All Americans Deserve an Income Floor.
Our Mission
Counties for a Guaranteed Income is a coalition of county elected officials from across the United States working to ensure that all Americans have an income floor.
With the launch of Counties for a Guaranteed Income, we are moving Dr. King's vision from one mayor in one city to more than 100 leaders in cities and counties across the nation who are committed to ensuring that we end poverty and build an economy that provides dignity and freedom for all.
Michael D. Tubbs
Former Stockton Mayor & Founder of CGI
Become a Guaranteed Income Movement Leader
Are you a county official interested in joining our coalition?
Poverty impacts every part of our country. It’s our responsibility as government to give our residents an equitable opportunity to thrive. This understanding is at the core of LA County’s guaranteed income program, Breathe. The insights we gain from our pilot will add to the repository of data that proves that people facing economic hardship know how to allocate money in a way that best provides for their families. I'm proud to be a part of this national movement to bring a guaranteed income to every American, and I look forward to working with county officials from across the nation.
Holly J. Mitchell
Supervisor - 2nd District, Los Angeles County CA
About CGI
Counties are Joining the Fight for a Guaranteed Income
Economic insecurity isn’t a new challenge or a partisan issue. Wealth and income inequality, which have long plagued our country, continue to grow. Even prior to the pandemic, people who were working two and three jobs still couldn’t afford basic necessities. COVID-19 has only further exposed the economic fragility of most American households, and has disproportionately impacted Black and Brown people. This is our New Deal moment: everyone deserves an income floor through a guaranteed income.
Building off his first-of-its-kind guaranteed income pilot (SEED) and rooted in Dr. King’s legacy, former Stockton Mayor Michael D. Tubbs founded Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI) in June 2020, and the coalition has grown to over 100 mayors. Given that the nation’s two largest guaranteed income pilots are being administered by counties (Cook County’s Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot and Los Angeles County’s Breathe Program), MGI sees organizing county officials as an important evolution of our work - which is why we are launching Counties for a Guaranteed Income (CGI).
MGI is already providing ad hoc support and consultation to counties, and with CGI, we are codifying this work as an affiliate initiative and building a broader movement of electeds for a guaranteed income.
Mirroring and complimentary to MGI, our approach to CGI is threefold: (1) invite county electeds to join us in our efforts, and provide technical assistance for new county-led pilots; (2) invest in narrative change efforts to highlight the lived experience of economic insecurity; and (3) implement cash-based policies at the local, state, and federal level. Because CGI is an initiative of MGI, CGI’s county officials will be absorbed into MGI’s existing infrastructure.
The founding members of this coalition include: Board President Toni Preckwinkle (Cook County IL), Supervisor Holly Mitchell (Los Angeles County CA), Supervisor Lindsey Horvath (Los Angeles County CA), Councilmember Girmay Zahilay (King County WA), Councilmember Will Jawando (Montgomery County MD), Council Chair Ryan Mello (Pierce County WA), Commissioner Ted Terry (DeKalb County GA), Commissioner Stormy Gage-Watts (Caddo Parish LA), Commissioner Rodney Ellis (Harris County TX), Commissioner Hank Hughes (Santa Fe County NM), Board President Susan Ellenberg (Santa Clara County CA), Commissioner Susheela Jayapal (Multnomah County OR), Commissioner Rena Moran (Ramsey County MN), Board Chair Trista MatasCastillo (Ramsey County MN), Commissioner Nida Allam (Durham County NC), Board Chair Brenda Howerton (Durham County NC), Board Chair Irene Fernando (Hennepin County MN), Commissioner Angela Conley (Hennepin County MN), Commissioner Marion Greene (Hennepin County MN), County Executive Joseph Parisi (Dane County WI) .
Across the board, guaranteed income leads to better lives and communities. With this stable foundation, people can further support their families, pursue education and find new jobs. With more stability, people invest in themselves and their families, take risks and even start businesses. And County governments should be leading the way. From justice to public health to safety net systems, the reach of local governments place County leaders in a unique position to innovate. We can and should build systems that meet the needs of residents in a rapidly changing economic climate. There’s no better way to achieve this than through a guaranteed income.
Toni Preckwinkle
Board President, Cook County IL