A Basic Income Pilot Demonstrates the Power of Trust
A study of one of the largest U.S. pilots to provide direct cash payments finds some of its greatest benefits were intangible.
The Big Chair, a local art installation in Anacostia, Washington, D.C. The neighborhood was one of several where some residents were eligible for cash payments in the first year of the pandemic through a basic income pilot.
Photographer: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/The Washington Post
An independent study of a basic income pilot in a disadvantaged part of Washington, D.C., adds to a growing body of research on the benefits of direct cash transfers to communities in need. The study by the Urban Institute, a policy think tank, highlights the material as well as emotional improvements that such payments can create, particularly when they’re provided by a trusted community group.
“Intangible assets such as trust are critical to providing help in disinvested places,” the report states.