Ex-California mayor praises guaranteed basic income, says critics are ‘unenlightened,’ ‘out of touch’

The president of an organization called Mayors for Guaranteed Income told Fox News Digital that elected officials who pushback against a guaranteed basic income (GBI) program are "out of touch with what's really happening in their communities."

"I think the issue is just one of politics and sort of unenlightened elected officials who were just out of touch with their constituents because just they’re just making six figures off the public—off of taxpayer money for a long time," former Stockton, California Mayor Michael D. Tubbs told Fox News Digital.

"American voters support a guaranteed income, including 40% of Republicans," Tubbs added.

Tubbs said the issue has bipartisan appeal because people of both political parties are struggling economically. 

"Both Democrats and Republicans can't afford rent. Both Democrats and Republicans are spending too much money on childcare," Tubbs said.

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The president of an organization called Mayors for Guaranteed Income told Fox News Digital that elected officials who pushback against a guaranteed basic income program are "out of touch with what's really happening in their communities." (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Mayors for Guaranteed Income is a coalition of 150 mayors pushing a pilot program, offering low income participants up to $1,000 a month with no strings attached. The group has pushed GBI pilot programs that have been adopted by some municipalities across the country. 

One city to implement a GBI program is Austin, Texas, which launched a pilot program in 2022. A recent survey showed that the city's guaranteed income program helped address the problem of housing insecurity in the city. 

An effort was underway at the county level in Texas, but it was halted by the Supreme Court of Texas in April.

The Supreme Court of Texas issued a ruling in April that prohibits Harris County from launching a guaranteed income program. The program was disputed by Attorney General Ken Paxton and state lawmaker Rep. Paul Betten county over constitutional concerns. 

The famous Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. (iStock)

In nearby Arizona, state House lawmakers are trying to ban GBIs from being implemented across the state after officials in Phoniex instituted the effort.

Tubbs explained to Fox News Digital why he started Mayors For Guaranteed Income organization.

"I became increasingly concerned about the lack of economic opportunity for all," Tubbs said. "I was aware of the fact that one out of every two Americans can afford a $1,000 emergency and at the root of a lot of the issues we are fighting in Stockton, was actually poverty and economic insecurity."

Tubbs said the city of Stockton's small size and limited budget, he knew a GBI program would not be feasible. 

However, he knew he could test the idea and then evaluate it so that the data could be used to prove it to the state and federal governments.

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Tubbs told Fox News Digital that there is an organization called Counties for Guaranteed Income on the horizon which will push GBIs at the county level. (iStock)

"No city can do a guaranteed income at scale because we can't deficit spend. A guaranteed income at scale has to be done by the federal government, much like we saw with the child tax credit," Tubbs said. "And that's been an argument we've been making the whole time, but, we can't wait for the federal government. And oftentimes we have to inspire and push the federal government to act," Tubbs concluded.

Tubbs told Fox News Digital that there is an organization called Counties for Guaranteed Income on the horizon which will push GBIs at the county level.

Joshua Q. Nelson is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

Joshua focuses on politics, education policy ranging from the local to the federal level, and the parental uprising in education.

Joining Fox News Digital in 2019, he previously graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Political Science and is an alum of the National Journalism Center and the Heritage Foundation's Young Leaders Program. 

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