Mayor Michael Tubbs, has exciting plans to try out a universal basic income plan. It would give monthly payments to approximately 100 families for the next two years, and would not have any work requirements or other conditions needed.

The hope is that with regular payments from the government that do not need to be paid back, it might encourage people to return to school or help them get out of their student loan debts.  The extra money could help them spend more time with their families, or even to prepare healthier, home cooked meals.  The government aims to help their citizens improve their quality of life.

This is the first of it’s kind in the U.S, however it’s been tried out in other places too such as Finland in 2017. It was planned to last for two years, however ended after the first year, mainly due to public pressure for the unemployed to search for work.  It also appeared to be rather redundant in a place where health care, university tuition and public programs are already government funded.

However, things in the U.S are different, with high costs of education and health care, which can break people financially.  However many people feel as though it is a waste of money of hard-working Americans.