- A guaranteed-basic-income program in Austin gave people $1,000 a month for a year.
- Most of the participants spent the no-strings-attached cash on housing, a study found.
- Participants who said they could afford a balanced meal also increased by 17%.
A guaranteed-basic-income plan in one of Texas’ largest cities reduced rates of housing insecurity. But some Texas lawmakers are not happy.
Austin was the first city in Texas to launch a tax-payer-funded guaranteed-income program when the Austin Guaranteed Income Pilot kicked off in May 2022. The program served 135 low-income families, each receiving $1,000 monthly. Funding for 85 families came from the City of Austin, while philanthropic donations funded the other 50.
The program was billed as a means to boost people out of poverty and help them afford housing. “We know that if we trust people to make the right decisions for themselves and their families, it leads to better outcomes,” the city says on its website. “It leads to better jobs, increased savings, food security, housing security.”
While the program ended in August 2023, a new study from the Urban Institute, a Washington, DC, think tank, found that the city’s program did, in fact, help its participants pay for housing and food. On average, program participants reported spending more than half of the cash they received on housing, the report said.
I hear this a lot and it’s tiring. Last I checked it is. We’re all happy there’s a place in Texas that attracts progressiveness and youth. But… come on.
There’s been a literal political war between the cities and the state for years. It used to be Austin vs Texas, but Houston and San Antonio have also joined in. Don’t underestimate the impact a stubborn town with money can have. Look at Jackson, Wyoming. That county has stubbornly kept up the abortion fight, using every trick in the book.
BTW, If you really did try to jump start this program in Austin, I think it’s great. Thank you.
I think “Texas” is scaring and confusing the shit out of the rest of the US right now and we’re not sure how to take it.
I did. I’m trying to be nonchalant about it since most of what I did was talk the ears off of people and put people in contact with others, but I can literally trace a line from it to an Yahoo group email I sent, and I’ve been freaking out a bit. I doubt the TXLege will let it get much further, but the proof is there.
If the program had an impact in a town as expensive as Austin, imagine what it could do to a more rural community. Everyone is full MAGA until they see that starving to death and/or being homeless doesn’t have to be a constant threat.
Frankly if the aliens invade my plan is to give them Texas so they’ll leave the rest of the world alone. Though… plot twist… I think they already did take Texas…
Great. We’re all rooting for that. Maybe one day I won’t feel the need to drive around Texas on my next road trip. Until then I wish Austin, Texas all the best.