$1,300,000 To Be Distributed With No Strings Attached As Major US City Embraces Guaranteed Income Pilot

The 10th largest city in the US is preparing to hand out a total of $1.3 million to people who are strapped for cash.

A guaranteed income program in Austin, Texas has been expanded and will soon help 135 households, reports the NBC-affiliated news station KXAN-TV.

Details on how the money allocated to the “Family Stabilization Grant Program” will be handed out are still in the works.

The initial 2022-2023 pilot distributed $1,000 to low income households per month with no strings attached and according to Urban Institute, participants said they largely used the money on housing.

“At 12 months, respondents reported spending most of their pilot cash on housing and said their housing security improved substantially.

Employment remained relatively stable throughout the pilot. Of the 9 percent of participants who reported reducing their working hours, half stated that they used the time to “skill up” for future work and half took on caretaking responsibilities.

Food security improved steadily over the course of the pilot, but some mental health measures reverted to enrollment levels. On one metric (constant worry), participants reported worse outcomes at the end of the 12-month period.”

Austin isn’t the only major metropolitan area in Texas that’s testing guaranteed income outcomes.

In Harris County, Texas, a total of 1,928 households will receive $500 per month for one and a half years in a separate basic income trial.

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