Current:Home > MyNew documentary shines light on impact of "guaranteed income" programs-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
New documentary shines light on impact of "guaranteed income" programs
View Date:2024-12-23 22:19:20
Just a few years ago, the idea of giving people money with no strings attached was seen as ludicrous in mainstream policy circles. This week, a documentary on so-called "guaranteed income" programs premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival that underscores just how much currency the idea has gained.
The film, "It's Basic," follows participants in guaranteed, or basic, income pilot programs across the U.S., highlighting the transformative impact a regular payday can have for Americans struggling to make ends meet.
Produced by Michael Tubbs, the former mayor of Stockton, California, and founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, the film aims both to further normalize such policies as way of supporting people in need, boosting local communities, and ameliorating many of the social and economic ills that afflict America.
More than 100 cities across the U.S. are currently piloting basic income programs. The film follows five basic income recipients in different cities, its director, Marc Levin told CBS News.
Tubbs, who was the first U.S. mayor to launch a basic income program in 2018, said sentiment has already shifted in the years since he started doling out $500, no-strings-attached cash stipends to some residents. More recently, the startling rise in the cost of food, housing and other necessities of daily life has made the need for creating an income floor for many Americans all the more urgent, he said.
"I joke with all my mayor and county official friends on how they have it easy in many respects now that people are saying that yes...we need a guaranteed income in our community," Tubbs said. "So now we have mayors and county officials using public dollars, using COVID money, using taxpayer dollars."
Levin highlighted some of the positive effects basic income can have on recipients. He said one of the film's main characters, a single mother and school bus driver, likened having cash in hand to fueling her car. "Put a little gas in my tank and I'll show you how far I can go," she said in the film.
"$500 is not that much money, but it can make a world of difference in people's lives," Levin told CBS News. "Especially people who are trying to move forward, who want to see a better life for their children, who want to help people."
Notably, the basic income recipients shown in the film are employed in fields including nursing, social work or transportation, but don't earn enough to stay above water.
"They're essential workers. They're doing jobs we need, they're helping other people, but they can barely make it by," Levin said.
"We're seeing what can happen"
Tubbs said he's encouraged by the sheer number of programs that have sprouted up across the U.S., while he continues to push for basic income to become national policy.
"For example, we saw with the child tax credit, a nationwide experiment with guaranteed income, that child poverty fell by 40%, but we didn't renew that policy," Tubbs said. "A big part of the work by this film and a big part of the work of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income is we're seeing what can happen."
Pilot guaranteed income program participants across the U.S. used their stipends to pay off credit card debt, get their cars fixed and buy clothing for their children. Rather than discouraging recipients from working, such initiatives often help people get higher-paying jobs or transition from part-time to full-time work, advocates of the programs say.
Research also shows guaranteed income improves recipients' physical and psychological health by reducing stress and anxiety. As Tubbs put it, "they're not suffocated by economic insecurity."
Tubbs added: "So I'm excited about what would happen if it was actually a permanent policy and people had longer amounts of time to respond to market pressures, to invest in themselves, to go to job training and all the things we know that we've seen repeatedly over this country that people do when they're given this little bit of money and real opportunity."
veryGood! (5)
Related
- UFC 309: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic fight card, odds, how to watch, date
- Boxer Andre August rethinking future after loss to Jake Paul, trainer says
- South Korea’s military says North Korea has fired a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters
- Serbia’s populists look to further tighten grip on power in tense election
- MLS Star Marco Angulo Dead at 22 One Month After Car Crash
- You Can Get These Kate Spade Bags for Less Than $59 for the Holidays
- Belarus political prisoners face abuse, no medical care and isolation, former inmate says
- Mexico’s Maya tourist train opens for partial service amid delays and cost overruns
- How to protect your Social Security number from the Dark Web
- Our top global posts might change how you think about hunters, AI and hellos
Ranking
- NFL coaches diversity report 2024: Gains at head coach, setbacks at offensive coordinator
- Dodgers, Ohtani got creative with $700 million deal, but both sides still have some risk
- Brazil approves a major tax reform overhaul that Lula says will ‘facilitate investment’
- Tiger Woods' daughter Sam caddies for him at PNC Championship in Orlando
- Veterans face challenges starting small businesses but there are plenty of resources to help
- Bowl game schedule today: Everything to know about the six college bowl games on Dec. 16
- A vibrant art scene in Uganda mirrors African boom as more collectors show interest
- Why Shaggy Took a Strategic Step Back From the Spotlight
Recommendation
-
Real Housewives of New York City Star’s Pregnancy Reveal Is Not Who We Expected
-
Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid fined for criticizing officiating after loss to Bills
-
Costco members buy over $100 million in gold bars, stock rises after earnings call
-
A Black woman miscarried at home and was charged for it. It shows the perils of pregnancy post-Roe
-
KFC sues Church's Chicken over 'original recipe' fried chicken branding
-
Over 60 drown in a migrant vessel off Libya while trying to reach Europe, UN says
-
What parents need to know before giving kids melatonin
-
Simply the Best 25 Schitt's Creek Secrets Revealed