Basic Income Programs in Marin County and Oakland Exclude White People. Is That Legal?

Basic income pilot programs are proliferating throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The goal is to empower poor families with unconditional cash grants. But there’s a catch: You aren’t eligible if you’re white.

Last week, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf announced the launch of the Oakland Resilient Families partnership, which will provide 600 families with a $500 monthly cash stipend for the 18 months.

“The poverty we all witness today is not a personal failure, it is a systems failure,” said Schaaf. “Guaranteed income is one of the most promising tools for systems change, racial equity, and economic mobility we’ve seen in decades.”

The program—modeled off of a similar pilot in Stockton, California—will be eligible to families with at least one child under 18, who are making no more than 50 percent of the area’s median income ($59,000 for a family of three), and who are black, indigenous, and/or people of color (BIPOC).

The Resilient Families partnership, while endorsed and promoted by Schaaf and the city government, is funded entirely by philanthropic donations. It will be run by a collection of community groups, including the nonprofits Family Independence Initiative, Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, and Oakland Thrives, a public-private partnership.

A recent study of Stockton’s basic income pilot program found that recipients saw their financial security and reported mental well-being rise, reports NPR.

Eligible families will apply online to participate in the program and will be chosen at random. The program is scheduled to start this spring.

It’s similar to another basic income pilot being launched in nearby Marin County. That program, reports the San Francisco Chronicle, will provide a $1,000 monthly stipend to 125 low-wage women of color with at least one child over the next two years.

The program will be administered by the Marin Community Foundation, a nonprofit, which is also contributing $3 million to the endeavor. The Marin County Board of Supervisors voted last Tuesday to spend $400,000 on the program.

Oakland’s program is probably the better-designed ou