About Us

Everyone deserves an income floor through a guaranteed income.

Economic insecurity isn’t a new challenge or a partisan issue. Wealth and income inequality, which have long plagued our country, continue to grow. Even prior to the pandemic, people who were working two and three jobs still couldn’t afford basic necessities. COVID-19 has only further exposed the economic fragility of most American households, and has disproportionately impacted Black and Brown people.

I'm now convinced that the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective — the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income.”

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rooted in Legacy

Building off his first-of-its-kind guaranteed income pilot (SEED) and rooted in Dr. King’s legacy, Mayor Michael D. Tubbs (Stockton, CA) founded Mayors for a Guaranteed Income in June 2020. Mayors will come together in this network to advocate for a guaranteed income—direct, recurring cash payments—that lifts all of our communities, building a resilient, just America.

The idea of a guaranteed income is as old as the nation itself and has deep roots in the fight for racial justice. Early advocates included Thomas Paine and Thomas Moore; in the 1960s, supporters included economist Milton Friedman, President Richard Nixon, and Governor Huey Long.

Guaranteed income also has deep roots in the Civil Rights Movement, with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Black Panther Party, and the National Welfare Rights Organization calling for direct cash payments. In recent years, guaranteed income has regained traction as a policy antidote to poverty and rising wealth and income inequality.

Guaranteed income pilots are now happening in a number of cities and counties across the country.