Guaranteed Income
Published: 12:30 ET, Jan 27 2023 | Updated: 14:50 ET, Jan 27 2023
GUARANTEED INCOME Americans could be in line for new $600 monthly checks for a year – who might be eligible
JUST one more payment remains in a universal basic income (UBI) pilot that’s offering needy residents $600 per month and there’s a chance it might introduce another cohort. The program is currently giving regular cash to more than 100 people in Durham, North Carolina.
Known as the Excel Pilot Program, or StepUp Durham, eligible residents have been receiving $600 per month since March 2022. The final monthly payment is scheduled to go until February 15, according to the program’s executive director Syretta Hill. But the UBI pilot has been seeing success in its first year and because of that, there’s hope for additional funding to continue the program.
However, it might be tough to secure more money to keep the pilot going. Hill confirmed to The U.S. Sun: “as of right now, there are no commitments to continue the program ... Funding is an initial challenge to continuing this pilot.” She added that Excel is just beginning discussions about the next possible “iteration” of a program and it’s “doubtful anything will be in place by the last disbursement on February 15th.”
To launch, Excel got $500,000 from former Twitter chief executive officer Jack Dorsey and another $200,000 from private donors.
Who would be eligible?
For now, it’s unclear if the program will continue and if the same group of 115 residents will get the payments. But Hill said: “Since I have had a number of individuals reach out to me asking about participation in Excel since it launched last year, I would like to see us work with a new cohort.”
“There certainly is a need.”
Also, it’s unclear if the payments would change, depending on the amount of funding that’s provided. But last time around, the payments went out to those who were incarcerated in the last five years. Durham residents must have also been at least 18 years old and had income that was no more than 60 percent of the area's median.To be considered, eligible residents must have submitted an application, which was selected randomly.
However, Hill noted that she expects that part of the conversations will include what has been learned about the program and if any eligibility requirements should be changed.
