For families struggling to pay the bills, for parents juggling multiple jobs to try to keep things afloat, small amounts of cash can make the difference between making it or not, between having some breathing space or being suffocated by the daily grind. Simply giving cash to families in need is very effective at improving economic and mental well-being.

That’s a key takeaway from the many experiments with cash programs – guaranteed income – that have been playing out all across the country (and here in Oregon) over the past few years.

In this episode of Policy for the People, we explore the policy known as guaranteed income, an idea whose time has come. First, we speak with Shafeka Hashash, Associate Director of Guaranteed Income at the Economic Security Project, about the experiments with guaranteed income that we’ve been seeing in communities across the country, and what they teach us. 

Then we take a look at a guaranteed income pilot program right here in Oregon. We speak with Brandi Tuck of Path Home, who says that cash programs have the power to lift families out of poverty for good.