MGI Establishes Center for Guaranteed Income Research with the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice
Centralized, independent research infrastructure builds evidentiary portfolio for federal guaranteed income policy
October 21, 2020 – STOCKTON, Calif. - Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI), together with the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) has established the Center for Guaranteed Income Research (the Center). The goal of the Center is to consolidate the key learnings from the pilots taking place in MGI member cities, to address knowledge gaps in the contemporary understanding of guaranteed income’s impact for Americans, and to allow the organization to layer data with anecdotal evidence in federal advocacy.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed what we as Mayors have seen for a long time in our cities across the country - that people are working, but the economy isn’t,” said Mayor Michael Tubbs, founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. “Our membership growth alone shows there’s a growing consensus that unconditional cash is the simplest, most effective solution to abolish poverty and begin to address the deeply linked issues of racial and economic injustice in America.”
The Center is co-led by Dr. Amy Castro Baker, assistant professor at SP2, and Dr. Stacia Martin-West, assistant professor University of Tennessee, College of Social Work. The co-Principal Investigators of the first mayor-led guaranteed income pilot in Stockton, Calif. and leading academics in the space will guide pilot cities through a learning agenda and oversee the research design & implementation. After the conclusion of each demonstration, MGI partner cities will release preliminary outcome evaluations prepared in partnership with the Center. After the conclusion of all MGI demonstrations, the Center will release a final report of national findings of all sites and all key research questions.
MGI member mayors are signing on to the learning agenda with an eye towards moving the needle on poverty and matching the urgency of our current economic moment with evidence-based policy proposals. This agenda builds on the existing body of cash-transfer literature, as well as the implementation and research lessons learned in Stockton to build an evidence rich pilot-to-policy pipeline.
Following in line with SEED, the first mayor-led guaranteed income demonstration in Stockton, Calif., the Center will release early snapshot data including demographics, spending behaviors, photographs, and videos on a public facing data visualization website. The dashboard will feature city-level filters, such that residents, city leaders, and policy-makers will view snapshot data from all participants, and then select their own city data to compare nationally and to others. Similar to what was built for SEED, the public-facing dashboard will be a critical tool to engage the public, ensure transparency and accountability in the research process, and elevate the topic of guaranteed income.
“A growing body of evidence indicates the power of providing an income floor to stabilize households struggling with economic insecurity, but public conversation and the pressure created by the pandemic is moving faster than the evidence,” said Dr. Amy Castro Baker. “The Center for Guaranteed Income Research will be a real-time and nimble research partner to Mayors working in the same fashion across the country to meet the economic needs of their constituents.”
MGI has been awarded a $250,000 grant from Arrow Impact, a newly established private foundation focused on improving economic opportunity for low-income families and on improving the efficiency of the philanthropic ecosystem. The funds and leadership will support MGI as it builds capacity.
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. Mayors will come together in this network to advocate for a guaranteed income—direct, recurring cash payments—that lifts all of our communities, building a resilient, just America. 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. In support of this growth and a groundswell of interest in guaranteed income, MGI has partnered with What Works Cities on a six-session online learning opportunity to elevate lessons learned and share best practices with the coalition and additional cities across the country. Interested parties can learn more or register here.Follow MGI on Twitter and Facebook.
ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL OF SOCIAL POLICY & PRACTICE
Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice is noted for its commitment to social justice and to educating students that will take an active role in the struggle against oppression. SP2 contributes to the advancement of more effective, efficient and humane human services through education, research and civic engagement. In pursuit of this mission, its theory-based masters and doctoral programs in social work, social welfare, non-profit leadership and social policy encourage students to think and work across disciplinary lines and cultures, locally, nationally, and globally. Visit www.sp2.upenn.edu and follow @PennSP2 for more.
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Mayors for a Guaranteed Income Expands Advocacy after More Than Doubling Membership in Two Months
Saint Paul, MN, Long Beach, CA, Hudson, NY, Oakland, CA, and Pittsburgh, PA will roll out full-scale pilot programs
Sept. 16, 2020 – Stockton, Calif. - Mayors for a Guaranteed Income has announced that its membership has grown from 11 founding members to 25 mayors from across the country.
The fourteen new Mayors for a Guaranteed Income members are Mayors LaToya Cantrell (New Orleans, LA); Jenny Durkan (Seattle, WA); Jorge Elorza (Providence, RI); Robert Garcia (Long Beach, CA); Kamal Johnson (Hudson, NY); Jim Kenney (Philadelphia, PA); Alex Morse (Holyoke, MA); Svante Myrick (Ithaca, NY); Shawyn Patterson-Howard (Mt. Vernon, NY); William Peduto (Pittsburgh, PA); Lauren Poe (Gainesville, FL); Satya Rhodes-Conway (Madison, WI); Andre Sayegh (Paterson, NJ); and Levar Stoney (Richmond, VA).
The founding members of the coalition are Mayors Michael D. Tubbs (Stockton, CA); Ras J. Baraka (Newark, NJ); Stephen Benjamin (Columbia, SC); Aja Brown (Compton, CA); Melvin Carter (Saint Paul, MN); Eric Garcetti (Los Angeles, CA); Keisha Lance Bottoms (Atlanta, GA); Chokwe Antar Lumumba (Jackson, MS); Adrian Perkins (Shreveport, LA); Libby Schaaf (Oakland, CA); and Victoria Woodards (Tacoma, WA).
“In Stockton, we found that giving folks agency and dignity to manage their needs with cash is the most straightforward way to address poverty, inequity and emergency of the personal and pandemic proportion,” said Stockton Mayor Michael D. Tubbs, founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. “City-level pragmatism has now taken center stage through the demonstrable success of our pilot and we welcome these new cities into the fold. We are excited for the continued growth of guaranteed income in America through civil servants like myself who want to be more and do more.”
In addition to advocating for a federal guaranteed income and supporting narrative change efforts to highlight the lived experiences of economic insecurity, five mayors have already forged ahead with plans to implement guaranteed income pilots: Mayor Robert Garcia (Long Beach, CA) introduced a plan to pilot a guaranteed income that was unanimously approved by the city council in early September 2020. In Hudson, NY, Mayor Kamal Johnson has announced HudsonUP, whereby 20 low-income residents will receive a guaranteed income of $500 per month for the next five years. In Saint Paul, MN, Mayor Melvin Carter has issued an executive order authorizing the creation of the People’s Prosperity Pilot, which will provide up to 150 Saint Paul families with $500 per month in guaranteed income for up to 18 months, beginning Fall 2020. His will be the first to leverage public funding to provide a guaranteed income to residents. In Pittsburgh, PA, Mayor Peduto has announced the Assured Cash Experiment of Pittsburgh (AcePGH), which in Q4 of 2020 will begin providing $500 to 200 Pittsburgh residents over 24 months. Designed in response to a 2019 Gender Equity Commission Report, the pilot will serve 100 black women and 100 randomly selected Pittsburgh residents. In Oakland, CA, Mayor Libby Schaaf announced a partnership with the Family Independence Initiative to work to secure funding to serve 300 families with children.
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.
In support of this growth and a groundswell of interest in guaranteed income, MGI has partnered with What Works Cities on a six-session online learning opportunity to elevate lessons learned and share best practices with the coalition and additional cities across the country. Interested parties can learn more or register here.
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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) and the Economic Security Project founded Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI) in June 2020. Mayors will come together in this network to advocate for a guaranteed income—direct, recurring cash payments—that lifts all of our communities, building a resilient, just America. Follow MGI on Twitter and Facebook.
Eleven American Mayors Announce Mayors for a Guaranteed Income
An effort to realize Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s economic dream, this coalition will commit to advocacy in favor of cash-based policies, and explore guaranteed income programs in cities reaching more than 7 million American residents
June 29, 2020 – Today, eleven mayors from across the country are announcing Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, a coalition of mayors who will explore cash payment programs in their cities and advocate for guaranteed income programs. The founding mayors of the network include: Michael D. Tubbs from Stockton, CA; Chokwe Antar Lumumba from Jackon, MS; Melvin Carter from St. Paul, MN; Ras J. Baraka from Newark, NJ; Aja Brown from Compton, CA; Eric Garcetti from Los Angeles, CA; Adrian Perkins from Shreveport, LA; Libby Schaaf from Oakland, CA; Victoria R. Woodards from Tacoma, WA; Stephen Benjamin from Columbia, SC and Keisha Lance Bottoms from Atlanta, Georgia.
When Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called for the immediate abolition of poverty, he had an economic dream of guaranteed income for all Americans. More than 50 years later and against a similar backdrop of civil unrest, these mayors are bringing that dream to life.
In the US, wealth and income inequality have reached historic highs. Nearly 40 percent of Americans cannot afford a single $400 emergency, and rising income inequality is compounded by a growing racial wealth gap. The median white worker made 28 percent more than the typical Black worker and 35 percent more than the median Latinx worker in the last quarter of 2019, and the median wealth of white families is more than $100,000 while the median wealth of Black families is approximately $10,000. COVID-19 has further exposed the economic fragility of most American households, and has disproportionately impacted Black and brown people.
A guaranteed income is a monthly cash payment given directly to individuals, empowering recipients to address their most urgent needs and providing a cushion for unpredictable expenses, external shocks, and volatility. It is unconditional, and is meant to supplement, rather than replace, the existing social safety net.
“We are living in uncertain times with even greater widening economic disparity as a result of COVID-19,” said Stockton Mayor Tubbs, founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. “As mayors, our problems may look different from town to town, but we are united in our duty to ensure the economic security of our residents and it is unacceptable that people who are working two and three jobs can’t afford basic necessities. We encourage all U.S. mayors to join us in strengthening our communities by supplementing the existing social safety net and driving forward this powerful tool for racial, gender, and economic equality.”
Mayor Tubbs founded the coalition following the success of his Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED), funded by several philanthropic organizations, including the Economic Security Project.
“I am excited to join this coalition of mayors to explore guaranteed income programs at the local level,” said Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. “This is an important first step to achieving economic security, especially for those who have been overlooked and left behind because of economic inequality. This initiative will allow us to act against poverty and equip vulnerable residents with a means of meeting their basic needs and achieving greater success.”
“Too many Americans are one missed paycheck away from an eviction or being unable to put food on the table — and that was true long before COVID-19,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “When this public health crisis ends, we have to refuse a return to normal in favor of a future better than normal ever was, and Mayors for a Guaranteed Income does just that by focusing on meaningful and innovative solutions to economic insecurity, inequality, and poverty.”
“People do not have enough income to take care of basic needs. These conditions were unacceptable before COVID-19 struck, and they are intolerable now,” said Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, whose guaranteed income taskforce just released its report. “No person should have to deal with these stresses. That is why I remain committed to pushing for a guaranteed income, another step in our work to end poverty in Newark, and to create a more equitable and empowered city.”
Mayors for a Guaranteed Income is founded in partnership with the Economic Security Project. The coalition is also announcing a new partnership with What Works Cities, a Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative, to elevate lessons learned and share best practices within the coalition and to additional cities across the country.
A resolution in support of guaranteed income is currently in front of the United States Conference of Mayors, on which the Executive Committee will vote on June 30th.
To learn more about Mayors for a Guaranteed Income visit www.mayorsforagi.org.
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ABOUT MAYORS FOR A GUARANTEED INCOME
Mayors for a Guaranteed Income is a coalition of mayors who will explore cash payment programs in their cities as a response to COVID-19 resulting in nationwide economic insecurity. The mayors will advocate for guaranteed income programs. Against a similar backdrop of civil unrest more than 50 years ago, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called for the immediate abolition of poverty, and his economic dream of guaranteed income for all Americans. Mayor Michael Tubbs of Stockton, CA founded the coalition following the success of his Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED), funded by several philanthropic organizations, including the Economic Security Project. To learn more about Mayors for a Guaranteed Income visit www.mayorsforagi.org.