- Iowa recently passed a law banning local governments from providing basic income programs.
- But one providing $500 a month to low-income residents says it will continue using private funds.
- Most participants said they spent the money on food and housing in the first year.
Conservatives in Iowa voted to ban local governments from sponsoring basic income programs earlier this year. But one program in the middle of the state says it's seeing successful results — and will keep going.
The "UpLift" program in central Iowa provides up to $500 a month for 110 low-income residents. Though the legislation could threaten its future, its organizers say it will continue — for now — using private funding. They said the program is showing similar results to other basic income programs around the country: Residents are mostly spending the money on food and shelter.
Ashley Ezzio, a senior project coordinator at The Tom and Ruth Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement, which is conducting the study, told The Des Moines Register that most participants are spending the money on essentials.
A study of the program, which started last May, found that food and groceries made up about 42% of costs in the first year, Ezzio said.
Uplift tracks spending categories and asks participants to take periodic surveys through the University of Pennsylvania and Des Moines University. About 80% of the participants completed the first survey, Uplift said.
Last month, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law that bans county and city governments from providing basic income programs. State Rep. Steve Holthave called for the bans, calling basic income programs "socialism on steroids" and "an attack on American values."
Guaranteed basic income programs typically offer no-strings-attached monthly payments between $500 and $1,000 to specific groups, like new moms, Black women, or trans people, all low-income residents. They differ from their idealistic cousin — a universal basic income. UBI, made famous by Andrew Yang during the 2016 presidential election, would provide a monthly payment to all citizens.
UpLift's findings in Iowa mirror those of basic income programs across the country.
In Austin, one study found that residents in a program that received $1,000 monthly payments for a year spent the no-strings-attached cash mostly on housing and food.
Still, conservatives in Texas are also pushing back against such programs. The state Supreme Court temporarily blocked a Houston-area program in April that gave low-income residents $500 a month after the state attorney general called it "unconstitutional."