Officials in Oakland, California, have announced the launch of a program to provide a basic income of $500 a month to low-income, minority families.
The New York Post reported $7 million for the handouts has been raised privately by a group called Oakland Resilient Families.
Mayor Libby Schaaf said, according to the Post, said recipients will be families of color with at least one minor child and income of less than $30,000 a year.
The Post said participants will be randomly selected, and white people are not eligible.
“We have designed this demonstration project to add to the body of evidence, and to begin this relentless campaign to adopt a guaranteed income federally,” the mayor said.
Other mayors across the nation have joined in a campaign to promote the concept through Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. The basic income concept is a central issue in Democrat Andrew Yang’s bid to become mayor of New York. He promoted the idea during his failed presidential run.
Michael Tubbs, the former mayor of Stockton, California, said several similar programs will be running by summer.
The Post said it’s the “first program to limit participation to people of color and indigenous communities — a nod to the legacy of the Black Panther Party, which was founded in Oakland.”
The San Francisco Chronicle reported the Oakland program is to last 18 months, and the money does not come with job requirements.
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