One way politicians guarantee votes for themselves is by giving money away while claiming to be fighting poverty or injustice or systemic whatever.
Cook County Illinois pols have found a way to do all of the above, and at the same time creating a permanent class of dependents.
Fox News has the story, "The second-largest county in the United States has established a permanent guaranteed basic income program after the success of a previous pilot version.
"The Cook County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved $7.5 million for a permanent guaranteed basic income program last week.
"Chicago, the largest city in the Midwest and third-largest in the country, is the county seat for Cook County."
What this means is politicians in Cook County will be giving a free, monthly check to an unspecified number of local households with a yearly income below a level to be chosen by the politicians.
This new program is the successor to a pilot program originally funded by the Great Biden Covidpalooza Free Money Avalanche.
Only this time it will be locally funded with Cook County tax dollars.
And you can be certain the giveaway will grow in the future.
The pilot program gave monthly checks of $500 to 3,250 low to moderate income households selected by a lottery.
Something tells us none of these households were registered Republicans.
The pilot passed the first test of all government handout operations: All the money went out the door. Now the program bureaucrats assure the public that all the money given away went to vital necessities like cancer treatments, utility bills and food not covered by SNAP.
How do they know?
Well, they sent a survey, possibly along with one of the checks.
"The commissioners told Fox News Digital that the decision to extend the program into permanence was based on findings from a survey on the county's pilot program.
"The findings released by the commission in April showed that three-quarters of participants reported feeling more financially secure and 94% of participants used the funds to address financial emergencies during challenging times.
"Majorities also reported the program improved their mental health and lowered their stress levels."
Count us as skeptical. First, we aren't told how many surveys of the 3,250 sent out were returned. Second, and most important, the questions the survey used were not made public. That is always a red flag.
We’re thinking the survey was designed to return positive answers so the program — and the jobs of the bureaucrats giving the money away — would continue.
Your columnists are only speculating, but we would not be surprised to find questions like:
—Did receiving the money each month make you happy?
—Did you spend the money on vital family needs like medicine and food and not on tattoos and OnlyFans subscriptions?
Getting free money each month can quickly become a habit and then it's only a short step until you have another dependent household that becomes a generational leech on the public purse and a reliable vote for Big Government and Big Handouts.
Both of which aren't bugs for Cook County politicians, but are instead features of the program.
The Illinois Policy Institute tried to inject a dose of realism into the equation, but it was rejected. "Cook County is making its guaranteed income pilot permanent and committing millions to a failed strategy already shown to leave people with less work experience and lower earnings.
"That should alarm anyone who wants real, long-term progress for low-income residents. A recent pilot program in northern Illinois, including Cook County, decreased workforce participation and lower individual income (before transfers)."
The IPI makes the mistake of thinking the politicians are really interested in the results of the program. They are not.
The left wing only cares about the intentions.
Results are for nitpickers.
Creating more takers, at the expense of a dwindling number of makers, isn't a problem for politicians as long as the votes from the dependent class are as regular as the checks.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Mr. Reagan is an in-demand speaker with Premiere Speaker's Bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.