A new kind of club wants people to share the wealth

You’ve got your book clubs. You’ve got your movie clubs.

And then, you’ve got your clubs that are about redistributing money.

Baltimore-based Alex Zhu got the idea for a Community Guaranteed Income Club last year, when he saw a bunch of friends who worked for the federal government lose their jobs. Maryland was hit especially hard by the Trump administration’s cuts, with a loss of nearly 25,000 federal jobs last year, more than any other state.

Inspired by the concept of universal basic income, Zhu decided to create a group where members help their neighbors by sending them some cash.

Zhu, who has a background in public health and is big on community generally, was handing out fliers for the club at a potluck and movie screening he organized earlier this month in Baltimore.

“We have 54 people,” he said. “We've been running for over a year. It has helped redistribute over $25,000.”

Everyone who joins self-reports their monthly income, subtracts taxes and student loan payments, and then Zhu calculates the average. The club uses a formula to figure out the redistribution.

“The people who make above the average send money to people who make below the average,” he said.

So, one member who makes an above-average income sends a small percentage of their monthly income — 7% or less — directly to another member who makes less than the average.

Right now, the person in the club with the highest income makes about $10,000 a month, post-tax. That member is sending out $700, split between multiple people.

There are a few members who are unemployed and have no money coming in. They’re each getting about $200 a month.

Most members of the club fall somewhere in between. With the current mix of incomes, people who make $50,000 or more annually, pretax, usually end up giving money, while those who make less than that receive it.

Zhu was inspired by the tech company Comingle, which has created an app that will let people participate in a kind of mutual aid network. The app is still in beta.

Samantha Susson is a member of the Baltimore club who contributes about $200 each month. She works in healthcare and sees a lot of people who could use this club.

“I'm like, ‘What this family needs is money,’” she said.

The program also acts as a kind of safety net if she ever leaves her job.

“This is something that stays in the back of my mind,” she said. “OK, I would have access to this.”

That access ended up mattering to Jenny Kessler. When she first joined the club, she was working as a brand strategist and usually gave $20 to $30 each month.

“Some people tithe, some people give to charities,” she said. “This felt like a way that I could give back and directly impact someone in my community.”

Then, earlier this year, Kessler lost her job. She still has income from teaching improv classes, but she went from giving money through the club to getting it. It’s only about $10 to $15 a month, but it’s still meaningful

“You see it show up in your Venmo, and you're like, ‘wow, somebody cares about my well-being,’” she said. “‘Somebody is looking out for me in a small way and wants me to survive.’”

Another Marylander, Tamar Smith, lost his job with the federal government last spring, and received up to $140 a month through the club while he was looking for work.

“I know some people say that doesn't seem like a lot, but it's a lot when you don't have much,” he said.

He put it towards things like his electric bill.

“I was always thankful,” Smith said. “It really reassured me that there's some decent human beings out there in the world.”

Smith has since gotten a job and is now a giver in the club, sending $40 to $50 each month.

“This program helped me so much,” he said. “I want to pay it forward.”

Clubs like this are new and can serve as a proof of concept of UBI, according philosopher and economist Karl Widerquist, a proponent of UBI who has been studying it for decades.

“These sorts of things are a good way to advertise basic income,” he said.

But Widerquist said there are limits to what a small group can accomplish.

“I don't think that a private charity of any kind is going to substitute for what the government needs to be doing,” Widerquist said.

Most UBI programs so far have been experimental. A study published in the Journal of Urban Health found that in one project in Stockton, California, people who received $500 a month for two years had less mental distress and more time and energy to look for new jobs than those who didn’t get that money.

Still, Widerquist said these clubs do have potential pitfalls.

“People could sign up when they're net beneficiaries and then quit the club when they're going to be net contributors,” he said. “That's the economist’s worry: that people will be selfish.”

No one in the Baltimore club has done that. However, the group needs people who make above the average income. There’s currently a waitlist for people who make below the average.

Zhu holds regular gatherings for club members to meet each other and learn about the club. (The next one is at a roller skating rink.) He said he hopes people see that there is a benefit to helping your neighbor.

“When our community is thriving, our neighborhoods are better and our lives are better because the people around you are living happier lives,” he said. “They're making more art, they're throwing more potlucks and parties. It’s just a better way to be.”

Zhu wants more people at the party. He would like the club to triple in size by the end of the year. Also, he hopes word about the club spreads: He calls the Baltimore chapter “the first of many.”