Jack Dorsey to Fund Universal Basic Income Experiment in 14 Cities

The Twitter CEO is sinking $3 million from his non-profit into the program

Dorsey is flexing his philanthropy muscles once again.

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BY CARL CAMINETTI / JULY 10, 2020 

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will be throwing millions behind a universal basic income experiment. The tech billionaire has announced he will be working with 14 US mayors to launch universal basic income trials in their cities, Forbes reported.

Dorsey’s contribution is part of a larger initiative called Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. The program is expected to affect 7 million Americans across 14 different cities, including Los Angeles, Atlanta and Newark, New Jersey. The group has not specified how eligibility for payment for will determined, nor how much eligible citizens will receive under the plans. Mayors involved said they plan to launch the trial programs in their cities at an unspecified date. Meanwhile, at least two of the 14 cities involved already have guaranteed income pilot programs in effect, while others including Chicago, Newark, and Atlanta have task forces “exploring the feasibility of guaranteed income pilots” in those cities, according to the organization’s website.

$3M to @MichaelDTubbs and @mayorsforagi for #guaranteedincome programs in cities across the country. This is one tool to close the wealth and income gap, level systemic race and gender inequalities, and create economic security for families. #UBIhttps://t.co/1APG505xZH

— jack (@jack) July 9, 2020

Dorsey will be contributing $3 million from #startsmall, his philanthropic limited liability company, to the program. Dorsey made headlines after launching #startsmall earlier this year, transferring $1 billion worth of Square shares to the LLC and pledging to devote much of his charitable efforts to coronavirus relief.

Universal basic income has gained traction in recent years, and the policy was widely publicized as a major component of Andrew Yang’s 2020 presidential campaign. In May, Yang announced he will give $500 to 20 New Yorkers every month for the next five years as a trial run of his policy. And while critics have often dismissed universal basic income as an unlikely and improbable policy, the one-time stimulus checks Americans received at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic have been called an interim universal basic income by Business Insider.