Under Detroit’s incoming mayor, hundreds of thousands could earn a new direct payment designed to help families.
Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield made history on Tuesday when she defeated Reverend Solomon Kinloch Jr. to become the first woman elected mayor in the city.
Sheffield is set to take office in January, and one of her first proposals calls for a direct payment worth thousands over the span of a year.
Why It Matters
Sheffield, who has served on the Detroit City Council since 2014, won the election with 77.4 percent of the vote, according to the Associated Press. Kinloch, the pastor of Triumph Church, received 22.6 percent. Sheffield became the front-runner early in the mayoral race, ultimately raising about $2.8 million to Kinloch’s $790,000.
While some experts say Sheffield’s direct payments proposal can help vulnerable families, others argue that it offers a short-term solution to a problem that requires deeper reform. The proposal joins an ongoing national discussion about placing cash directly into Americans’ hands.
What To Know
During her campaign, Sheffield called to partner with Rx Kids and bring the program to Detroit.
Rx Kids, which launched last year in Flint, provides mothers with $1,500 during pregnancy and then $500 in monthly payments for up to a year after birth.
Currently, families residing in participating locations in Michigan can apply. The state has already put aside $270 million to expand the Rx Kids program.
“We know these cash infusions do work, but I think even more exciting … is this wraparound services approach, so not just providing programs, but packaging programs for residents,” David Bowser, Sheffield’s senior policy adviser, told Axios.
Under Sheffield’s plan, a new Office of Human, Homeless and Family Services could help families apply for several programs they qualify for at the same time.
“Cash-infusion programs have become a go-to move over the past few years, especially under the Biden administration—handing out money with little oversight with some measurable impact. Now, both mayoral candidates are pushing similar ideas,” Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9Innings podcast, told Newsweek.
What People Are Saying
Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group, told Newsweek: “Sheffield’s plan is a short-term cash injection with no sustainable solution. … Baby bonds don’t feed a family this month, and Rx Kids checks run out after a year. True reform requires something deeper—long-term investment, structural change and accountability. Centuries of exclusion cannot be alleviated by these kinds of programs.”
Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek: “$1,500 during pregnancy plus $500/month for a year targets the window where families are most vulnerable. The data backs this: Guaranteed income pilots across the country show mothers receiving regular payments reduce financial chaos, improve mental health and actually increase labor force participation (it’s counterintuitive but proven, stability breeds ambition, not dependency). With 50 percent-plus of Detroit kids in poverty, this timing matters. The catch? It only lasts 12 months post-birth. After that, the financial cliff hits hard.”
Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: “City Council President Sheffield’s approach would be to have the city partner with the Rx Kids program, which provides a monthly stipend for expecting mothers leading up to and in the year following birth. … We’ve seen similar programs in other states, and some of those programs have succeeded and others have failed, in large part due to how future funding and additional support systems are planned.”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen how Sheffield’s proposal will progress once she takes office next year, but some financial experts have warned that these types of direct payments don’t fix the larger systemic problems of poverty.
“If you’re a pregnant mother in Detroit right now, Rx Kids helps you survive 2026,” Ryan said, adding, “Guaranteed income works, but pilot programs are political theater unless they become permanent policy.”
