The claim: Palm Springs is paying transgender residents $900 a month
A Jan. 2 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) includes a video of a man speaking about a universal basic income program in Palm Springs, California.
“So apparently, they giving transgenders a monthly payment of $900,” says the man before putting on a wig.
The post was liked more than 450,000 times in 10 days.
Our rating: Partly false
The post misrepresents the program, which includes but is not limited to transgender individuals. The pilot program enrolled its 30 participants in early 2023 and pays $800 a month for 18 months.
Pilot program not exclusively for transgender individuals
The Palm Springs Universal Basic Income pilot program launched in March 2023 and enrolled 30 people but was not limited to transgender individuals.
When the application went live, the only demographic requirements were that participants make less than $17,000 annually, live in Palm Springs and be past or present clients of Queer Works and DAP Health, two nonprofits that developed and manage the program. Queer Works focuses on healthcare for transgender and nonbinary individuals, and DAP Health is focused on care for those with HIV and AIDS but also provides services for the broader community.
The participants also had to agree to complete multiple surveys that would gauge the program’s impact.
“Other than that, we made no requirements on age, race, sexual orientation, gender identity or demographic qualifier,” a program spokesperson who asked not to be named said in an email to USA TODAY.
The majority of the program participants are neither transgender nor nonbinary, the program spokesperson said.
DAP Health and Queer Works initially intended to “prioritize support for local individuals who are Transgender and Non-Binary” with the program, according to information on DAP Health’s website. But by the time the program was awarded additional public funding in July 2022, that focus had been dropped, according to the Palm Springs Desert Sun.
The 30 participants enrolled in the program receive $800 monthly for 18 months, not the $900 the post claims. The spokesperson said the program has about a year left to run before a report is issued in 2025.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the claim for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
PolitiFact also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
- Palm Springs Universal Basic Income pilot program spokesperson, Jan. 16, Email exchange with USA TODAY
- Palm Springs Desert Sun, March 15, 2023, Online application opens for Palm Springs Universal Basic Income pilot program
- Palm Springs Desert Sun, July 29, 2022, Palm Springs basic income pilot, no longer tied to gender, gets $500,000 more in divided council vote
- DAP Health, March 24, 2022, DAP Health and Queer Works Receive Support from City of Palm Springs to Research and Design a Guaranteed Income Pilot
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