“The Oakland pilot was funded primarily by New York-based philanthropy group Blue Meridian Partners and extended by an anonymous donation. But in 2023, Schaaf said that for a guaranteed income program to truly work as a policy and become permanent ‘it must be adopted by the government’. [. . . .]
Even supporters of guaranteed income programs acknowledge that direct cash alone is not enough to meaningfully tackle systemic poverty, particularly in cities and communities like Oakland’s that have faced decades of disinvestment. UpTogether advocates for other anti-poverty policies, too, like baby bonds, tax credits, and food security benefits.
‘We knew the money would matter, and it absolutely did,’ said UpTogether CEO Jesús Gerena. ‘What we’ve learned again and again is that money is not enough.’”