Toulouse: Haute-Garonne launches a “living income” for young people

Good news for young Toulouse residents. The department of Haute-Garonne, which extends from the capital of Occitanie to the Pyrenees, has announced the creation of a “living income” for young people, which can reach 500 euros per month, from March 2022. Initially, an experiment will be produced on 1,000 young people aged 18 to 24, too young to benefit from the RSA. The assistance will be flexible according to the income of the parents or of the person, if he has a remunerated activity. Paid by the Departmental Council which will draw on its own funds, it can be combined with student grants, the APL or other state aid.

“We have seen a huge shortage. The government is procrastinating, the + commitment income + has taken an Exocet, so we are going. It is an experiment to help a sacrificed generation, a living income to allow these young people to exist. We must act, “said the president of the PS of the Haute-Garonne Departmental Council, Georges Méric. “We will take stock after 18 months, the objective is better integration into society,” adds Mr. Méric.

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The 18-24 age group represents 150,000 people in the department. And several tens of thousands of young people could be concerned in the long term, according to the department. The cost of the experiment over 18 months is around 9 million euros. “The costs of poverty are much higher than the costs of public policies to fight against poverty”, underlined Arnaud Simion, vice-president of the Departmental Council of Haute-Garonne.

At the national level, Emmanuel Macron had promised for the start of the school year a “commitment income” to support young people who have no job or training, in exchange for a commitment to the implementation of a professional project.

Last week, the Minister of Labor assured that the measure was still under study, but no budget line was entered in the 2022 draft budget. Bercy is slowing down in the face of this reform, the cost of which is estimated by the ‘State about 2 billion euros per year. Haute-Garonne is one of the 18 departments which had proposed to the State to experiment with a national measure.

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