Fighting Poverty with Direct Cash Transfers, Featuring Jesús Gerena
What happens when you give cash to those in need? In this episode, Phil and Grace discuss direct cash transfers in conversation with Jesús Gerena, president and CEO of UpTogether. Jesús shares insight into how individuals who receive cash transfers invest in themselves, their families, and their communities. Jesús, Grace, and Phil consider attitudes of paternalism and mistrust of the poor among donors. They also discuss related concepts and ideas such as basic income movements and effective altruism.
Guest Info:
Jesús Gerena is CEO of UpTogether (previously Family Independence Initiative), a national organization with a bold mission of changing policies, systems, and underlying beliefs so that all people in the United States are seen and invested in for their strengths and are able to build power, reinforce their autonomy, and drive their own economic and social mobility.
Credits:
Podcast Production: Rococo Punch
Music: APM Music
Artwork: Jay Kustka
Resources:
UpTogether
The Urban Institute’s evaluation of the Austin Guaranteed Income Pilot
Center for Guaranteed Income Research at the University of Pennsylvania
GiveDirectly
CEP’s research on the impact of MacKenzie Scott’s giving