IN RESPONSE: Free money works, but it’s not a silver bullet

This month, a Review-Journal editorial concluded that guaranteed income is a failure because people work less. The publication’s erroneous conclusion is based on the results of OpenResearch’s Unconditional Cash Study, which found people who received payments of $1,000 a month worked 1.3 fewer hours per week, were 2 percent less likely to be employed and enjoyed more leisure time.

If you expect people with lower incomes to work two jobs, spend little time with their kids, refrain from leisure activities, never learn new skills and be unable to care for ailing loved ones, I suppose you would think guaranteed income is a failure.

But let’s step back and ask ourselves the goal of guaranteed income. The nonprofit I lead, UpTogether, has been investing in people for two decades, distributing more than $210 million to more than 200,000 households since 2020 alone. We manage guaranteed income initiatives all over the country.

The OpenResearch study confirmed what UpTogether has learned through our extensive work: Guaranteed income allows people more freedom to make critical life and economic choices that are best for their families and their well-being.

Guaranteed income pilots across the country have consistently found that people spend a majority of the cash on basic needs such as food and housing. They are more likely to experience financial stability, move to better housing situations, enroll in school or job training, report spending more time with their children and support others in their communities.

Unlike current welfare systems that impose work requirements and pull the rug out from under people when they get ahead, guaranteed income recognizes the dignity and autonomy of people experiencing financial hardship. Participants have more opportunities for socioeconomic advancement. And yes, sometimes that means people leave jobs that exploit their labor, work less to care for family members, take a vacation or pursue new life goals. Aren’t family and freedom co-equal values of our country? Guaranteed income is a way to invest in both.

People who receive guaranteed income aren’t lazy — they’re positioned to make the same choices a lot of us are privileged to make each day without thinking twice.

It would be a mistake, however, to suggest that guaranteed income is a magic bullet to solving poverty. OpenResearch’s study supports the position that we still need a robust safety net that provides affordable housing, health care and child care, among other invaluable supports.

We need to invest in all the things that help families and communities be healthy and successful, including guaranteed income.

Jesús Gerena is CEO of UpTogether. He writes from Oakland, California.