Could Shreveporters Be Getting $500 a Month with No Strings Attached?

Shreveport is one of 11 cities talking about implementing a guaranteed income proposal. It's a program called Universal Basic Income or UBI.

This is a cash payment given directly to all adults in a community with now strings attached. The recipients are not required to work or perform any community service to get the funding. Click here to read more about the program.

The program is aimed at supplementing the current social safety net that is in place. The plan now being discussed would be a $500 dollar monthly check. But the big question is how this would be funded. In Shreveport, if this is paid to 100,000 residents, it would cost $50 million a month.

This pilot program is being considered by these Mayors:

Michael Tubbs of Stockton, Calif.

Chokwe Antar Lumumba of Jackson, Miss.

I am excited to be one of eleven mayors exploring the role guaranteed income initiatives can play in solving the problem of poverty. The City of Shreveport will participate in a privately funded pilot program. We will provide more information in the coming weeks.

We should be focusing on economic development, job growth, and entrepreneur incentives. We can fight poverty and injustice by helping others by helping them help themselves. The City of Shreveport is in no position to provide assistance as outlined in the attached article. Nor should we!