismo’s Restaurant Manager in ICE Custody

2 hours ago

Poll: Katie Porter Holds Early Edge in California Governor’s Race

4 hours ago

Just 38% of Americans Support Trump’s Use of Troops to Police DC, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

5 hours ago

Families Leave Gaza City After Night of Bombardment, Israelis Protest

7 hours ago

California Farming Couple Seeks $300 Million for Aspen Estate

8 hours ago

Trump Administration Cannot Sue Maryland Federal Judges Over Immigration Order, Judge Rules

8 hours ago

California Republicans Sue to Block Congressional Redistricting Plan

1 day ago

Trump To Sign Executive Order Directing AG To Prosecute Flag Desecration

1 day ago

Fresno County DUI Crash Sends Car Into Embankment Near Highway 99

1 day ago
Guaranteed Income Gains Favor as Mayors Across the Country Sign On
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
September 17, 2020

Share

A growing number of mayors across the country support giving cash to low-income families with no restrictions on how they can spend it — part of a growing movement to establish a guaranteed minimum income to combat poverty and systemic racism.

The effort is being led by Michael Tubbs, the 30-year-old mayor of Stockton, who launched one of the country’s first guaranteed income programs last year with the help of private donations from Silicon Valley. Now, mayors in at least 25 cities — from Los Angeles to Paterson, New Jersey — have pledged to support such programs as part of the group Mayors for a Guaranteed Income.

The idea of guaranteed income programs has been around for decades, but it got a lot of attention in the U.S. as the centerpiece of Andrew Yang’s failed bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

‘Has to be a Federal Solution’

Critics have scoffed at Yang’s plan, which would have cost $2.8 trillion a year while giving every American $1,000 a month. Pilot programs launching in some cities across the country are covering just a few hundred people at most. The goal, Tubbs said, is to convince the federal government to launch a guaranteed income program by providing “the stories and the cover to do what is right.”

“It has to be a federal solution,” he said Wednesday. “We understand that a guaranteed income is not a panacea for everything (but) is a powerful tool that provides a floor for everyone.”

Mayors have work to do to win over critics, including Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a fiscally conservative advocacy group.

“Socialism is great until you run out of other people’s money,” he said, loosely quoting former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. “The concept of universal minimum income is foolish. It disincentivizes work and that is socially destructive.”

Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs is leading a movement to give cash to low-income families with no restrictions on how they can spend it. It’s part of a growing effort to establish a guaranteed minimum income as a way to combat poverty and systemic racism. Tubbs launched one of the country’s first guaranteed income programs last year. (AP File/Rich Pedroncelli)

Stockton Program Began in 2019

Stockton’s program began in early 2019, giving $500 a month to 125 people. It was supposed to end in August, but Tubbs extended it through January because of the pandemic.

The program is funded entirely by private donations. But some of the other programs outlined Wednesday by mayors at a news conference would rely on a mix of public and private money. In St. Paul, Minnesota, Mayor Melvin Carter plans to use money from the federal CARES Act to fund the first phase of that city’s program, which will provide $500 a month to as many as 150 low-income families with young children.

In Los Angeles, the country’s second-largest city, Mayor Eric Garcetti has pledged to launch a program that includes a mix of public and private money. He hinted the program could also help immigrants living in the country illegally “who have been written out of federal legislation.”

“At a moment of racial injustice, we see this as a way forward,” Garcetti said.

Long Beach and Oakland Planning Guaranteed Income Programs

In Hudson, New York, a city of about 6,000 people, Mayor Kamal Johnson said about 25 people are getting $500 a month for five years. That program is funded by private donations and will benefit people who are at least 18 and make $35,000 a year or less.

“We live in a city right now where people feel like they just work, pay bills and die,” Johnson said. “Being in one of the most powerful nations in the world, that shouldn’t be the way that people are living.”

In Pittsburgh, Mayor William Peduto is launching a program later this year to give $500 a month to 200 families. Half of that money would go to families headed by Black women. Researchers will compare the impact on that group versus the impact on the 100 families not headed by Black women to measure the impact of systemic racism.

Other programs are planned in Oakland and Long Beach; Mount Vernon, New York; Tecoma, Washington; and Paterson, New Jersey.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Asks US Supreme Court to Halt Foreign Aid Payments

DON'T MISS

Hamas Challenges Israeli Account of Gaza Hospital Casualties

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Set to Hire Deputy Superintendent With Impressive Credentials

DON'T MISS

Meta to Launch California Super PAC Backing Pro-AI Candidates

DON'T MISS

Poll: Californians Overwhelmingly Reject Trump’s Immigration Policies

DON'T MISS

Fresno Leaders Voice ‘Full Support’ for Pismo’s Restaurant Manager in ICE Custody

DON'T MISS

Leaked Audio Reveals Ex-Israeli Intelligence Chief Calling Gaza Deaths ‘Necessary’

DON'T MISS

Texas GOP Congressional Candidate Burns Quran With Flamethrower

DON'T MISS

Madera County Authorities Arrest Army Sergeant in Child Sexual Abuse Material Investigation

DON'T MISS

California High-Speed Rail Project Hit With New $175 Million Cut

UP NEXT

Meta to Launch California Super PAC Backing Pro-AI Candidates

UP NEXT

Poll: Californians Overwhelmingly Reject Trump’s Immigration Policies

UP NEXT

Texas GOP Congressional Candidate Burns Quran With Flamethrower

UP NEXT

California High-Speed Rail Project Hit With New $175 Million Cut

UP NEXT

Poll: Katie Porter Holds Early Edge in California Governor’s Race

UP NEXT

Just 38% of Americans Support Trump’s Use of Troops to Police DC, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

UP NEXT

US to Seek Death Penalty in Washington D.C. Homicide Cases, Trump Says

UP NEXT

ICE Is Suddenly Showing Up in CA Hospitals. Workers Want More Guidance on What to Do

UP NEXT

Coarsegold Elementary Briefly Locked Down After Student Brings Starter Pistol

UP NEXT

HHS Asks 46 States and Territories to Remove ‘Gender Ideology’ Content From Sex Ed Materials

Meta to Launch California Super PAC Backing Pro-AI Candidates

1 hour ago

Poll: Californians Overwhelmingly Reject Trump’s Immigration Policies

1 hour ago

Fresno Leaders Voice ‘Full Support’ for Pismo’s Restaurant Manager in ICE Custody

2 hours ago

Leaked Audio Reveals Ex-Israeli Intelligence Chief Calling Gaza Deaths ‘Necessary’

2 hours ago

Texas GOP Congressional Candidate Burns Quran With Flamethrower

2 hours ago

Madera County Authorities Arrest Army Sergeant in Child Sexual Abuse Material Investigation

3 hours ago

California High-Speed Rail Project Hit With New $175 Million Cut

3 hours ago

Poll: Katie Porter Holds Early Edge in California Governor’s Race

4 hours ago

Fresno Restaurateur Bobby Salazar Charged by Feds With Arson

4 hours ago

Just 38% of Americans Support Trump’s Use of Troops to Police DC, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

5 hours ago

Trump Administration Asks US Supreme Court to Halt Foreign Aid Payments

President Donald Trump’s administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to lift an injunction that it says will force the Stat...

11 minutes ago

People walk across the plaza of the U.S. Supreme Court building on the first day of the court's new term in Washington, U.S. October 3, 2022. (Reuters File)
11 minutes ago

Trump Administration Asks US Supreme Court to Halt Foreign Aid Payments

People walk at the site of Israeli strikes on Nasser hospital where Palestinian cameraman Hussam al-Masri, who was a contractor for Reuters, was killed along with other journalists and people, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip in this still image taken from video, August 25, 2025. (Reuters File)
13 minutes ago

Hamas Challenges Israeli Account of Gaza Hospital Casualties

FUSD Fresno Unified employment agreement Ben Drati
34 minutes ago

Fresno Unified Set to Hire Deputy Superintendent With Impressive Credentials

1 hour ago

Meta to Launch California Super PAC Backing Pro-AI Candidates

1 hour ago

Poll: Californians Overwhelmingly Reject Trump’s Immigration Policies

2 hours ago

Fresno Leaders Voice ‘Full Support’ for Pismo’s Restaurant Manager in ICE Custody

2 hours ago

Leaked Audio Reveals Ex-Israeli Intelligence Chief Calling Gaza Deaths ‘Necessary’

Texas congressional candidate Valentina Gomez posted a campaign video burning the Quran with a flamethrower while vowing to “end Islam,” sparking swift condemnation. (Video Screenshot)
2 hours ago

Texas GOP Congressional Candidate Burns Quran With Flamethrower

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend