No strings attached
Amidst the pandemic, as messages flooded into King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay’s office about lost jobs, small businesses closing and residents unable to pay rent, he launched a small guaranteed basic income program.
“I was getting so many inbound messages from people who are just on the brink of economic collapse,” said Zahilay. “During the pandemic, people’s needs were very broad; there was not one single need. People just needed funds in their hands to survive.”
So Zahilay leveraged what money he immediately had access to, redirecting a portion of his office funds and grant funding allocated to council members to the program. Throughout last year, 10
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