Democrat-ruled Texas county wants to spend "covid relief money" to give selected pipo cash

Wow, leftist-ruled states, cities and counties have done some novel things wif' dat fedrul "covid relief" money, eh?  Cuz duh biden/Dem regime gave billions to 'em with no limits on what they could call "covid relief."  So who could be surprised when some cities and counties got...creative, eh?

So the leftists who rule Harris County, Texas, have proposed a new "guaranteed income pilot program" (also called "universal basic income") to give $500 per month to selected families for 18 months.

Under the program--which the leftist Texas Tribune hastens to assure voters is totally federally funded--1,900 "households" would get $500 a month for 18 months.  The $20.5 million cost will come from "federal COVID-19 relief funds."  Well, at least until that cash is used up.  Then what?

The families had already been selected and payments were slated to begin this month.  But critics noted that "guaranteed income" violates the state's constitution, so the state's attorney-general has sued to block the program, arguing that it violates a section of the Texas Constitution that says no local government can “lend its credit or to grant public money or thing of value” to individuals.

“This scheme is plainly unconstitutional,” Paxton said in a statement. “Taxpayer money must be spent lawfully and used to advance the public interest, not merely redistributed with no accountability or a general benefit."

Harris County officials dismissed Paxton’s move as just another effort by the state’s Republican leadership to "curtail the county’s authority."

County Attorney Christian Menefee said “This program is about helping people by giving them direct cash assistance—something governments have always done. I cannot for the life of me understand why any public servant would be opposed to that.”

Think about that for a bit: "We wants ta do dis," he says.  "Givin' taxpayer money ta pipo is fun and gud!  Duh state duz it wif' welfare and Medicaid, so why can't we?  Especially since we not usin' no state money--jus' doze sweet, sweet fed'rul dollahs!"

"State constitution?  Nah, don't care whut it say, cuz we gets ta do whutevah we want!"

Here's how the leftist Texas Tribune explains it:

Harris County is the latest Texas locality to experiment with guaranteed income programs, following efforts in Austin, San Antonio and El Paso County.
   Local officials across the country turned to such efforts in recent years to help needy families weather high housing and food costs and bounce back from the pandemic’s economic fallout.
   Beneficiaries of a guaranteed income pilot program in Austin, which ended last year, received $1,000 a month and mostly used that money to help them stay housed as the city faced exorbitant increases in home prices and rents.

As should be obvious, once these programs get a foothold, there's no end to 'em.  And the argument, as always, is that money is unlimited.  Of course the Democrats don't literally say that, since everyone would instantly recognize that as horseshit.  
   But by either ignoring the costs, or using fed'rul dollahs to get the foot in the door, voters don't recognize the underlying truth, which is...someone must pay.  And that would be...you.

Source.

https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/09/texas-harris-county-guaranteed-income/