Michael Tubbs, Mayor of Stockton, Calif. The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration , a program I initiated and is funded entirely through private donations , has been giving 125 randomly selected Stocktonians $500 a month. Even before the pandemic, recipients like Tomas were spending the $500 on their basic needs: food, utilities, transportation, electricity, and rent. Data from February and March 2020 highlight how receiving unconditional cash has enabled people to follow stay-at-home advisories: spending on sales and merchandise decreased, while food-spending peaked in March at 46.5 percent of all overall tracked spending .
COVID-19 has shed light on the vast […]
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