Sacramento council poised to give 80 families $500 a month

Eighty households in the city of Sacramento are poised to start receiving $500 a month, no strings attached, as part of an expansion of an existing local guaranteed basic income program.

Since June 2021, United Way has been giving 100 lowincome residents in the county $300 a month through June 2023 as part of the Direct Investment Program in Sacramento, also known as DIPS.

The Sacramento City Council is expected to approve the $750,000 contract with the local nonprofit to expand the program at its Tuesday meeting, financed with federal COVID-19 relief money.

The basic income program, the first of its kind in Sacramento, is a kind of experiment aimed at exploring alternatives to traditional social safety net programs.

With crushing gas prices and soaring inflation hitting the wallets of low-income families hardest, advocates of guaranteed income programs argue unconditional direct payments are a more effective way to lift families out of financial instability.

The cash payments are similar to the stimulus checks millions of Americans received from the federal government during the coronavirus pandemic.

As part of the city-sponsored expansion, United Way will hire Sacramento State to research and evaluate the program, and to publicize its findings on the financial and social outcomes among participants. In a statement, Mayor Darrell Steinberg said that basic income programs are “not just about giving people money.”

“Similar programs have found that the financial stability provided by basic income helped people find full time employment, funded groceries or auto repair, and reduced their overall stress,” Steinberg stated. “I am excited that Sacramento and United Way are partnering to pilot a basic income program and I hope we can do more in the future.”

For families who’ve been a part of the program since last summer, the $300 monthly cash payments have been transformative.

Fienishia Wash, a single mother and recipient who lives in south Sacramento, previously told The Sacramento Bee she’s been able to boost her credit score by paying off old bills. She’s also saving money each month for the first time in her life.

“I see a start to a better path, a stronger foundation,” Wash previously told The Bee.

Of the 100 participants already in the program, 86% said they could not pay an unexpected $400 expense out of pocket, compared to about 36% of people nationwide, according to project lead Cameron Collins.

Finding financial stability by the end of the program is a goal for about 64% of participants, Collins previously told the Sacramento Bee. In addition, 18% want a more stable work situation, and 8% want to obtain a degree or credential.