LOS ANGELES | The Californian city of Oakland will soon launch a pilot guaranteed income program for poor families targeting its black and Native American residents, authorities said.
As part of this program inspired by experiments of “universal income” already conducted in the United States, some 600 families in Oakland will be able to receive a monthly check of 500 dollars for at least 18 months, without any conditions, specified the mayor. of the city, Libby Schaaf.
This guaranteed basic income will be reserved for the poorest households with at least one dependent child, but above all “for families of color”, explained the mayor.
“We focus on people of color because there is a big wealth gap in Oakland based on race. The (median) incomes of whites are three times higher than the median incomes of blacks. And at the national level, the difference in terms of heritage is one to ten ”, recalled Wednesday the elected Democrat in an interview with the CBS channel.
The program will also be open to homeless and undocumented families.
Once the criteria are met, the allocation of this allowance will be made by drawing lots.
The beneficiaries will be able to spend the sum – not taxable – as they see fit, without any conditions and no control, insist the promoters of the project, financed exclusively by donations.
“We know that poverty is complex but it is a simple solution, and we think it is time for it to become a policy at the federal level,” argued Libby Schaaf, citing the results of an example. similar experiment conducted in Stockton, northern California.
For two years, 125 residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods in Stockton received $ 500 per month to determine whether such a guaranteed income could lift people out of poverty, or more simply address the many gaps in social protection systems.
According to the report presented in early March by the mayor of Stockton, Michael Tubbs, the experience is a success. The check not only reduced the financial insecurity of beneficiaries, but it was also accompanied by an increase in their employment rate by 12% while reducing their level of anxiety and depression.
The study shows that the allocation was mainly devoted to basic needs, such as food, gas or electricity and car expenses, with less than 1% devoted to the purchase of tobacco and / or alcohol.
“Poverty is not a personal failure, it is a political failure,” concluded Libby Schaaf, who is part of a network of some forty American mayors in favor of the establishment of a “guaranteed income” .