California’s guaranteed income pilot program aimed at lifting families out of poverty failed to move participants toward long-term financial independence, according to a new report. Study From researchers at the University of California, Davis.
Yolo County Basic Income (YoBI) Program “No-strings-attached” cash assistance provided to a highly targeted group of at-risk residents.
While the payments served as a temporary lifeline, researchers found that, for the “significant majority” of participants, the program was not enough to break the cycle of poverty.
“Although[Basic Income]reduced some of the urgency around money and allowed households some stability, the majority of participants’ financial needs were still unmet,” the study reported.
Yolo County is one of several local municipalities providing no-strings-attached cash assistance in a poverty alleviation effort.
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The program differed from the standard Universal Basic Income (UBI) in that it focused specifically on families who had children under the age of 6 already enrolled in the state’s CalWorks program and were experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
Nolan Sullivan, former interim director of Yolo County Health and Human Services, described the initiative as a “Super Targeted Basic Income” (TBI) in 2022.
“It’s not like distributing money randomly among a group of people,” Sullivan Said In those days. “We’re focused on a specific group … really trying to break the law of generational poverty.”
Under the pilot, participants received monthly checks averaging $1,289 for a two-year period. The goal was to increase family income to 200% of the federal poverty level.
A recent study showed that the California Guaranteed Income Program did not lead to financial freedom.
UC Davis The findings, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, shed light on the “survival mode” trap, a recurring theme in guaranteed income experiments.
Participants reported that although cash helped cover predictable expenses and pay down debt, it did not provide relief for the “unexpected.” The researchers noted that car repairs, medical bills or sudden loss of employment quickly destroyed any progress made through the monthly stipend.
One participant told researchers that, without the program, the participant would likely be “out there looking for a place to sleep.” However, the study concludes that, despite these “lived experience” successes in preventing homelessness, a clear path to total financial self-sufficiency remains elusive for most.
Newly launched coalition with ‘Affordability Agenda’ pledges to attack guaranteed income programs
The Yolo County Board of Supervisors began issuing payments to poverty-stricken families in April 2022. Similar to many other guaranteed income programs, it was started as a pilot and studied by academics to measure its impact.
Despite the lack of long-term financial independence cited in the Yolo County study, advocates continue to push for the expansion of such programs. This is what pilots have spread throughout the countryCook County, along with Illinois, recently transformed its pilot into the nation’s first permanent guaranteed income program.
However, critics argue that these programs create a “fiscal crisis” that causes recipients to struggle even more when temporary government funding ends.
Yolo County officials did not respond. fox news of digital Request for comment.
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Original article source: Study finds California ‘basic income’ experiment failing to deliver ‘financial freedom’
