Wisconsin cities look to basic income to close racial, other wealth gaps

Cities across the country, including three in Wisconsin, are piloting basic income programs for residents. The goal: to better understand how providing money with no strings attached can help families turn their financial lives around. Some of these experiments show promising first results, and point to a possible solution to wealth disparities along racial and other lines. But public support for the programs isn't easy to drum up, and exploratory programs are short-lived. Will the trend toward providing guaranteed income to residents continue?

Reporting by Harrison Freuck and Zhen Wang. Originally published August 14th, 2021.