HudsonUP: Thinking Longer-Term

Why Five Years?

This fall, the HudsonUP basic income pilot will launch a second cohort with an additional 50 participants. This means that for five years, 1% of the Hudson population and nearly 3% of Hudson households will receive an additional $500 per month with no strings attached. We are grateful to the generous support of the Eutopia Foundation and the Humanity Forward Foundation for their continued investment in the Hudson community. As the pilot’s researcher, I have the pleasure of watching how this support directly impacts the recipients, their families, and the community around them.

While there are many basic income pilots launching across the country right now, HudsonUP is one of very few offering assistance for five years. This time horizon is important. We believe that it will allow participants the time they need to build savings, launch small businesses, return to school, or do whatever else they need to move themselves and their families to sound financial footing. Nearly 40% of the HudsonUP participants are pursuing either their GED or a college degree and several described their plans for launching small businesses.  But these plans take time.

Building savings can take time as well, especially during a pandemic. When I first surveyed the HudsonUP participants in January, 2021, they reported having an average total savings of only $1,754. They are not alone. According to the Federal Reserve, even before the pandemic, nearly 40% of Americans could not cover a $400 financial emergency. Because so many households are unprepared for financial setbacks like a major car repair or medical expense, researchers estimate that escaping poverty takes “almost 20 years with nearly nothing going wrong.” Now, many low-income households report that the pandemic has only worsened their financial situation. 

Basic income is different from traditional cash assistance programs because it allows recipients to choose what to do with the money and doesn’t impede their financial growth as most welfare programs do through restrictive income, asset limits, and short time limits. By allowing participants to build their savings, grow businesses, and seek higher education over the course of five years, HudsonUP is removing barriers to true economic mobility. In short, when people are trusted to be the expert in their own lives and given the time to do it, incredible things can happen. As one HudsonUP recipient explained to me, “it's taken a major stress off my life. It's just made me think about things differently and it's made me feel more confident. It's made me think that there is potential for growth.” Another explained that it's “really opened up the vision and ideas.” 

We see similar effects across the pilot. While 28% of participants reported feeling hopeless when the pilot began, only 12% did six months later. Later this fall, we will release a full Year 1 report.  We look forward to sharing more about the transformative potential of basic income in the lives of recipients and the Hudson community.

Leah Hamilton, MSW, PhD

Senior Fellow, Jain Family Institute

Associate Professor, Appalachian State University