Back in 2022, the Louisville Metro Government partnered with organizations to create the city’s first guaranteed income program.
It sought out residents aged 18-24 in three low-income neighborhoods: California, Russell and Smoketown, offering some of them $500 a month for a year.
A report released Monday examines how 151 young adults who received the money from April ’22 to March ’23 compared to 180 similar residents without those payments.
Both groups of residents were surveyed four times during the pilot program:
- Before receiving the money
- Midway into receiving money, in Oct. ’22
- At the end of receiving money, in Mar. ’23
- Six months after the payments ended, in Oct. ’23
Consulting and research firm Abt Global created the report and led the data collection and analysis.
Its authors wrote that the Louisville program had a small number of people take part, making it difficult to confidently say if certain results happened because of the money instead of by chance. That includes data that shows those who received money, compared to those who didn’t, had higher average household incomes throughout the surveys and were more likely to be working six months after the payments
However, some findings were strong enough to be considered statistically significant. That includes data showing those who received money were more likely to have had $500 or more saved at the end of the payment period, compared to the other group. They were also less likely to have been evicted during the last half of the payment period than the others.
John Nevitt is the senior manager for economic mobility at Metro United Way, which led the project and helped provide funding. He called the program’s results “powerful” and said they could lead to the organization offering direct financial assistance in more ways.
“This is an opportunity for us to take this knowledge and begin to apply it in a new practice,” Nevitt said.
Of the study members chosen to receive money, 86% were non-Hispanic Black/African American, 62% were female and 79% described themselves as “food insecure” in the past month.
Former Louisville mayor Greg Fischer said at a press conference in 2022 that the program’s mission was to “provide a foundation for young people transitioning to the working world.”
Basic income programs have become a political lighting rod in some U.S. states, as Republicans opposed to them say they disincentivize work and create more government dependency.
Nevitt said that, based on data he’s read or heard about, guaranteed income supports residents in both the short and long term. He gave an example of someone passing up a potential job to find another that better fits their career goals.
“Maybe the first opportunity they have, they don't feel compelled to take it because they're struggling financially, but they can actually make a planful move,” Nevitt said.
Louisville is one of more than 30 cities and localities that have offered residents guaranteed income through a pilot program. A large study offering 1,000 residents in Texas and Illinois $1,000 each month for three years showed mixed results on the effectiveness of the money.
Last year, U.S. Representative Morgan McGarvey, a Democrat representing most of Jefferson County, told LPM News that the Louisville program inspired him to make plans for introducing national legislation offering a similar model.
This past March, he helped introduce a bill called the Young Adult Tax Credit Act. However, it has not yet passed either Congressional chamber in the current legislation session.
