SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The mayor of Oakland, California on Tuesday announced a privately funded program that will give low-income families of color $500 per month with no rules on how they can spend it, The program is the latest example of “guaranteed income," an idea that giving poor people a set amount of money each month to ease the stresses of poverty that contribute to poor health and hinder their ability to find full-time work.
The idea isn't new, but it's gotten a lot of attention lately after a some mayors have launched small, temporary programs across the country in a coordinated effort to convince Congress to adopt the program nationally.