This past Tuesday, officials with Los Angeles County stepped forward to state that a new guaranteed basic income program has started to roll out to the public, with currently 1,000 residents now getting a guaranteed $1,000 a month until 2025.
As reported by Fox LA, the people being chosen for this program were grabbed randomly out of the almost 180,000 people who applied for it during its inception.
Sheila Kuehl, the program supervisor, has stated that given the total number of county residents who attempted to apply for the program, it is “abundantly clear” that the time has finally come for the program idea.
“I’m confident that we will see what other pilots have already shown,” stated Kuehl as reported by Fox LA. “That a guaranteed basic income, by giving people a bit of financial breathing room, allows them to stabilize their lives and that of their family.”
Kuehl went on to add that in just three years from now, she feels quite “confident” that the county’s new program will be seen as a “foundation stone” for all eligible American households to get economic opportunity and stability.
Last year, Los Angeles County supervisors voted to create a new pilot program titled BIG:LEAP, which they attempted to model after a similar program from Stockton, California.
As stated on the website for the program, poverty afflicts roughly two out of ten residents across the city of Los Angeles, of whom 31% are actually just children. As the rents skyrocket across the county and there have been insufficient wage increases to match the cost of living, roughly one-third of Angelenos struggle to support their families with a single full-time income.
To be eligible for the program itself, participants 18 and older negatively impacted by the pandemic can only have a household income of under $56,000 for one person or a combined $96,000 for up to a family of four. If they are approved, the recipients would be able to access the assistance money via a debit card.
Officials for the program stated to FOX LA that those chosen for the program range in age from 18-91 years old, stemming from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds, and will have an administrator from Strength Based Community Change that plan to stay in touch with the individuals.
Payments will be considered a part of the budget for the state’s 2021/22 fiscal year that was approved by both the Legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom.
Holly Mitchell, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair, has stated as part of a press release from March when the enrollment process started that the poverty that some residents deal with on any given day dealt with via a “one-size-fits-all approach.”
“Now is our opportunity to invest in support that directly reaches our residents,” stated Mitchell. “It’s time that we trust that our residents know how best to meet their needs when given the resources to do so.”