Amid Federal Cuts, Momentum for Direct Cash is Growing for Good Reason: the Washington Example

Thirty one states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have enacted a state tax credit or a child tax credit. This investment in people has ripple effects for the economy: for every $1 paid out in tax credits like these, $2 is returned to local economies. Refundable state tax credits can act like GBI, especially if they are large enough to be distributed monthly, and are an easy way to extend no strings attached cash quickly to low and moderate income families.

Direct cash allows people to solve their own problems and avoid financial crises, which makes all of us safer and helps our communities thrive. And it’s simply good policy. In fact, hundreds of mayors, legislators, and elected officials have signed on in support of Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) in recent years.

Federally, Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan recently introduced the “Economic Dignity for All” agenda: a policy platform that includes a universal child benefit, a boost for families who just welcomed a new baby, and a monthly cash payment for adults, to tackle the affordability crisis.

Results from over 200 GBI pilots across the U.S. are showing improved health, employment, and education outcomes. These impacts far exceed the cost of investment.  Notable GBI programs include the landmark RxKids program in Flint, Michigan, which provides a monthly payment to all expecting moms and babies in the city, with the goal of improving child and maternal health (this program has now extended to multiple cities across Michigan). Stanford’s Basic Income Lab tracks GBI programs across the U.S.

In Washington state, several local GBI pilots have had great results, including Growing Resilience In Tacoma (GRIT), run by United Way of Pierce County. GRIT provided $500 a month to 110 single parents in the city’s highest-need zip codes. The pilot showed families became more financially resilient.

The nonprofit Hummingbird Indigenous Family Services runs a program in King and Pierce Counties and the Tulalip Reservation called the Nest, which provides $1,250 a month until a child’s third birthday, to address disparities in maternal and birth outcomes for Indigenous communities. These programs are built with a core tenet of respect and support, and the knowledge that cash support allows people to meet their own needs.

Further, our Department of Social and Health Services recently began a study on the feasibility of a larger statewide direct cash program for pregnant parents and babies.

As we enter the Trump administration’s second year, state and local governments must take the reins to protect people’s well-being. Direct cash is a promising policy solution that can help boost local economies and ensure families can better survive financial crises.