SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Earlier this week, the Alameda City Council voted in favor of a Guaranteed Basic Income program for 150 low-income families living in the area.
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Starting next year, likely in the spring or the summer, these 150 households will begin receiving $1,000 a month for 24 months.
There are no conditions or restrictions as to how participants have to spend the funds.
"We have a lot of data on how these programs work, and almost all of that data is highly, highly positive," said Dr. Matt Zwolinski, the Director of the University of San Diego Center for Ethics, Economics and Public Policy.
According to Zwolinski, these types of cash grant programs typically don’t have a disincentive effect on people’s work ethics.
"It usually doesn't result in people dropping out of the labor force altogether," he said. "After all, $1,000 a month is not enough to live on for a family living in Alameda, California."
Alameda Councilmember John Knox White, who voted in favor of the program, said that this type of program is likely to become even more necessary in the future.
"We know the nature of work is changing, including automation in our society," said Knox White. "And this is a way for us to look at ways in which we can do things differently to support our community."
This way of thinking is necessary to do now, "before those changes happen," he said.
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