Guaranteed Income Starts in Flint

[TC Talks]

I am glad to see that work is being done to end the cycle of poverty, at least at a fundamental level.... I will be interested to see how this progresses.

FLINT—Eight days after entering the world, Khi’Meir Taylor made another debut — this time in what could be a national spotlight.

Wednesday was the first day of a $55 million experiment to test whether cash payments can protect children from the toxic stress of poverty.

Enrollment opened at 10 a.m. for Rx Kids, an innovative state-funded program that will prescribe noquestions- asked cash allowances to all pregnant mothers and babies in Flint, regardless of their income. Less than an hour after the application process went live online, Dr. Hanna-Attisha held a sleeping Khi’Meir in front of news crews at Hurley Medical Center to celebrate what she called “the incredible, incredible village” supporting the program.

It was Hanna-Attisha whose testing in 2015 revealed that children were exposed to dangerously high levels of lead in the city’s water. In her book about the experience, she argued that the crisis underscored the need to focus on prevention and resilience in a city wracked by the pervasive stresses of poverty. She is now leading the new program.

Seven years after she held the state responsible for its part in the Flint water crisis, pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha will oversee the program that targets poverty for Flint’s youngest residents. (Bridge photo by Robin Erb) Flint moms who enroll will receive up to $7,500 to help boost their infant’s footing in the first year of life — a one-time $1,500 payment in mid-pregnancy, followed by $500 per month for the first year of their child’s life.

The program, touted as one of the first of its kind in the nation,aims to stabilize the lives of newborns and their mothers by easing some of the effects of poverty.

While cash assistance programs have launched elsewhere in recent years, Flint’s is the first to serve an entire city and extend it to all families, whatever their income, said H. Luke Shaefer, one of the program’s co-directors. Shaefer is a national expert in poverty and social welfare policy and the director of U-M’s Poverty Solutions, which conducts poverty research.

Rx Kids is also one of only a few programs to focus on the months before birth, he said.

The effort initially began last spring with $15 million in seed money from the Flint-based Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. (Mott is a funder of the Center for Michigan, Bridge Michigan’s parent organization. It had no role in the reporting or editing of this story.)

In July, the state set aside the largest single infusion — $16.5 million. That generated some criticism, including from State Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, who voted against the state expenditure. Runestad told Bridge previously that cash handouts without restrictions are “emotional programs” that “create dependence on the government.”

Runestad said the money would be more appropriately distributed through voucher programs that provide families with funds to pay for specific needs, such as auto repairs or respite programs for overwhelmed parents.

Indeed, one 2018 study from Princeton University concluded that cash assistance reduces incentives to work and may harm adults’ earnings over their lifetimes, even if such funds appear to offer a temporary boost.

But other research has repeatedly concluded that “toxic stress” in early childhood disrupts brain development, raising the odds that a child will experience poor physical and mental health later in life and will be more likely to have chronic illnesses, including heart disease, substance abuse and depression.

[Graham Wellington]

Yes, government handouts of $7500, most of which will end up being used to buy new TVs and cell phones, will really help eliminate poverty....

[TC Talks]

Yes, government handouts of $7500, most of which will end up being used to buy new TVs and cell phones, will really help eliminate poverty....

Will it? Do you have ANY data to support this? Because this program is modeled from one that has plenty of success. Do you know what the cost of early childhood mental deficiency is to a society (beyond the horrific reality that a whole generation of Americans are lost to poverty) ?

Your premise is similar to the one that suggests any AR riffle bought by a white man will end up in the hands of his teenage kid, shooting at his classmates.

[Graham Wellington]

Yes, government handouts of $7500, most of which will end up being used to buy new TVs and cell phones, will really help eliminate poverty....

Will it? Do you have ANY data to support this? Because this program is modeled from one that has plenty of success. Do you know what the cost of early childhood mental deficiency is to a society (beyond the horrific reality that a whole generation of Americans are lost to poverty) ?

Your premise is similar to the one that suggests any AR riffle bought by a white man will end up in the hands of his teenage kid, shooting at his classmates.

Wednesday was the first day of a $55 million experiment to test whether cash payments can protect children from the toxic stress of poverty.

The program, touted as one of the first of its kind in the nation,aims to stabilize the lives of newborns and their mothers by easing some of the effects of poverty.

Experiment...first of its kind. Not sure what established program you are talking about. To your point, your premise is similar to suggesting we hand out any AR rifle with no rules or accountability and assume it will solve crime.

[Rate This]

Yes, government handouts of $7500, most of which will end up being used to buy new TVs and cell phones, will really help eliminate poverty....

Will it? Do you have ANY data to support this? Because this program is modeled from one that has plenty of success. Do you know what the cost of early childhood mental deficiency is to a society (beyond the horrific reality that a whole generation of Americans are lost to poverty) ?

Your premise is similar to the one that suggests any AR riffle bought by a white man will end up in the hands of his teenage kid, shooting at his classmates.

You make the grave mistake of assuming that all these people will be like you and be responsible and go take care of their kids. Pro tip: NOT GONNA HAPPEN. On the other hand economic security does reduce crime since a lot of the issues in poor America come from pure desperation and a lack of knowledge of how to escape it.

[TC Talks]

Yes, government handouts of $7500, most of which will end up being used to buy new TVs and cell phones, will really help eliminate poverty....

Will it? Do you have ANY data to support this? Because this program is modeled from one that has plenty of success. Do you know what the cost of early childhood mental deficiency is to a society (beyond the horrific reality that a whole generation of Americans are lost to poverty) ?

Your premise is similar to the one that suggests any AR riffle bought by a white man will end up in the hands of his teenage kid, shooting at his classmates.

You make the grave mistake of assuming that all these people will be like you and be responsible and go take care of their kids. Pro tip: NOT GONNA HAPPEN. On the other hand economic security does reduce crime since a lot of the issues in poor America come from pure desperation and a lack of knowledge of how to escape it.

I agree. But I've spent enough time with poverty issues to know cognitive deficiencies are irreversible. I applaud Mott Foundation for leading an effort to break the chain of poverty. If this works even marginally, it could be a step towards turn around a major challenge.

[lidoshuffle]

Yes, government handouts of $7500, most of which will end up being used to buy new TVs and cell phones, will really help eliminate poverty....

And more than likely a few quick trips to the local casinos...

[TC Talks]

Yes, government handouts of $7500, most of which will end up being used to buy new TVs and cell phones, will really help eliminate poverty....

And more than likely a few quick trips to the local casinos...

Really? The money isn't going to old white guys.

[MasterB]

This isn't going to end the cycle of ending poverty in my opinion and I doubt that it isn't going to help the kids either as the money isn't going to the kids. It's wasteful spending and throwing money at it that doesn't ever work and solve the problem of ending poverty in my opinion.

[TC Talks]

This isn't going to end the cycle of ending poverty in my opinion and I doubt that it isn't going to help the kids either as the money isn't going to the kids. It's wasteful spending and throwing money at it that doesn't ever work and solve the problem of ending poverty in my opinion.

Ok, what's your plan to end poverty? Cause the fight is worth having.

[FakeAndyStuart]

Whose idea was this in the first place? Richard M. Nixon.. 1971, The Family Assistance Plan. It actually passed in the House of Representatives in an attempt to replace current welfare practices. And Universal Basic Income has been tested successfully in places like Stockton, CA. Was there abuse? Certainly, not everyone plays by the rules. But overall, the success of UBI is consistently positive in improving the lives of children way beyond the current system of welfare and unemployment payments.

[TC Talks]

Many posters here don't seem to care about poor children.

[Mega Hertz]

I care. I think it's a great idea. I am fortunate (though hard work took me from a strung out junkie to a home in Brighton with money in the bank) and my kids want for nothing. It breaks my heart to think of kids that might get one meal a day or no gifts on Christmas or birthday because of others' choices.

That being said, let's see how this works out with the people who receive this money. Will it go to lottery? Will it go to bullshit? We shall see. Hopefully it's primarily used for good purposes.

[lidoshuffle]

Yes, government handouts of $7500, most of which will end up being used to buy new TVs and cell phones, will really help eliminate poverty....

And more than likely a few quick trips to the local casinos...

Really? The money isn't going to old white guys.

You're right "TC"...I never see Old Black Men at MGM or Motor City casinos...

[TC Talks]

Yes, government handouts of $7500, most of which will end up being used to buy new TVs and cell phones, will really help eliminate poverty....

And more than likely a few quick trips to the local casinos...

Really? The money isn't going to old white guys.

You're right "TC"...I never see Old Black Men at MGM or Motor City casinos...

So you are suggesting that pregnant and mothers of newborns are going to leave their children, get in a car and to the Motor City Casino?

Sounds like you got some quality meth this week.