One of the left’s more recent fever dreams has been to have government supply everyone with a guaranteed income, a base amount of money that everyone can live on even before they get a job.
Yes, it is a dumb as it sounds.
But, despite the communistic nonsense of it all, some jurisdictions have already tried it. And one of those areas has just been told to cut it out.
Per Just the News:
The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily blocked Harris County’s guaranteed income pilot program from going into effect, granting a request filed by Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The decision came after two lower courts, the 165th District Court and the 14th Court of Appeals, denied his request for a temporary injunction.
More than 82,000 Harris County residents had applied to participate in the program as of its Feb. 2 deadline. Participants were already chosen and slated to receive their first payments April 24.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo first announced in June 2023 the plan to create the program using $20.5 million in COVID-19 relief money the county received through the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. The Democratic-controlled Harris County Commissioner’s Court approved the program despite the federal government stipulating that the funds could only be used for COVID-19-related programs.
According to the plan, 1,928 Harris County residents would be chosen by lottery to participate after meeting certain criteria, including living at 200% below the poverty level in the county’s poorest 10 zip codes. Those chosen would receive $500 cash payments every month for 18 months with “no strings attached.”
Texas AG Paxton thought the idea was disastrous and maybe even unconstitutional.
“Harris County’s program to give public money away with no conditions, no control over expenditure of that money, and no guarantee of public benefit is prohibited,” he added. “The Constitution also provides that everyone has ‘equal rights, and no man, or set of men, is entitled to exclusive separate public emoluments.’ This lottery-based handout violates the Texas Constitution because the selection of recipients is inherently arbitrary. County governments have limited authority to act and, like all governments, can only act in accordance with the Constitution. Harris County has exceeded that authority.”
Paxton added, “Taxpayer money must be spent lawfully and used to advance the public interest, not merely redistributed with no accountability or reasonable expectation of a general benefit. I am suing to stop officials in Harris County from abusing public funds for political gain.”
The whole idea is idiotic, for certain.
Let’s hope Texas is able to shut this down.
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