Government aid programs often come with a laundry list of do-nots. So, what if the government stepped back? What if it offered people cash without stipulations? That’s the question Austin City Council members will consider Thursday.
The Pease Park Conservancy collects food donations for the Central Texas Food Bank as the number of Texas households experiencing food insecurity has been on the rise. Austin City Council will vote Thursday on a pilot program to send $1,000 a month to 85 families over the next year.
Government aid programs often come with a laundry list of do-nots. For example, if you receive SNAP benefits, more commonly known as food stamps, you can’t use them to buy to-go food, soap, vitamins or medicine.That’s the question Austin City Council members will consider this Thursday, when they vote on the city’s first universal basic income or guaranteed income program. If approved, the city would send $1,000 a month to 85 families over the next year.
Mayor Steve Adler, who supports the item, said he was initially skeptical of giving families taxpayer money without any direction on how the money should be spent. “To have a program where you’re actually going to the family and saying, ‘Heck, you might know better than we do,’ is not how government programs are often run,” he said.
As part of budget negotiations last year, council members committed $1.1 million to fund a guaranteed income program. The vote on Thursday is to sign-off on a contract with UpTogether, a California-based nonprofit that would oversee it.Brion Oaks, Austin’s chief equity officer, said the city will prioritize giving the money to families who are at risk of losing their homes because they are facing eviction or have been evicted in the past.
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