When I first saw that email, I’ll be honest, I thought it was a scam.
Have you seen the Montgomery County Collaboration Council’s (see screen shot below) newest video promoting the “story” of the Montgomery County UBI program participant? Probably not. As of this writing, it only has 38 views after being posted for a month. I only became aware of it after reading CM Will Jawando’s ridiculous humble-brag “year in review” e-mail about how he’s “proud” of his pet project, yet more taxpayer money shoved out the door, no checks or balances – participants can literally use the funds on booze, drugs or lotto tickets. Just a cool $2 million “special appropriation” back in calendar year 2023 – handed out to the “MoCo Boost Guaranteed Income Pilot” to dispense.
After reading the faux-progressive CM’s e-mail about his proud redistribution of other people’s money and labor, I re-visited the MoCo Boost website. It was here I first noticed the video. Not much else has been updated since the website went live (it has existed now for over a year-plus), but hey, let’s slap a new video up to tell folks just how “impactful” this free cash handout has been!
The MoCo Collaboration Council (a non-profit), in cahoots with the “MoCo Boost Guaranteed Income Pilot”, probably thought this video “story” would help paint this outrageous taxpayer handout (again, no-strings attached cold cash, sponsored by workers and residents in MoCo, to a select few people based on a lottery) in a positive light.
Well, they fell a bit short.
In the video, the young person and UBI participant being interviewed explains his prior life, his trials and overcoming adversity, including losing a job and moving to New York and then back to Gaithersburg, Maryland. The money quote from this video is when the young person says that $800 in strings-free cold cash from MoCo has given him “breathing room” to “like, not have to like, choose between doing something for my business or where I’m going to sleep at…”.
Look, this isn’t to pick on anyone in the UBI program or this individual in particular. This individual clearly hit a rough patch and needed some help. Daquan [the participant’s name] is clearly entrepreneurial and are trying to start an enterprise in high tax, high regulation MoCo. This is a good thing, and we need more entrepreneurs like him.
But, sorry, your personal trade-offs on time, personal income and starting a small biz should not be placed on all the taxpayers of Montgomery County. Sorry they just should not be. Many an entrepreneur has had to “bootstrap” themselves to success… they worked a 40 hour week while launching a small independent enterprise during their free time. This is literally how the majority of small businesses get launched. In addition, this individual appears to be of sound body and sound mind. They can easily get a job here in the DC-region, where labor shortages still do abound.
“When I first saw that email [awarding him MoCo Boost “free cash” participation], I’ll be honest, I thought it was a scam.” Yes indeed – this is exceptional honesty on display.
This “trial UBI” is a scam – for taxpayers, for the participants, for everyone involved. The person doing the scamming is CM Jawando and all the Councilmembers supporting this waste of finite taxpayer dollars. UBI “programs” have been studied since the darn 1960s. There is nothing “innovative” about such a public policy program.
Private charity is a much better avenue for helping the people that truly need a hand up. Will Jawando’s “free cash” handout isn’t going to resolve poverty in MoCo.
More to come.
