Mayors for a Guaranteed Income push to solve affordability crisis with no-strings attached cash assistance

Michael D. Tubbs, president of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, reported more than 60 bills implementing cash-based policies have been proposed in 15 states. Culture Trends Mayors for a Guaranteed Income push to solve affordability crisis with no-strings attached cash assistance More than 20 bills in 11 states proposed to establish some form of statewide guaranteed income program By Joshua Q. Nelson Fox News Published March 6, 2026 6:00am EST Facebook Twitter Threads Flipboard Comments Print Email Add Fox News on Google close Video Financial focus: Trump puts affordability front and center in Texas speech Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich reports on President Donald Trump’s midterm messaging, highlighting his focus on affordability during remarks in Texas, on 'Special Report.' NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The president of the Mayors for a Guaranteed Income tells Fox News Digital that working-class Americans need something simple: cash. "I think everybody in this country understands we live in a country that's unaffordable for working people," Michael D. Tubbs told Fox News Digital.Mayors for a Guaranteed Income touted in February that more than 60 bills that would implement cash-based policies similar to guaranteed income have been floated in 15 states. Tubbs also founded the Counties for a Guaranteed Income and Legislators for a Guaranteed Income. He served as mayor of Stockton, Calif., from 2017 to 2021. The president of the Mayors for a Guaranteed Income told Fox News Digital that working-class Americans need cash under the current economic conditions. (Fox News Digital) Legislators for a Guaranteed Income reported more than 20 bills in 11 states being proposed to establish some form of statewide guaranteed income program.The affordability crisis has plagued many Americans amid rising costs of groceries, housing, and healthcare. The House passed legislation — showing a rare display of bipartisanship last month with a 390-9 vote — to deliver policies aimed at growing the supply of affordable housing in the U.S. "I see the overarching strategy is that we know we're in the affordability crisis. We know that people are looking for solutions to put money in their pockets. We know people want to be able to afford rent and childcare and food in the U.S.," Tubbs said.REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: GOP TARGETS AFFORDABILITY WITH RECONCILIATION 2.0 PLAN AHEAD OF MIDTERMS Mayors for a Guaranteed Income touted in February that more than 60 bills that would implement cash-based policies similar to guaranteed income have been floated in another 15 states. (Ozan KoseE/AFP via Getty Images) Guaranteed basic income programs have become a trend across the U.S. in recent years, with more than 100 pilot progams launched since 2018. Mayors for a Guaranteed Income grew into a coalition of over 150 mayors pushing pilot programs, offering low-income participants up to $1,000 a month with no strings attached. The group has pushed pilot programs that have been adopted by municipalities across the country. Most notably, Cook County, Ill., the second-largest county in the U.S., established a permanent guaranteed basic income program after the success of a previous pilot version. The program launched in 2022 with the aid of federal COVID-19 relief funds.PRO-TRUMP GROUP UNLEASHES BLUEPRINT FOR CRUCIAL HOUSING INITIATIVE FEATURING TOP MAGA INFLUENCER President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office on March 3, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)Tubbs, a Democrat, wants the federal government to follow suit by providing guaranteed income programs or something similar to provide cash assistance. "We have wars in Iran, regime change in Venezuela. We get it, the healthcare system and the big, ugly bill," he said. "So people are saying that social safety is being frayed.""That wealth is further being taken from the many and given to the few, and there has to be a government solution because this is a government-caused problem… inflation, unaffordability, this is all a direct result of government policy," Tubbs told Fox News Digital.CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. President Donald Trump took a shot at Democrats over affordability issues in the country during his State of the Union address last month, saying they had brought about inflation and open borders."Now the same people in this chamber who voted for those disasters suddenly use the word 'affordability,'" he said. "A word, they just used it. Somebody gave it to them, knowing full well that they caused and created the increased prices that all of our citizens had to endure. You caused that problem." Related Article We're Democrats. From food to housing, costs keep rising — here’s a serious fix Joshua Q. Nelson is a reporter for Fox News Digital.Joshua focuses on politics, education policy ranging from the local to the federal level, and the parental uprising in education.Joining Fox News Digital in 2019, he previously graduated from Syracuse University wi