15-07-2025
Cities can fight back with guaranteed income programs
Mayors for a Guaranteed Income helped fund a pilot project at Santa Fe Community College. (Courtesy SFCC)
If you are like me, you are still reeling from the news that the 'big beautiful bill' (which is unparalleled in its ugliness) received the necessary votes in the U.S. House and Senate, along with the president's signature. Although the U.S. Senate was close (and Dem senators all voted nay) what kind of madness is this? The very notion of passing legislation that dismantles Medicaid; blunts the effectiveness of nutritional assistance; and cuts funding to rural hospitals highlights the degree that a philosophy of philistine self-interest has infiltrated the current political climate. Trepidation over the fallout spreads nationwide.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says the bill 'will hit New Mexico hard' and state officials have outlined nightmarish scenarios in which more than 88,000 New Mexicans lose Medicaid and more than 58,000 to lose their Supplemental Assistance Program help.
'This is draconian,' Victor Pineda, executive director of the Center for Independent Living in Berkeley, California, which provides quality of life assistance to the disabled, reportedly said. 'The cuts are a direct hit to our ability to help people stay in their homes who will now be forced into homelessness or institutions.'
In the meantime, what can help supplement the loss of basic services in underserved communities? What can cities and mayors do?
For one thing: They can put more of their remaining resources toward expanding guaranteed income programs.
In 2018, Mayor Michael Tubbs of Stockton, Calif. initiated the first guaranteed income program in the USA, which for two years gave $500 every month to 125 low-income residents. A study in the program's aftermath conducted by a team of independent researchers determined that the money significantly improved participants' mental health and financial standing. Tubbs then founded Mayors for Guaranteed Income (MGI), a network of committed cities that have sponsored pilot programs in cities including Madison, Wis.; Pittsburgh, Pa; New Orleans, La.; and Santa Fe, here in New Mexico.
In 2021, with an MGI grant, Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber launched a pilot program that provided $400-per-month stipends to 100 young, low-income Santa Fe Community College students with child-caretaking responsibilities. A 2025 independent study again concluded that rather than fulfilling easy cliches — meaning the assumption the young grantees would waste the funds on alcohol or video games — participants experienced meaningful improvements in key takeaway areas
'This successful program directly addresses the fundamental problem that is holding New Mexico back: poverty.' said Mayor Webber, after the report was released.
Today, more than 100 cities have sponsored direct cash payment programs that lasted one year (or preferably two years). In every case, most participants experienced admirable gains in food and housing security. In Santa Fe, participants experienced a 19 percentage point rise in full employment.
But why should these results be surprising when 37% of Americans say they fear an unexpected $400 expense? A consistent extra few hundred (in lieu of having an empty bank account) can make a difference, a larger-than-expected step forward.
For proponents, an important assurance is that guaranteed income programs come with 'no strings attached.' A family that needs money to pay for school supplies can choose this option; a recipient who knows that buying a car would be a valuable investment can save for that. Guaranteed income programs have been praised for having an 'entrepreneurial' spirit. But I believe the better word for them is 'self-empowering' in that they encourage the underprivileged to value themselves and invest in their own futures.
These humble sums of cash directed without stipulations at crisis communities, including immigrant families, students or homeless youth, provide a measurable boost. Related programs stipulate the money is spent toward specific goals, like preventing homelessness. Funding for renters facing eviction is one of the most important ways cities, including Santa Fe, can potentially use targeted funds in a time when homelessness is at its highest level since the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development began keeping statistics in 2007.
Here is the rub. These programs abet and enhance the social safety net. They cannot replace it. These programs are a tool: a necessary weapon. Times may become desperate. Cities must fight back.
