Pilot projects randomly selected a group of people who qualified to receive the guaranteed income, then compared the results to a control group. While most programs relied on income as a selection criterion, some targeted specific vulnerable groups, such as youth exiting the foster care system in Ventura, California, or homeless people in Denver, Colorado.
Michael D. Tubbs, founder of MGI , stressed the importance of democratic involvement in these projects, which are born out of the needs of local communities. “The beneficiaries are lifting phone number list themselves out of poverty and creating economic stability for themselves and their families,” Tubbs said.With growing support among American voters — 62 percent favor a guaranteed income nationwide — many believe it is time to turn these local experiments into federal policy.
The results from these pilots not only provide an important research base, but also offer a concrete look at how guaranteed income can improve people's lives. The collaboration between cities, counties, and research institutions is creating the largest body of data ever collected on this topic, and many hope it could mark the beginning of a structural shift in the fight against poverty in the United States.