Henriques writes about Los Angeles basic income pilot
Paloma Henriques explains the program design, research plans, and significance of the Basic Income Guaranteed: Los Angeles Economic Assistance Pilot (BIG: LEAP) in a guest blog post for USBIG. The following is an excerpt from the article.
"In Los Angeles, 3,200 people were notified in January that they will receive $1,000 per month for one year, no strings attached, as part of the biggest U.S. basic income pilot to date, BIG:LEAP or Basic Income Guaranteed: Los Angeles Economic Assistance Pilot. Recipients will participate in surveys and interviews but will have no restrictions on how the direct payments will be spent. Applications were open from October 29 – November 7, 2021, to all Angelenos aged 18 and older who either have a dependent child or are pregnant, have income below the federal poverty line and have experienced COVID-19 hardships. Another group of 3,700 Angelenos, the control group in this social experiment, will not receive the monthly payments but will take the surveys. Comparing these two groups will allow researchers to differentiate between any effects of participation in the surveys from the effects of receiving the income.
The members of this study are contributing to a national data set built up, managed, and streamlined by the Center for Guaranteed Income at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice. Their first study, in Stockton, CA, laid the groundwork and developed a basic research methodology, and was successful in improving the lives of the participants. ...
BIG:LEAP was initiated by Mayor Eric Garcetti, who is involved in Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, an advocacy group made up of mayors across the U.S. who are leading basic income pilots in their cities. ...
Ultimately the appetite to participate in basic income projects, whether as a recipient, a mayor, or a researcher, shows the growing interest around the idea, and the recognition that the social safety nets currently in place are not always effective or sufficient."
