(AP) — Dozens of cities and counties and the state of California are experimenting with giving some low-income residents a guaranteed income of $500 to $1,000 each month to do with as they please, and tracking what happens.
The coalition Mayors for a Guaranteed Income plans to use the data to lobby the White House and Congress for a federal guaranteed income or, for starters, to make the new $300 per month child tax credit permanent.
So-called free money pilot programs show how quickly the concept has become a serious policy proposal during the pandemic.
Critics blast them as unaffordable or discouraging people from working.
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