A California city has progressed with its plans to provide low-income transgender and nonbinary residents with universal basic income every month.
According to NPR, the Palm Springs City Council approved $200,000 in funding for DAP Health and Queer Works in late March, the first step towards a program providing a regular no-strings-attached payment.
These two programs are now working to design the pilot program for the city. They plan on applying later this year for funding from the state from a $35 million fund set aside for universal basic income.
A study conducted by UCLA's Williams Institute found that "LGBT people collectively have a poverty rate of 21.6 percent, which is much higher than the rate for cisgender straight people of 15.7 percent." Trans individuals tend to have a high poverty rate amongst LGBTQ individuals, at a rate of 29.4 percent.
Founder and executive director of Queer Works Jacob Rostovsky told NPR that the transgender community also faces higher levels of unemployment and job discrimination, in addition to health issues.
"Having that unrestricted cash flow is really important, not only for trans and nonbinary individuals, but for everyone," Rostovsky told NPR.
He said that the unrestricted funds, unlike programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, would allow these individuals to repair their car, address health problems, or use as they see fit.
"When you look at the trans community, we have to decide if we eat, have safe housing or receive medical treatment, or, for us, gender-affirming care," he says. With funds from a universal basic income program, "you don't have to think about choosing anymore. You can have the freedom to address all of your needs."
While the program will prioritize transgender and nonbinary individuals, Rostovsky said they plan on opening their program to others that need the financial help.
"We are trying to be as well-rounded as possible," he says.
Opponent of the program, former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio, a Republican who served as the first openly gay member of the city council, called the program "outrageous and discriminatory," according to Fox News.
"We're completely opposed to guaranteed or universal basic income programs, because they ultimately cause inflation and raise the cost of living on everyone — they don't work," DeMaio said in a statement.
"But at least some of them have minimum income requirements to qualify, whereas this one is no-strings-attached 'woke' virtue signaling to the LGBT community in a way that is not only offensive but discriminatory," he continued.
The program would be one of a few programs offering universal basic income to LGBTQ residents.
In West Hollywood, California, the city launched its own universal basic income program in February, open to LGBTQ- identifying adults over the age of 50, and making less than $41,400 or less individually.
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