Guaranteed income experiments trialed in LA and Chicago could be set to spread across the country after county officials congregated in Washington on Monday.
County leaders throughout the US met to announce a network of county-level basic income programs this week, the New York Times reported.
In December, Cook County, including Chicago, launched an unprecedented guaranteed income scheme which saw 3,200 residents receive $500 a month with no strings attached. Last year LA County similarly deployed a pilot program that picked 1,000 people to receive $1,000 monthly payments.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who both oversaw the launch of guaranteed income pilot programs in their own counties, will now serve as co-chairs of Counties for a Guaranteed Income.
It will be a sister program to Mayors for Guaranteed Income, a network founded in June 2020 which has more than 100 mayors among its members.
Such initiatives have highlighted a rift between Republicans and Democrats – the former label them a waste of money and the latter believe they will emancipate the weakest members of society.
