well what would you do if you had a guaranteed basic income with no strings attached in Newark needed families say they use the cash to pay debts buy food for their kids and start savings accounts Mayor Ras Baraka's administration today revealed the results of its two-year guaranteed income pilot program which they say improved some of the city's most vulnerable residents financial emotional and mental health Ted Goldberg has the story It creates a safety net for your life outside of bills your career your future passions your hobbies For a few years Jenny Maria Drobo was one of the lucky few in Newark earning bi-weekly payments of $250 And she didn't squander it So it wasn't like I went to Atlantic City and dropped it all on on on a five on a spin All of my money was invested into myself and my future and my family and things I could do with it Idrobo says Newark's pilot program guaranteeing income for 400 lowincome people helped replace the boiler in her home pay down some student loan debt and was a safety net between jobs When I started with my job it's just that extra money that I could put towards things that I initially I couldn't So there I could put into my student loans a little bit more into the interest and just fulfill those things that initially I couldn't do without that extra money On Tuesday the city released findings and data from the program which gave others lump sum payments of $3,000 twice a year for a few years As that income volatility was smooth parents reported having less chaos in the home Kids who were in homes of the parents that were in the treatment group for the recurring cash were more likely to earn a grades According to the findings people who received guaranteed income were less likely to experience food insecurity were less likely to be evicted from their homes and more likely to increase their savings Mayor Ros Baraka says Newark and other cities trying out guaranteed income are bucking the national trend of government reducing its services I think it's timely that we talk about this now and we try to expand it now and especially in an environment where the richest people in the world are trying to take food out of the mouths of some of the most struggling uh uh in this country and the world taking food and medicine from people Science is kind of under attack right um and we have some institutions that are crumbling a little bit The cornerstone of mayors for guaranteed income and the cornerstone of what Mayor Baraka has been doing is saying we're going to lead in one hand with science and on the other hand with human rights People who spoke about the program today hope it can be replicated elsewhere in New Jersey When people found out that they'd gotten this they couldn't believe it They hung up on us They didn't trust us Um and people cried picking up those cards repeatedly saying "Thank you Mayor Baraka Thank you Mayor."

So thank you Mayor Barack You got like 400 of those I think I wouldn't have put more money into my interest my my student loans I think I wouldn't have more time to really think about my future and invest into my careers The big question is the price tag Newark's program got help from federal COVID relief and private investment That's a big ask and it's a long-term view right even a relatively modest guaranteed income program at the state level with a relatively strict income cap We're talking about $10 billion right in a state budget that's not even $60 billion $58 billion to be exact Patterson is running a similar program through next year helping those who could really use a lifeline in Newark I'm Ted Goldberg NJ Spotlight News [Music]