Trump administration rejects mayors’ push for guaranteed income programs

The Trump administration hit back at the founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, saying Democratic mayors should prioritize other issues within their city rather than issuing handouts. Fox News Digital It was said.

“Americans don’t need handouts, but a dynamic economy with growth in wages, jobs and investment — which the Trump administration is launching with a proven economic agenda of lower taxes and deregulation and tariffs,” White House spokesman Khush Desai told Fox News Digital on Friday. “Democratic mayors should focus on cleaning up their city’s streets before embarrassing themselves with a stupid PR campaign.”

The White House’s response to Mayors for a Guaranteed Income founder, Michael D. Tubbs, a Democrat, told Fox News Digital that the federal government should strive toward developing a policy that provides cash assistance without strings, similar to mayors across the country.

“We have wars in Iran, regime change in Venezuela. We get it, the health care system and the big, ugly bill,” he said. “So people say social security is deteriorating.”

The Trump administration has hit back at the founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, saying Democratic mayors should prioritize other issues within their city rather than issuing handouts, Fox News Digital was told. (Fox News Digital)

“This wealth is being taken from the many and given to the few, and there has to be a government solution because this is a problem caused by the government… Inflation, unaffordability, all of this is a direct result of government policy,” Tubbs told Fox News Digital.

Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, a coalition of more than 150 mayors, pushed the pilot programs that were approved by Municipalities across the country. The group is responsible for more than 100 pilot programs launched since 2018. Most notably, Cook County, Illinois, The second-largest county in the United States has created a permanent guaranteed basic income program after the success of an earlier pilot. The program was launched in 2022 with the help of federal COVID-19 relief funds.

Tubbs, who served as mayor of Stockton, California, from 2017 to 2021, also founded Districts for a Guaranteed Income and Legislators for a Guaranteed Income.

Mayors for a Guaranteed Income in February promoted this More than 60 invoices Cash-based policies similar to guaranteed income have been introduced in 15 states. Lawmakers for a Guaranteed Income reported on more than 20 bills in 11 states that have been proposed to create some form of a statewide guaranteed income program.

Offering low-income participants up to $1,000 a month without restrictions through guaranteed income programs, Tubbs said the effort is necessary as Americans struggle. Affordability crisis.

Rising grocery, housing and health care costs have prompted the federal government to act. The House passed legislation — showing a rare show of bipartisanship last month by a vote of 390 to 9 — to advance policies aimed at increasing the supply of energy. Affordable housing In the United States

Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, a coalition of more than 150 mayors advancing guaranteed income pilot programs, has pushed pilot programs adopted by municipalities across the country. (Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images)

Boston suburb triples cash payments in expanded guaranteed income program

In response to Desai’s statement, Tubbs told Fox News Digital that “the truth is that only billionaires have seen their lives become easier under the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress.”

Tubbs added that unemployment has risen and costs continue to rise.

He added: “More than half of Americans cannot afford the basics needed to survive.”

He continued: “The Wall Street Journal reports that a majority of Americans now believe the American Dream is out of reach for them. Making the rich richer is not helping us at all. Guaranteed income policies have been tested in 36 states and proven that providing a minimum income to Americans opens up opportunities and gives families the ability to truly thrive.”

Reporter’s note: GOP targets affordability with Reconciliation 2.0 plan ahead of midterms

The former mayor denounced the dismantling of federal aid programs In a press release published Last month after The Trump administration froze More than $10 billion in federal funding for child care and social services for five Democratic-led states. The concerns were that taxpayer money was being improperly transferred to non-citizens.

President Donald Trump criticized Democrats over the country’s affordability issues during his State of the Union address last month, saying they caused inflation and open borders. (Kenny Holston/Pool via Reuters)

While studies have shown that guaranteed income pilot projects have been beneficial, some programs face funding shortfalls Legal challenges.

president Donald Trump He sharply criticized Democrats over the country’s affordability issues during his State of the Union address last month, saying they caused inflation and open borders.

“Now, the same people in this room who voted for those disasters are suddenly using the word affordability,” he said. “One word, they just used it. Someone gave it to them, knowing full well that they caused and created the price increases that all our citizens had to endure. You caused this problem.”

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