PROVIDENCE – The city will receive up to $500,000 to launch a program to give direct cash payments to its residents, the city announced in conjunction with Mayors for a Guaranteed Income on Tuesday.
The newly formed mayoral coalition, which Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza joined in September, previously shared plans to start or expand guaranteed income programs in their respective cities with the larger goal of advocating for national and state policies. A $15 million donation from Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey through his #startsmall philanthropic initiative will allow the 26 participating cities to implement pilot programs, the coalition said.
Elorza in a press conference framed the initiative as a way to fight poverty and reinstitute the American dream on which the country was founded, but which “isn’t as clear as it was in previous generations.”
“Now it’s a coin toss,” Elorza said of the ability to succeed through hard work and perseverance, particularly among gig economy workers, immigrants and people of color.
Elorza said he hoped to implement the program in the spring of 2021, and is currently working to determine program parameters and eligibility. Other cities have already implemented some form of the program with varying parameters for eligibility and cash amounts. The coalition website defines guaranteed income as a monthly cash payment to individuals that is unconditional, with no work requirements.
Alex Morse, mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts, and Sumbul Siddiqui, mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, are the only other municipal leaders to have signed on to the coalition, according to its website.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
