July 24, 2021 Share
By triggering $1,400 stimulus checks for millions of people and expanding the child tax credit for many families, the pandemic offered a clear takeaway for some officials: That putting tax dollars in people’s pockets is achievable and can be a lifeline to those struggling to get by.
Now a growing number of mayors and other leaders say they want to determine for sure whether programs like these are the best way to reduce poverty, lessen inequality and get people working.
In experiments across the country, dozens of cities and counties some using money from the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package approved in March and the state of California are 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. A coalition known as Mayors for a Guaranteed Income plans to use the data collected alongside a University of Pennsylvania-based research center to lobby the White Hous
Present-day redlining : A Black homeowner says her Oakland property was undervalued by $400K
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A pedestrian passes Cora Robinson’s home in Oakland, which she had appraised last summer.Photos by Gabrielle Lurie/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
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Robinson says appraisals lowballed the value of her Oakland home by around $400,000, largely because she and some of her neighbors are Black.Gabrielle Lurie/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
When Cora Robinson decided to refinance her Oakland duplex last summer, the pandemic real estate market was going crazy for roomy stand-alone homes like hers.
Listing sites like Zillow said the property, which last sold for $289,500 in 2006, was now worth more like $1.2 million. Robinson wasn’t looking to sell, but it seemed like a perfect chance to shave several hundred dollars off her monthly payment by locking in a lower interest rate.
Free money for all? Mayors hope tests bring big change
Sara Burnett
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By triggering $1,400 stimulus checks for millions of people and expanding the child tax credit for many families, the pandemic offered a clear takeaway for some officials: That putting tax dollars in people’s pockets is achievable and can be a lifeline to those struggling to get by.
Now a growing number of mayors and other leaders say they want to determine for sure whether programs like these are the best way to reduce poverty, lessen inequality and get people working.
In experiments across the country, dozens of cities and counties some using money from the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package approved in March and the state of California are 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.
Nation/World News
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Guaranteed income: Will it reduce poverty or increase jobless?
In this April 19, 2021, file photo, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, right, talks with Michael Tubbs, founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, after holding his annual State of the City address from the Griffith Observatory, in Los Angeles. In experiments across the country, dozens of cities and counties, some using money from the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package approved in March, and the state of California are 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. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via AP, P
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