As Americans are crushed by affordability, growing trend of mayors pushing cash handouts as the answer

A spokesperson for the Economic Securities Project (ESP), an organization that led the creation of more than 100 guaranteed income programs, told Fox News Digital that affordability is creating the "need to bring cash to communities even more urgent." "Further, the destruction of the social safety net paired with skyrocketing costs of healthcare and food have made the need to bring cash to communities even more urgent," ESP's Director of Cash Initiatives, Shafeka Hashash, told Fox News Digital.

"Amid the affordability crisis, we have a responsibility to share what we know about cash: that it provides stability, supports economic mobility and helps families move toward a more economically secure future," she added.

GUARANTEED INCOME PROGRAM TARGETS LOW-INCOME HOMES LED BY BLACK MOMS AS CASH HANDOUTS SURGE NATIONWIDE As Americans are struggling with rising housing, food and energy costs, both parties are trying to convince voters they have the answer to the affordability crisis ahead of the high-stakes midterm elections.

The past holiday weekend was emblematic of ongoing concern over affordability.

The AAA estimated that nearly 40 million Americans would pay unprecedented prices for gasoline, foisting the most expensive Labor Day holiday at the pump on record.

Meanwhile, the ESP has been pushing for guaranteed income long before affordability became a salient issue.

Founded in 2016, ESP originally launched with more than "100 entrepreneurs, activists, researchers, and philanthropists" advocating for direct cash payments.

Hashash’s comments came after ESP released a report published Aug.

12 and titled "Right on Time: How Cash Helps Families Move Through Life’s Transitions," making the case for institutionalizing "no-strings-attached" cash assistance.

The push comes as city leaders across the nation face a financial cliff.

Dozens of municipal mayors are scrambling to maintain local cash-handout experiments as the federal pandemic aid that funded them nears its final spending deadline.

CHICAGO SUBURB EXPANDS CASH HANDOUTS AS RACE-BASED REPARATIONS PROGRAM FACES MAJOR LEGAL BATTLE The report's authors build their case by citing "a wealth of data collected from over 250 cash and guaranteed-income pilots across 40 states and the District of Columbia," claiming the findings prove that direct cash transfers are a "legitimate policy tool." However, rather than pushing immediate, universal cash handouts nationwide, the authors suggest a tactical shift of tying direct payments to specific life events.