From Stockton, California, the first US basic income experiment

Stockton, California is expected to become the first US city to launch an experiment in universal basic income, a system of wealth distribution in which people receive a set amount of money just for being alive.

Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs said that by August 2018 he hopes to enroll an undisclosed number of Stockton's 315,000 residents in the program. Tubbs said the experiment — which is set to hand out $500 a month, or $6,000 a year — would ideally last for a period of three years.

“This is not a handout, it’s a hand up," Tubbs said. "You can’t pull yourself up by your bootstraps if you don’t have boots. How do you make sure folks who are working two or three jobs, how do we make sure they are able to enjoy the American Dream we hold so dear?"

Around $1 million is coming from the Economic Security Project, a network of researchers, elected leaders, and organizers. There are no tax dollars being spent. Tubbs said over the next six months a study group will determine who gets the money and for how long, anywhere from one to three years. There could be 25 to 75 families involved. 

Tubbs says this guaranteed income could be the key to empower citizens to build a better future for themselves. In Stockton, around one in four people live below the poverty line. The town is a unique candidate for basic income, which has gained traction over the past few years as a solution to poverty and a safeguard against the looming threat of robot automation.

Ontario, Finland, and the international charity GiveDirectly in Kenya have all launched basic income experiments of their own. Yet another study, funded by the early-stage venture capital firm Y Combinator, is launching soon, and Glasgow, Edinburgh, North Ayrshire, and Fife in Scotland are jumping into the ring too.

Tubbs says his goal with the Stockton experiment is to see the myriad ways recipients invest the money, whether that’s toward taking more time off work to spend on other activities, or going back to school, or volunteering. “I’m excited about just showing what people do with increased economic opportunity,” he says. “Being able to devote their time full time as a parent or caregiver, going back to school to reskill, investing in a new business. I know the ingenuity of some of the folks in my city.”

Tubbs says he hopes the experiment will run at least three years and benefit at least 100 people, which would put the total cost of the transfers at $1.8 million.