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NOW FOR 43% OF ALL U.S. FAMILIES. THEIR INCOMES AREN’T ENOUGH TO COVER THEIR BASIC FAMILY BUDGET FOR FAMILIES LED BY SINGLE BLACK MOTHERS, 91% CAN’T MAKE ENDS MEET. THAT’S ACCORDING TO THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION. THE PERSISTENT GAP BETWEEN WAGES AND COST OF LIVING HAS MORE COMMUNITIES TURNING TO AN OLD IDEA GUARANTEED INCOME. IN 1969, PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON PROPOSED THE FAMILY ASSISTANCE PLAN. IT WOULD HAVE PROVIDED A GUARANTEED MINIMUM INCOME TO ALL FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN, BUT IT FAILED IN CONGRESS. STILL, SOME CITIES AND ORGANIZATIONS HAVE MOVED FORWARD WITH THEIR OWN GUARANTEED INCOME PROGRAMS. OUR CORRESPONDENT LAURA CHAVEZ TAKES US TO JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, WHERE A LONG RUNNING PROGRAM IS WORKING TO LIFT BLACK MOMS AND THEIR FAMILIES OUT OF POVERTY, DOING GOOD, CARTER. GOOD JOB. BORN AND RAISED IN MISSISSIPPI, ALEXIS FOSTER IS DETERMINED TO GIVE HER SONS A SAFE AND SECURE CHILDHOOD. IN THIS DAY AND AGE, SPENDING TIME IS VERY IMPORTANT AND THEM BEING ABLE TO COME TO ME AND TALK TO ME AND BEING CONFIDENT AND COMFORTABLE. YOU’RE GOING TO ADD ALL THREE NUMBERS UP AND THEN YOU’RE GOING TO DIVIDE IT. THE BOYS FATHERS DIED A FEW YEARS AGO, LEAVING ALEXIS A CHILD SUPPORT SPECIALIST, TO RAISE KINGSTON AND CARTER ON HER OWN. WE STRUGGLE WITH, WELL, I WOULDN’T SAY STRUGGLE, BUT I MADE A WAY LIKE THE RENT HERE CAN TEND TO BE MORE THAN WHAT YOU MAKE. GOD, I THANK YOU FOR ANOTHER MEAL WITH MY FAMILY. ALEXIS KNEW THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGE OF BEING A SINGLE PARENT. HER MOM RAISED HER AND HER SIBLINGS ON HER OWN. MY MOM WORKED A LOT, SO WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME AT HOME BY OURSELVES OR WITH A FAMILY MEMBER IN THE HOPE OF SPENDING MORE TIME WITH HER OWN BOYS. ALEXIS APPLIED FOR THE MAGNOLIA MOTHER’S TRUST. MAGNOLIA MOTHER’S TRUST IS A GUARANTEED INCOME PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES $1,000 A MONTH FOR 12 MONTHS, NO STRINGS ATTACHED. AISHA LEANDRO IS THE CEO OF SPRINGBOARD TO OPPORTUNITIES, WHICH LAUNCHED MAGNOLIA MOTHER’S TRUST IN 2018. WE SUPPORT ABOUT 100 WOMEN PER YEAR. WE ARE SPECIFICALLY FOCUSING ON BLACK MOMS IN THIS COMMUNITY BECAUSE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE DATA, BLACK MOMS ARE THE MOST HARMED FINANCIALLY IN SPITE OF WORKING MORE HOURS, IN SPITE OF HAVING MORE EDUCATION THAN THEIR COUNTERPARTS, GUARANTEED INCOME PROGRAMS HAVE LONG FACED CRITICISM THAT THEY COULD DISSUADE PEOPLE FROM WORKING, AND THAT THERE’S NO WAY TO ENSURE THE MONEY IS USED FOR NEEDS. WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO JUST GIVE PEOPLE MONEY? DON’T YOU THINK IT WOULD ACTUALLY BE MORE GUIDING IF YOU WERE TO SAY, HEY, THIS IS FOR YOUR RENT, THESE ARE FOR YOUR BILLS. ALL OF THE DATA THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE SHOWS THE VERY OPPOSITE OF THAT SNAP, TANF, HOUSING VOUCHERS. ALL OF THOSE PROGRAMS ARE GUIDED. AND ULTIMATELY, WE HAVE SEEN THAT NONE OF THOSE PROGRAMS HAVE REALLY MOVED THE NEEDLE ON POVERTY. WHAT IT IS THAT WE ARE DOING WITH OUR WORK OF HAVING NO STRINGS ATTACHED, WE ARE CHANGING THE NARRATIVE ON HOW WE TALK ABOUT POVERTY, AND WE ARE ACTUALLY SAYING, WE TRUST YOU. WE KNOW THAT YOU KNOW BETTER THAN ANYONE WHAT IT IS THAT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY NEEDS. THE SIMPLEST EXPLANATION FOR GUARANTEED INCOME IS IT’S THE NOTION THAT WE DON’T HAVE TO START OUT AT ZERO FOR INCOME. WE COULD START OUT AT SOME FLOOR. ELAINE MAAG IS A SENIOR FELLOW AT THE URBAN INSTITUTE. A GUARANTEED INCOME IS AN INVESTMENT IN SOCIETY BECAUSE IT FREES UP PEOPLE TO DO THE THINGS THEY’RE BEST SUITED TO DO, ACCORDING TO THE URBAN INSTITUTE, COMMUNITIES ARE INCREASINGLY TURNING TO GUARANTEED INCOME PROGRAMS, WITH MORE THAN 100 PILOT PROGRAMS LAUNCHED FROM 2018 TO 2024, MANY OF THESE PROGRAMS HAVE SHOWN ECONOMIC GROWTH, AN INCREASE IN FULL TIME JOB RETENTION, BETTER RATES OF HOME STABILITY, AND IMPROVED HEALTH. BOTH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL. WHEN WE GIVE PEOPLE ENOUGH INCOME TO MEET THEIR BASIC NEEDS, THEY CAN USE THE TIME THAT YOU FREE UP TO FIGURE OUT HOW THEY CAN THRIVE. THIS IS TIA. SHE WAS ONE OF OUR VERY FIRST MOMS, A FREEDOM THAT LEANDRO SAYS IS HELPING FAMILIES BREAK THE CYCLE OF POVERTY. PRIOR TO THE MAGNOLIA MOTHER’S TRUST, OR PRIOR TO GETTING THE GUARANTEED INCOME. WHEN WE ASK OUR MOMS, WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR YOUR FUTURE? THEIR GOALS FOR THEIR FUTURE ARE ALWAYS RELATED TO THEIR KIDS AND WHAT WE SEE OVER THE COURSE OF THE MAGNOLIA MOTHER’S TRUST, OUR MOMS BEGIN TO BLOSSOM AND THEY’RE LIKE, HOLD ON, I ACTUALLY HAVE THINGS THAT I WANT AS WELL. I ACTUALLY WANT TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL. I ACTUALLY WANT A BETTER JOB. THAT INCLUDES ALEXIS. I WANT TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL AND DO MEDICAL BILLING AND CODING. SO THE TUITION IS 3500. AND PRIOR TO MAGNOLIA, I PROBABLY WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO PAY FOR IT. BUT WITH MAGNOLIA IN THIS EXTRA INCOME, I CAN SAVE AND BE ABLE TO PAY MY TUITION. MY HANDS ARE SLIPPERY. WHILE HER BOYS ARE MAKING PLANS OF THEIR OWN. WHAT DO YOU GUYS WANT TO DO WITH YOUR MOM OVER THE NEXT YEAR? I WANT TO GO SWIMMING JUST LIKE GO GO PLACES AND GET ALL TOGETHER AS ONE AND JUST EXPRESS HOW WE FEEL AS A FAMILY UNI