OAKLAND, California. – The Mayor of Oakland and members of nonprofit organizations announced an ambitious universal income program through which they seek to pay $ 500 a month for 18 months to hundreds of low-income families.
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The money will arrive without conditions, that is, the benefited families will be able to spend it as best suits them.
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“The poverty that we observe today is not due to personal failures, it is due to system failures. The guaranteed income is one of the most promising tools we’ve seen in decades to change the system, racial equity and economic mobility, ”said Mayor Libby Schaaf.
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The historic pilot program will be one of the largest in the United States and hopes to replicate the results of a similar effort carried out. between 2019 and 2020 in Stockton, California, where recipients of the payment were able to obtain full-time jobs at a rate twice as high as individuals who did not receive universal income.
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With the support of philanthropic donations, some 600 black, indigenous, Latino and other disadvantaged minority families will receive a universal income of $ 500 over a year and a half, all with the goal of eliminating racial disparities that affect stability. economical.
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Who qualifies for the program?
Families seeking to receive universal income must belong to one of the aforementioned minorities and have at least one child under the age of 18, regardless of the immigration status of their members, which means that families with undocumented immigrants may participate.
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Half of the spaces (about 300) will be reserved for families that are at the lowest threshold of the poverty index, the equivalent of income of $ 30,000 per year for a family of three. For the rest, families with incomes around $ 59,000 a year may qualify.
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Mayor Libby Schaaf’s office noted that the goal is to begin giving aid between spring and summer, so an online form will be available in the coming weeks that interested families will need to fill out if they want to be elected.
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Meanwhile in this website You can enter the full name and an email address to follow the development of the program.
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Those who are eligible for universal income will be selected at random and will receive the $ 500 per month to use at their convenience, with the option to participate in periodic interviews on how they spend those resources.
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How to get up to $ 500 if your child attends Contra Costa County school
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