Chicago is considering a plan that would give $1,000 monthly to 1,000 residents of the city who need the money.
According to WLS-TV, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's Resilient Families Task Force put together a proposal that would hand out the money for a year and a half under a universal basic income program.
"Through a pilot, we can learn how government can operate and bring programs like this to scale. A pilot would reach 1,000 Chicagoans with $1,000 a month," the proposal reads "Guaranteed income can have powerful effects: significant reductions in poverty; improved school attendance; an increase in savings; and improvements to health and well-being."
The report said the $1,000 stipend would be "enough to cover basic needs," but each family receiving the cash would have the ability to spend it however it sees fit.
"Eighteen months is the recommended minimum duration — this allows people to both use the money to take care of existing debts and immediate needs; it also allows them to start making plans for savings and future investments," the report reads. "The longer the pilot lasts, the more people will benefit and the more we can learn about the impacts of cash for Chicagoans."
The proposal estimated that the program would cost at least $12 million per year to implement.
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