Money for Nothin’
What to know: Harris County commissioners are launching a new universal income program to give 1,500 qualifying families $500 a month for 18 months “to help households pay for basic needs like rent, groceries, transportation, housing and utilities.” The county is funding the pilot project with $20.5 million in pandemic-related federal aid.
The TPPF take: Harris County is creating a culture of dependency on government.
“The purpose of government is to protect life, liberty, and property rights, not to promote the interests of the welfare state. Harris County officials fundamentally misunderstand this foundational point,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “The inevitable outcome of this universal income experiment will be wasted time, strangled initiative, and a gross misuse of public money.”
For more on Harris County’s finances, click here.
Common Sense
What to know: Almost 70% of Americans say that a person’s biological sex should determine his or her participation in men’s or women’s sports.
The TPPF take: The media continues to portray those who disagree with this radical gender ideology as transphobic or bigots.
“In this heavily libertarian state most Texans are ‘live and let live,’” says TPPF’s Sherry Sylvester. “The majority support gay marriage. But no thinking Texan supports allowing a child to determine whether they get a sex change operation or take puberty blockers, whether pornography and drag shows should be allowed in public schools and whether men and boys should be allowed to play in women and girls sports.”
For more on women’s sports and gender ideology, click here.
Who is the School Choice Champion?
What to know: Teachers union boss Randi Weingarten is this year’s School Choice Champion, according to Corey DeAngelis and Ashley Hayek.
The TPPF take: Unintentionally, Weingarten and the teachers unions have made the case for school choice by demanding that parents cede power.
“Throughout the last year, we’ve worked hard to advance parent empowerment,” says TPPF’s Mandy Drogin. “But our opponents have worked hard, too—mostly to mislead and fearmonger. The unions, education lobbyists and administrators, whose only goal is to rake more money in to the system, worry that parental empowerment will erode their control and require greater accountability.”
For more on school choice, click here.