<
https://www.vice.com/en/article/4a38nq/austin-gave-poor-families-a-basic-income-it-changed-their-lives>
"In 2022, the city of Austin began an experiment to address a growing issue: As
the local technology industry exploded, city residents were struggling to deal
with a growing housing crisis that was especially crippling low-income
residents.
Austin gave 135 low-income households $1,000 each month for a year, and tracked
how they used the money and affected their lives. The result, one year later,
was that they mostly used the money to pay their rent and other housing costs,
according to a new report.
The experiment was not the first in the U.S. to test the effects of temporarily
establishing a universal guaranteed income—Stockton, California, most famously
went through with a similar pilot program in 2019, as have other cities and
counties since then—but it adds to the growing amount of evidence that the
money is used by the families that receive it in a responsible manner to
improve their lot, rather than thrown away on frivolous items.
An analysis of the experiment, released this month by the Washington D.C.-based
think tank The Urban Institute, found that the families spent more than half of
the money on housing costs, which helped them catch up on rent, reduce the
likelihood they’d get kicked out of their home, and otherwise improve their
housing situation “substantially.”
The extra money provided additional benefits as well. Most people’s employment
remained stable, and the 9 percent who did work less used the extra time to
learn new skills to get better jobs in the future or take on more caretaking
duties at home. Another 7 percent said they worked more as a result of the
extra money, using the cash to “break down barriers to better jobs,” including
by covering commuting costs."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-gun-violence-america-cancer-europe-conservation-bolivia/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
