Does a Universal Basic Income Bring Long-Term Changes?

For more than a year, The New York Times followed recipients of a universal basic income program who received $1,330 a month for an entire year.

There were benefits, but also the everyday challenges of being poor, and turning their life around “did not turn out to be quite that simple.”

Across Silicon Valley, experimental guaranteed income programs have quietly taken off. Google began funding six different initiatives in 2022 as part of a $50 million donation to nonprofits in the San Francisco Bay Area, saying basic income could be a novel way to prevent homelessness in one of the nation’s most expensive locations. Each program has hundreds of participants who receive around $1,000 a month, and academics study the results. State and federal tax laws limit the lengths of the programs and the payment amounts.

The studies have found that most basic income programs improve short-term employment and mental health while reducing food insecurity. But while data from these efforts has been closely tracked, less is known about the individual journeys of participants… The Times ultimately shadowed three people… All of the program participants, including the ones The Times followed, were previously homeless and transitioning off a housing stipend that paid for a portion of their rent, and many received the payments on top of other social assistance like food stamps.

The Times’s findings mirrored the academic studies. For all three recipients, the instant benefits of basic income were clear: They had breathing room for groceries, rent and other expenses. But the success of the payments in another area — giving people more free time and opportunity in the long term — was mixed. “It’s a lot to ask of someone to get their life together in 12 months, when a lot of these issues are structural or systemic,” said Jennifer Loving, who runs Destination: Home, a nonprofit that administers basic income programs in Silicon Valley. “And the world around them isn’t getting cheaper.”

One recipient began going to community college — but resorted to taking one class at a time while single parenting — and using their monthly payments to help support relatives. In fact, the article notes that a recent study of 3,000 universal basic income participants found that money spent supporting friends and family increased 26%, “the most of any category. That was more than the increases for food (6%) and child care (11%).”

Another recipient used the time to get help at a community college to find a higher-paying job. And one recipient died — but his mother used what he’d saved to help put his brother through a drug rehab program.

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