(calm music) (energetic music) - Welcome to The Newsfeed.

In today's episode, we are diving into the push by a network of entrepreneurs, researchers, and philanthropists to create cash programs or guaranteed income that aim to empower Americans to live and work in this new economy.

We'll also dive into a Cascade PBS investigation that revealed more than a third of businesses found to be severe violators of workplace safety have not had follow-up inspections by the state in recent years.

And several dozen businesses and organizations are calling on Mayor Bruce Harrell to increase housing density in Seattle.

I'm Paris Jackson, today's top story, we're exploring the concept of guaranteed basic income and how a founder of an economic network is on a mission to improve the lives of all Americans.

I sat down with Natalie Foster, who brought her guaranteed income projects to Washington state to learn how those pilots fared and what it could mean for struggling families to not only get by, but also thrive.

Welcome Natalie.

Thank you for joining us on The Newsfeed.

- Thank you.

It's a pleasure to be here.

- You say in your book the guarantee that one in four Americans don't have $400 for an emergency and some 25% of people don't have anything saved for retirement.

What economic conditions have created these longstanding problems for Americans?

- We live in an economy that concentrates the gains of the economy in too few of hands, and doesn't have widespread prosperity.

You know, we live in a time when people lay awake at night wondering "How am I gonna find long-term care for my elderly parents?"

Or "How am I gonna pay hospital bills after a cancer diagnosis?"

There is another way we can build an economy that actually works for all, but we have to put our mind to it.

- You've spearheaded hundreds of what's called guaranteed income pilot programs across the country, five of which are right here in Washington state.

Tell us about that concept and then tell us about one for instance, down in Tacoma and some other locations.

- Yeah, you know, guaranteed income is this idea that there is a floor under which no one can fall, and it's often expressed through say a $500 check with no strings attached that comes every single month to a family.

That's guaranteed income.

And Washington state has really been a leader.

Mayor Woodards in Tacoma was early to this idea and launched a demonstration in Tacoma.

King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay spearheaded an important demonstration here as counties started to take up this idea around the country, and there's a nonprofit, Hummingbird, that supports indigenous women in the Seattle area.

So Washington state has been a leader in demonstrating what guaranteed income would look like.

- In terms of what research has said about the pros and cons of this concept, share with us a little bit more of that background.

- Yeah, well, here in Tacoma, we found that participants secured better paying jobs, that they reduced their debts and increased their savings, and they reported feeling less stress, less anxiety, even less pain that comes with the stress of poverty and how one is going to make ends meet.

And it's profound to think with something like $500, we were able to see that kind of a shift in people's lives.

- And I wanna piggyback on something that you said, because again, these are pilot programs.

So for instance, that one you mentioned down in Tacoma, it was only for a year.

What needs to be done or what do those that have the power to make change, what do they need to know to make these a long-term implementation into policies for certain cities or municipalities?

- So the pilots, as you say, they are a blueprint for what policy could look like.

We know how to create a guaranteed income in this nation.

You know, during the pandemic, this country passed the expanded Child Tax Credit, and that was a check that went to every parent in this country, no strings attached, to help parents deal with the rising cost of living.

So all we have to do is pass the expanded Child Tax Credit again, and we'd have essentially a guaranteed income for families with kids in this country.

- We're in a contentious election year and everything you suggest that could even the playing field, may be counter to what Americans say they want.

Why do you think that is?

- Well, what I hear Americans saying they want is change.

Poll after poll shows that people are very unhappy with the economy, that they feel precarious.

It's old people, it's young people.

It's across every partisan stripe that people don't feel like this economy is working for them.

There is another way.

There's a way we can guarantee an economic floor so that people can build lives of dignity in this country.

- You have a new book, "The Guarantee: Inside the Fight for America's New Economy."

What do you want readers to glean from your book?

- I want readers to know that the economy is not like the weather, right?

It is not something that just happens to us and we just get a bigger umbrella.

No, the economy is like a house that we are building every step of the way with decisions that we make and outcomes we get from those decisions.

So I want us to build a floor that guarantees economic stability for families in this country.

- It was a pleasure speaking with you, Natalie.

Thank you for joining us.

- Thank you so much for having me.

- If you would like to learn about the work that Natalie is doing or these guaranteed income pilot projects, just go to economicsecurityproject.org.

(calm music) A new Cascade PBS investigation finds the state's Department of Labor and Industries isn't following up with many companies considered to be severe violators of workplace safety standards.

A new analysis shows the state's Department of Labor and Industries is lagging on following up on unsafe workplaces.

A Cascade PBS investigation found in the past five years, safety officers have not returned to inspect the work sites of more than a third of companies deemed severe violators.

In 2011, LNI launched the Severe Violation Enforcement Program to track companies with willful or repeat serious citations due to fatality or hospitalization.

Companies can also be added to the program after egregious violations or repeated safety hazards.

An LNI assistant director says the program targets employers who demonstrate disregard for the safety and health of their employees.

Last fiscal year, LNI data shows officials added 22 employers to the list, twice as many as in any previous year.

Officials say their intention is that the program serves as a deterrent to encourage companies to keep workers safe.

The official noted the program is somewhat effective, but not as effective as it could be.

(calm music) The city of Seattle has proposed a plan for the future of housing development, but now more than 50 Seattle organizations and businesses are calling on mayor Bruce Harrell to do more.

A group of businesses, civic and charitable organizations joined forces to write a letter to Mayor Bruce Harrell to increase Seattle's housing density.

The Complete Communities Coalition says the city's comprehensive plan is insufficient to the city's needs.

The group warns if the city does not take action, it could severely impact the area's affordable housing crisis.

The letter written by the Complete Communities Coalition, including Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Seattle Habitat for Humanity, and Affordable Housing Developers, critiques the city's comprehensive plan update.

Currently, Seattle's comprehensive plan determines what kind of housing and how much of it can be built in each neighborhood.

Once implemented, it will guide the city's growth for the next two decades.

The proposed plan released in March builds off Seattle's existing urban village strategy of concentrating apartment construction in the urban core, as well as in commercial cores of outer neighborhoods, while leaving most of Seattle's residential space for low density, mostly single family housing.

I'm Paris Jackson, thank you for watching The Newsfeed, your destination for nonprofit northwest news.

Go to crosscut.com for more.

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