Alexandria, Fairfax, and Arlington are among the growing number of cities and counties in the U.S. that have begun to implement basic income pilot programs in the United States. These programs provide unconditional, guaranteed monthly payments to support residents’ basic needs.
The rise of these programs comes after the first, experimental program in Stockton, California, in 2019 gave 125 randomly selected residents $500 per month for two years. In a newly released study by a team of independent researchers, the program was found to have improved participants’ financial stability and well-being.
The success of the program in Stockton inspired many other communities around the country to create their own income pilot programs, says Anne Vor der Bruegge, director of grants and initiatives for Arlington Community Foundation, the spearhead for Arlington’s pilot program.
“Northern Virginia is no different than the rest of the country in that we’re paying attention. It’s very promising,” Vor der Bruegge says.
The rise of these programs in recent years also comes after American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds have allowed communities to experiment with new programs, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson says.
“We are trying to use this moment to not just address the harm that our community has faced, but also making sure that, to quote the president, we ‘build back better,’” Wilson says.
Alexandria City Council voted to support a guaranteed basic income pilot program in Alexandria last July, allocating $3 million of its more than $59 million (ARPA) funds on the program.
This program would give $500 on pre-loaded debit cards monthly to 150 low-income families in the city for the next two years.
While the median income in Alexandria has increased over the last five years, the poverty rate has stayed the same. This is the main reason for the pursuit of a guaranteed income, according to the City of Alexandria website.
“Research shows that when given unrestricted payments, recipients can pull themselves out of poverty and create economic stability for their families. GIPs have also been found to improve health, education, and child welfare outcomes,” reads the website.
Alexandria is working to make sure their program does not prevent participants from receiving public benefits, Wilson says, confirming there will be no impact to most of the participants’ benefits, including Child Care Subsidy, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
It is possible that benefits like Social Security Insurance and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will be reduced or be lost because of the cash payments, Wilson says.
The city is waiting to hear back on whether participants’ Medicaid and ARHA housing grants will be impacted by the cash payments.
The program will not target participants at the lowest end of poverty in Alexandria, as there are already programs in existence to assist community members in that tax bracket, Wilson says.
“We’re probably going to be targeting those folks who are at 50 percent of the area median income. These are people who are just above that federal poverty line and don’t qualify for a lot of different benefits,” Wilson says. Some Alexandria citizens in gig-economy jobs, living right above the poverty line, lost the ability to pay bills and feed their families after the sudden pandemic shutdowns, Wilson says. These types of citizens are the ones the program is designed to help, he says.
Alexandria’s program has added a control group to its program. The control group will be made up of 180 residents with similar financial backgrounds to those of the participants in the program, who will not receive the monthly cash payment.
The treatment group, those who received the payments, and the control group will be compared to determine whether the extra income has resulted in better physical, financial, social, and economic situations by the end of the program.
Control group participants will receive “incentives” to participate, though it has not been announced yet what those incentives will be.
Alexandria has been studying what pilot programs across the country have and haven’t yielded successful results to help shape their own program, Wilson says.
“I want to be clear, there have been Universal Basic Income experiments elsewhere in the country that have not shown positive results. But I think also we’re trying to be thoughtful about how we design these programs,” Wilson says.
Some Alexandria citizens have voiced concerns that this program is a “handout,” Wilson says.
“It’s a concern, and I understand that. But I think what some of these folks who have voiced their concerns don’t quite understand is that the alternative is incredibly expensive,” he says.
Providing these resources can allow participants the time to develop their skills and advance their careers, rather than spending time struggling to meet basic needs, Wilson says. Participants can also earn more taxable money, and require less public benefits, saving taxpayer dollars in the long run, he says.
The eligibility requirements to participate and the start date of the program have not been officially announced yet. However, the city is currently aiming for a spring 2022 launch, Wilson says.
Fairfax County has allocated $1.5 million of its more than $222 million allotted ARPA funds on its own basic income pilot program.
Median income in the last five years in Fairfax County has increased by greater than 10 percent, while poverty rates have remained constant at about 6 percent, according to the Fairfax County Health and Human Services Committee.
With the additional income participants will be receiving, Fairfax County hopes to see an increase in total income and family total liquid assets for participants, as well as a decrease in reliance on public assistance, according to the Health and Human Services Committee.
Fairfax County also hopes to prevent pushing families over the “benefits cliff”, a phenomenon where low-income residents lose the ability to receive public assistance due to increased income.
The cash assistance provided to public assistance beneficiaries like Medicaid, SNAP, and TANF would not be counted, preventing participants from falling off the benefits cliff, says the Health and Human Services Committee.
The county has not yet publicly announced the eligibility requirements to participate in the program, nor the amount of monthly payments participants would receive.
While Alexandria and Fairfax County’s pilot programs are ARPA-funded, Arlington’s new guaranteed income pilot program is private donor-funded.
Arlington’s program aims to provide $500 to 200 randomly selected low-income families meeting the eligibility criteria every month for 18 months.
120 households have already enrolled in the pilot program in Arlington.
Like Alexandria, Arlington’s program has a control group, as well as the larger cash group. The cash group is a random sample of households receiving Arlington County Housing grants who have children and have an income that is below 30% of the area median income. The comparison group is a random sample taken from that same pool.
Arlington’s program is unique in its inclusion of two smaller carve-out target groups for the program: 25 vulnerable immigrant households, such as refugees, and 25 households with heads who are returning from incarceration.
Launched by nonprofit Arlington Community Foundation and Arlington County Department of Human Services, the program “equips families with funds that can be used for whatever is needed most in real time,” according to the Arlington Community Foundation.
The program is needed in Arlington, says the Arlington Community Foundation, with about 10,000 households in Arlington making under 30 percent of the area median income.
In launching their program, the Arlington Community Foundation makes a clear distinction between their guaranteed income program, and Universal Basic Income (UBI).
Guaranteed income redistributes wealth to members of the community “who need it most and who’ve historically been impacted by lack of opportunities—largely people of color,” says the Arlington Community Foundation website.
“In contrast, Universal Basic Income (UBI) refers to all people getting a set amount of regular cash regardless of their income or need,” the website continues.
“Those of us working in guaranteed income programs are really focusing on a more equitable distribution of wealth,” Vor der Bruegge says.
While Arlington County was previously poised to use ARPA funding on the income program, this funding was canceled after the Arlington Community Foundation determined that using it would have pushed Arlington residents off of the benefits cliff.
The program is now private donor-funded, with all administrative costs being covered by the Kresge Foundation.
Vor der Bruegge says this was to prevent participants in the program from falling off the benefits cliff. Because ARPA funds are public dollars, this type of funding would have been treated against participants’ benefits, Vor der Bruegge says.
“We aren’t going to put people’s benefits at harm. We are a benefits-protected pilot; we’re the only one in the state protecting people’s benefits,” Vor der Bruegge says.
The program is not intended to be private donor funded indefinitely, Vor der Bruegge says. Instead, by funding the program, privately or otherwise, Arlington can understand how effective this program is in their community, she says.
It is important that low-income residents stay in Arlington, for both the community and the economy, Vor der Bruegge says.
“They are essential workers; they clean, they work in the hospital, they do food service. It’s to everyone’s advantage to find ways to make it tenable for them to stay in the community. And they’re just being priced out as we speak,” Vor der Bruegge says.
Feature image, auremar/stock.adobe.com
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