SUCCESS STORIES
Some people are being given thousands of dollars with no strings attached in universal basic income trials. They mostly spend the cash wisely.
Interest in universal basic income has grown due to the pandemic, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and economic pain.
Seattle basic income pilot shows increased employment and larger paychecks
Riko Niyomwungere is a North Seattle College student who participated in a recent guaranteed basic income pilot.
A San Antonio grandmother used guaranteed basic income to afford groceries and rent a house: ‘It’s changed my station in life’
Ingrid Sullivan, 48, was able to afford rent and groceries with San Antonio’s basic-income program.
Places across the U.S. are testing no-strings cash as part of the social safety net
Christopher Santiago recalls being skeptical the first time he heard about basic income — giving people cash with no conditions on how to spend it.
El Monte guaranteed basic income pilot program shows signs of success
The programs tracked participants spending on debit cards and found most spent it on basic needs like food, rent and gas.
San Antonio experimented with giving people $5,108 no-strings-attached. They spent it on housing and school supplies for their kids.
San Antonio gave low-income residents $5,108 each in a guaranteed basic income pilot. They used the money to pay for housing and other necessities.
Paterson, New Jersey gave residents $400 a month, ‘no strings attached.’ Here’s what happened.
What would you do if you suddenly had an extra $400 every month?Dante used it to set up a bank account and get a credit card. His credit score is now a solid 712.
Pilot Results from Arlington: Employment and Incomes from Work Both Increased
Results from Arlington’s first guaranteed income pilot reveal that an additional $500 per month significantly enhanced the quality of life for impoverished families.
They’re getting $1,000 a month for 3 years. How guaranteed income is changing lives in L.A. County
L.A. County’s Breathe program gives participants $1,000 monthly for three years, more money over a longer period than similar programs.
Minneapolis is giving people $500 a month and recipients say it is helping them fight soaring housing costs
Two hundred low-income households in Minneapolis are receiving $500 a month for two years.
D.C. sent $10,800 to dozens of new moms. Here’s how it changed their lives.
In 2022, the D.C. government announced a pilot program that offered 132 new and expecting low-income mothers $10,800 over the course of a year — no strings attached — intended to assess how unconditional cash payments could improve their families’ outcomes and economic mobility.
Alaska Is a Case Study for Universal Basic Income
For Alaskans, the concept behind universal basic income has been alive and well for the last 40 years.
Austin Gave Poor Families a Basic Income. It Changed Their Lives.
For one year, low-income families in Austin, Texas, received $1,000 a month to do whatever they wanted; they spent it on rent and “substantially” improved their situations.
One year of basic income in Minneapolis
A wave of experimentation in the way that U.S. cities, counties, and states support households with low incomes is sweeping the country, and Minneapolis is at the leading edge.
These L.A. residents got $1,000 a month. What happened after the cash stopped?
These L.A. residents got $1,000 a month. What happened after the cash stopped?
‘I can concentrate full-time on my art’: 14 months of Ireland’s Basic Income for Artists
The innovative Basic Income for the Arts scheme offers artists a payment of €325 per week. Broadly welcomed in the sector when introduced in 2022, we look at how the pilot project has been doing
Results of Saint Paul Guaranteed Income Pilot Show Increased Employment, Improved Outlook
Data is in for the nation’s first mayor-led guaranteed income pilot to use public dollars, and results show positive trends in employment, physical and mental health, and other indicators of well-being and quality of life.
Chicago and Cook County try bold experiments to combat economic inequity
There’s a pilot program called (Cook County) Promise that’s been giving thousands of low-to- moderate-income families $500 in cash every month to help them meet basic needs
$750 a month, no questions asked, improved the lives of homeless people in Los Angeles
If 100 homeless people were given $750 per month for a year, no questions asked, what would they spend it on?
Recipients of Basic Income for the Arts Report a 10% Decrease in Depression and Anxiety
Among the findings are that depression and anxiety experienced in the previous 4 weeks to the scheme decreased by almost 10%.
Direct cash payments are changing lives in Cook County
Researchers at the University of Chicago have been studying guaranteed income programs in the region, but there are some results data alone can’t reveal. So, one Chicago-based sociologist spoke with people receiving monthly cash assistance to find out more about the difference it makes in their lives.
‘It’s Basic’: Campaign for a guaranteed income ramps up in Maine
Guaranteed income pilot programs are springing up across the country, including here in Maine, and a campaign to create the building blocks for a statewide program in Maine is ramping up.
The first results from the world’s biggest basic income experiment
One of the big questions GiveDirectly is trying to answer is how to direct cash to low-income households.
Tacoma’s guaranteed income program ‘GRIT’ may help more residents over next 2 years
TACOMA, Wash. – Tacoma’s guaranteed income program ‘GRIT’ could be on track to help another round of participants over the next two years.
Hundreds of cities experiment with giving people basic income
“Guaranteed basic income” pilot programs are running in communities all over the country, both liberal and conservative. The idea could become the next big public controversy.
Mississippi program shows how giving mothers guaranteed basic income helps children
Sequaya Coleman, with her daughter, was randomly selected to receive $1,000 a month, no strings attached, for a year from the Magnolia Mother’s Trust.
Basic income for the arts: ‘That ‘Jesus Christ, what am I going to do?’ moment isn’t as bad now’
Gearóid O’Dea explains how the BIA pilot scheme has enabled him to worry less and concentrate more on developing his painting career
A Native American woman experiencing homelessness said a Denver basic income program allowed her to pay her bills and attend college
The Denver Basic Income Project has received a $2 million commitment from the City of Denver in its 2024 budget, and is in talks to determine next steps, according to Donovan.
Young parents in Baltimore are getting $1,000 a month, no strings attached, a deal so good some ‘thought it was a scam’
There was no questioning the impact, she told Insider: The money “helped me keep my life afloat.”
Basic income ‘unlocked dozens of doors for me,’ pilot participant says amid call for national program
As the Senate considers a bill that would require the creation of a national framework for basic income, supporters in Ontario say the stories of pilot participants make it clear basic income works.
Universal basic income is working — even in red states
Durham’s mayor pro tempore, Mark-Anthony Middleton, who helped oversee the program, had been advocating for his city to introduce a basic income for years.
‘I wouldn’t have food or a shower, everything has changed because of a little bit of money’
Jasmine, 18, has had a long history with social services and says she’s spent her life moving around