Stockton mayor Michael Tubbs has proposed an experimental program to give $500 every month to certain Stockton residents. The program, called the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, would make the city the first in the country to offer universal basic income. The money would help cover residents’ basic living expenses without conditions or restrictions. 

Tubbs, who was elected to Stockton’s City Council at the age of 22 and is now 27, aims to launch the initiative next year, testing it with several hundred Stockton residents. Tubbs believes the program will help cushion the city’s economic strife. Years of a struggling economy ultimately culminated in Stockton’s 2013 bankruptcy, according to Time.

The median household income in Stockton is $44,797, which is far below the California median household income of $61,818. Stockton also has a high unemployment rate at 7.3 percent, nearly double the national average, according to a Forbes report.

The concept of universal income is not new, but it could play a big role amidst growing concerns about workforce automation, loss of jobs, and poverty. In Silicon Valley, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have expressed support for universal income.