Guaranteed income has worked in Paterson
US program would help fight poverty
In his fourth and final book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. espoused the concept of a guaranteed income. On March 27,
1968, King came to Paterson to preach at the Community Baptist Church of Love. The primary reason for his visit was to seek support for his planned “Poor People’s March on Washington.”
Sadly, King was assassinated one week after his remarkable recruitment trip to Paterson. However, his legacy lives on through the Guaranteed Income Initiative that we launched two years ago.
Thanks to the support of my friend and a former mayor of Stockton, California, Michael Tubbs, Paterson became one of the first cities in the country to participate in the Mayors for a Guaranteed Income program. Two years later, we have data showing that the aforementioned initiative has improved the lives of the working poor.
The first cohort of recipients of 110 residents who received the $400 for a month in 2022 spent the money on paying for groceries, rent and utility bills. One resident had a real Thanksgiving with her family for the first time in her life.
Dante, who participated in the program, used the stipend to set up a bank account and obtain a credit card. His credit score is now a stellar 712. Angela, a single mother, put the money toward a new car to drive her toddler to doctor’s appointments. Maria started setting aside 10% of her paycheck each month, finally building up savings. The aforementioned findings mirror the data relative to the federal child tax credit which reduced child poverty in half but has since expired.
Additional data indicates that the program led to “statistically significant gains in employment, financial stability, mental health, and overall well-being.” In addition to providing relief for families who may be a flat tire away from financial hardship, the program helped reduced stress in many of the households.
Late last year, we relaunched and scaled up the program. The second cohort consists of 200 recipients, and one woman said she is saving money to take a vacation for the first time in
20 years. Another recipient indicated that she was able to purchase Christmas gifts for her children.
We have made a request to our state legislative delegation for $5.5 million in the state budget so we can expand the program to help 1,000 low-income residents. Ultimately, we want the country to see that Paterson is model municipality for this initiative and that every state should emulate our success and implement the program.
Paterson’s poverty rate is 21.5%, which is more than twice the national average. We understand that the program is not a panacea, but it is helping us to alleviate poverty in Paterson.
Numbers don’t lie, and the truth is that a guaranteed income produces positive outcomes. Therefore, this needs to be a federal program to help combat poverty in our country.
King’s visit to Paterson 56 years was not vain. It served as a clarion call for our city to take action to empower our most vulnerable.