A handful of programs across the state are piloting efforts to give families a regular check to help them make ends meet. Geno Rosario used his first guaranteed basic income check to buy groceries. Lizz Giordano for Crosscut.
With his first guaranteed basic income check, Geno Rosario purchased a cartload full of groceries. As the end of the month crept closer, there was no dread setting in, Rosario didn't need to worry about stretching his paycheck until the next one came.
The extra money is also making homework time less of a struggle for Rosario and his son, who fell behind in reading and math during the pandemic. Rather than spending hours after dinner trying to have him catch up, Rosario could now afford tutoring, leaving evenings for playing video games and goofing off.
The guaranteed basic income program — Growing Resilience in Tacoma , or GRIT — is one of a handful experimenting in the Puget Sound area, giving a recurring, monthly payment directly to households. It is meant to supplement, not replace, existing social safety nets. And after watching COVID-era monthly federal child tax credit payments — essentially a type of a guaranteed basic income — lift families out of poverty, some lawmakers hope to bring the idea statewide. Launched late last year by the city of Tacoma and the local United Way chapter, the guaranteed basic income program is aimed at households making just above the federal poverty line because this population is consistently left out of the conversation, said Abigail Lawson, director of the program.
Geno Rosario also uses the recurring, monthly payment to hire a tutor for his son, who fell behind at school during the pandemic. Andrew Yang drew attention to the idea of a basic income during his presidential bid. And as the pandemic raged, the idea picked up steam.
