Ithaca wants to be a model for the nation with a new guaranteed income program.
Starting Friday, and running until Dec. 17, caregivers living in the city can apply for a $450 monthly cash stipend.
Only 110 families will be chosen for this privately funded pilot program and will continue to get the payments for a year.
Mayor Svante Myrick admits it’s not a lot of money, but he hopes it could help people with their basic needs or cover unexpected expenses.
To measure how effective this progressive program is, the University of Pennsylvania will be partnering with city officials to study the results.
“At the end of the pilot, they report, you know, what happened? How was the money reported to have been spent? What happened to the lives of the recipients? And they compare them against the control group to figure out, did this do what critics fear? Does it discourage people from working? Does it do what opponents hope? Does it boost life outcomes health and wealth outcome?” Mayor Svante Myrick said.
Of the qualified applicants, the mayor said those chosen to participate will be chosen fairly at random.
People can start applying on Friday.
