Income Guarantee Program Launched in Los Angeles: How to Apply

Los Angeles, California has launched a universal basic income program. The time for submitting an application is limited. Edition Fox News told when and how you can connect to it.

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Los Angeles residents who are approved to participate in the program will receive $ 1000 monthly. There should be 3200 such families. The program will cost $ 40 million.

Mayor Eric Garcetti (Los Angeles) supports the program and says it is a necessary step to lift people out of poverty. But critics hailed such a program as an example of a policy that reduces incentives to work in the face of labor shortages.

“There are still millions of low-skill jobs out there, and there are small business owners who can't find workers for their companies,” said Michael Faulkender, who served as the Treasury Department's assistant administrator for economic policy during the Donald Trump administration.

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Conditions for obtaining a guaranteed income

Make sure you qualify before applying for the program. Approximately 3000 Los Angeles residents will be randomly selected from candidates that meet all five selection criteria:

1. You live in Los Angeles.

2. You are at least 18 years old.

3. You have at least one dependent child (under 18 or student under 24) or are pregnant.

4. Your income does not exceed the federal poverty level:

• 1 person – $12
• 2 people – $17
• 3 people – $21
• 4 people – $26
• 5 person – $31
• 6 person – $35
• 7 person – $40
• 8 person – $44
• For each additional person in a family of more than 8 people + $ 4 540

5. You have experienced economic or medical hardship related to COVID-19.

You can apply for participation in the program by link.

If you do not meet the eligibility criteria, you will not be allowed to proceed to the next step in the application process.

Program in Chicago

A similar program should start in Chicago in 2022. It provides $ 31,5 million, which will allow 5000 families to receive $ 500 a month.

Applicants for the Chicago program will be randomly selected but must earn less than $ 35 per year to qualify. Applications have not yet been opened, but the mayor's office will provide more details ahead of the launch of the program in 000, a mayor's office spokesman said.

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“The monthly cash assistance pilot will target low-income Chicagoans,” the spokesperson explained. “Now that the City Council has authorized us to begin developing this program, we will work closely with many experts to ensure that the program meets the mayor's goal of mitigating the impact of poverty on Chicago families.”

First program

The first such program was launched in Stockton, California, with monthly payments to 125 residents in 2019.

Then-Mayor Michael Tubbs noted that most recipients spent at least a third of their payments on food.

Mayors from nearly 40 other cities have confirmed that they are also considering plans to launch income security programs, including Denver, Newark, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and New Orleans.

St. Paul, Minnesota, approved a pilot basic income program last year, and Oakland, California is accepting applications for its own program.

Mayors plan to use part of the funds from the coronavirus financial aid package to pay for pilot programs, but some critics believe that this will create a false impression of the program's possible success.

But critics say the only way to expand the program is to raise taxes on city residents.

The payments will continue throughout the year, after which the cities will assess the success and determine the next steps of the program.

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