What happens when a family receives direct cash payments over the course of a year? And how do families manage once the payments stop? LA Times equity reporter Rebecca Plevin wrote about LA’s Basic Income pilot program and joined Lisa McRee on “LA Times Today” with more on how the program impacted participants’ lives.
The BIG:LEAP program is one of the largest unconditional cash programs in the United States. Plevin explained what the program entails.
“There were many programs, actually, that launched in the wake of the pandemic, racial injustice, widening income inequality. And the city of LA is one of the largest that’s been launched yet. The city launched it, and the city funded it. It was about $38 million. The idea was to give $1,000 a month, for 12 months, to people. About 50,000 people applied, and about 3,200 people were selected for this program,” Plevin said.
Many people have raised concerns about the BIG:LEAP program and similar programs in other cities.
“This idea that every American should get a certain amount of cash monthly - that sort of proposal is controversial when it doesn’t have work requirements. There are concerns that would be so expensive that our existing health and food programs might not last. But, this type of program, people really see it as a way to help create an income floor for our most vulnerable community members,” Plevin said.
Plevin shared the story of Martha López Dubón, who participated in BIG:LEAP.
“She was a stay at home mom. Her partner worked, but they also had trouble having enough money to fill the gas tank or to do laundry at the laundromat. During the pandemic, she became a street vendor, started selling clothing on the street. When she got the money through the BIG:LEAP, she put half of the money toward their rent and then half of the money toward her business. Within a year, she had found a small storefront. She rented the storefront, and she opened her own clothing store,” Plevin said.
Claudia Gutiérrez Muñoz had a similar experience.
“Claudia has worked at El Pollo Loco for more than 20 years. During the pandemic, the restaurant closed, and then only Drive-Thru open, and her hours were cut. At the same time, she learned that her building was being sold, and she was going to need to find a new place to live… She saved the first six months of the [BIG:LEAP] money, used it to put out a deposit on a new apartment, and was able to move into a new place with her kids. What was interesting about Claudia was she said she felt a lot better during the program, [but] once the program ended, she was back to struggling because rent in LA is so expensive,” she said.
Plevin explained how guaranteed income programs have worked in different cities, since data from LA’s pilot program’s success is not available.
“Data from other programs has showed that employment increases during the program and remained steady within six months afterwards. People also feel more hope during the program and feel more hopeful afterwards. I think on the flip side, people’s financial situations often return back to where they were within six months after the program ends,” Plevin concluded.
Watch the full interview above.
Watch “LA Times Today” at 7 and 10 p.m. Monday through Friday on Spectrum News 1 and the Spectrum News app.