The New Deal 2021 Moment > Economic & Social Contract: Safety Net In A Nation-wide Experiment For Universal Basic Income

The momentum is accelerating with a second grant after the first initial donation in July 2020 through his #startsmall initiative.

Dorsey on Twitter thanked the MGI mayors "for these universal basic income pilots," and added, "I hope they inform federal policy in the future."

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MGI was founded earlier this year to "to advocate for a guaranteed income — direct, recurring cash payments..." About 30 mayors have signed on.

"We need a social safety net that goes beyond conditional benefits tied to employment, works for everyone and begins to address the call for racial and economic justice through guaranteed income, . . "

"If [Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell] won’t act, Mayors will to provide a floor for our constituents and push for federal policy. We need a guaranteed income, . . "

Here's the press release yesterday:

Mayors For A Guaranteed Income Receives $15 Million Grant from Jack Dorsey

Mayors for a Guaranteed Income | 2020-12-08T16:09:57-0600

New funding helps launch guaranteed income programs helmed by member mayors in 25+ U.S. cities

STOCKTON, Calif — December 8, 2020; 9AM PT -- Mayors For A Guaranteed Income (MGI) today held a press call announcing a second grant of $15M from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey through his #startsmall initiative. This builds on Dorsey’s initial donation of $3 million in July 2020.

These new funds are already being allocated to launch or expand guaranteed income pilots in U.S. cities including Columbia, SC; Los Angeles, CA; Madison, WI; Pittsburgh, PA; Providence, RI; Richmond, VA; Tacoma, WA; Saint Paul, MN; and New Orleans, LA, with more cities to be announced later. The full recording of the press call can be found here. 

Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, who founded MGI following the demonstrable impact of Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED), the first mayor-led guaranteed income pilot, said: “We are a nation in crisis and the last one of this scale yielded dramatic social reform; this is our New Deal moment. We need a social safety net that goes beyond conditional benefits tied to employment, works for everyone and begins to address the call for racial and economic justice through a guaranteed income. These pilots and the resulting evidence will be instrumental in shaping what the 2021 social contract looks like in America.”  

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti sits on the Mayors For A Guaranteed Income executive committee and said, “The grant is a testament to the momentum of this organization and cause -- and a tribute to a simple, yet innovative idea: that offering direct aid to struggling families translates into greater security for our economy, stability for our communities, and peace of mind for households across our cities. With this investment, we can act on that mission and activate a new way of lifting up folks hard-hit by the short-term pain of the pandemic or the long-term consequences from structural and institutional inequalities.”

Mayor of Madison, WI Satya Rhodes-Conway said: “I am deeply appreciative of this seed funding which will allow a group of Madison families to chart their own path toward financial stability. Because affordable housing is such a critical issue in the City of Madison, my staff is exploring how we can design and implement a pilot that places housing affordability and security at the center of this conversation.”

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PLEASE NOTE: In addition to pilots, MGI also advocates for cash-based policies at the federal level. There are currently at least 10 Congressional bills to provide pandemic-related payments to struggling Americans, and more than 125 economists recently demanded national leaders pass another round of stimulus checks.

MGI, together with the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice, has also established the Center for Guaranteed Income Research to consolidate the key learnings from the pilots taking place in MGI member cities to address knowledge gaps and allow the organization to layer data with anecdotal evidence.

Mayors for a Guaranteed Income

Contact

info@mayorsforagi.org

More > About Mayors for a Guaranteed Income

Building off his first-of-its-kind guaranteed income pilot (SEED) and rooted in Dr. King’s legacy, Mayor Michael D. Tubbs (Stockton, CA) founded Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI), in partnership with the Economic Security Project,  in June 2020.

Since its establishment in June 2020, the coalition has created a significant increase in support for guaranteed income policy across the country, passing a resolution in support of guaranteed income at the United States Conference of Mayors and submitting a sign on letter to House and Senate leadership in support of the Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act. Follow MGI on Twitter and Facebook.