Mayor Is Giving People $500 A Month Has Advice For Trump.
Mayor Is Giving People $500 A Month, No Strings Attached. Here’s His Advice For Trump.
As the coronavirus pandemic shatters the economy, Stockton, California, Mayor Michael Tubbs has two words for the president: “Go big.”
As the coronavirus pandemic shatters the economy and redraws society, policymakers are scrambling to find ways to soften the economic gut punch. This means policies once considered fringe are suddenly racing up the mainstream political agenda. Universal basic income ― the idea of giving people no-strings-attached cash handouts ― is one of those finding increasing traction.
The Trump administration has taken a very limited step in that direction by showing support for the $2 trillion emergency relief bill making its way through Congress. The bill includes direct payments to Americans to help them weather the economic storm.
Under the stimulus plan, individuals would receive one-off payments of $1,200 ($2,400 for couples) and an extra $500 for each child 16 or younger. The payments would be phased down for those earning between $75,000 and $99,000, and those making more would be ineligible for payments. It’s estimated about 90% of Americans would qualify for this relief.
What’s being offered is not a universal basic income. It’s means-tested, therefore not universal, and it’s just a one-time payment, not something that could help people meet their needs on an ongoing basis.
But it further opens up the long-running conversation about whether people should be entitled to some kind of guaranteed income to meet their needs. That’s something that Michael Tubbs, the 29-year-old mayor of Stockton, California, welcomes with open arms.
Tubbs has skin in the UBI game. He’s been conducting a trial of a guaranteed income in his city since February, giving 125 residents ― all of whom live at or below the city’s median income level of about $46,000 ― $500 a month in cash with no strings attached. Funded by a grant from the Economic Security Project, the project is set to last 18 months. Promising initial results show that people are using the money to help reduce income volatility.
Offering direct payments is “a great start,” said Tubbs. “I’m happy that our federal government has shown a willingness to understand… that during times of crisis, the best thing you can do is to give folks cash to navigate through.” He cautioned, though, that the amount proposed by the administration is too small to soften the enormous economic blow many people are facing, and it needs to be recurring. “It has to last at least as long as the crisis.”
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