Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser distributed thousands of dollars to low-income moms with no strings attached as part of an "equitable economic recovery strategy" to offset the costs of childcare. In at least one case, the taxpayer dollars were used to fund a lavish trip to Miami.
The direct cash payments were part of a pilot program to determine whether the flush of cash could demonstrate "economic improvements among participants." "Additional cash has allowed women to achieve further financial stability, financial security, food security, and health insurance coverage," Bowser's office had claimed.
But an economic policy expert told Fox News Digital the policies were a misdirection of funds that should otherwise be used for public safety and education.
All 132 mothers who participated in the program were able to choose whether to receive monthly payments of $900 or to get $10,800 in a lump sum, which was "a unique feature of D.C.’s pilot," according to The Washington Post.
"Quite often these handouts actually trap people in a cycle of poverty," Joel Griffith, an economic research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. "This is not helping people build long-term wealth and to have long-term economic prosperity."
One recipient – Canethia Miller – told The Post that she took the money and spent most of it on a lavish trip to Miami.
"Some of it I just left alone. The other side is, I wanted to blow it. I wanted to have fun," Miller said. "[My kids] got to experience something I would never have been able to do if I didn’t have that money."
Miller blew it on a "five-day, $6,000 trip to Miami," which included "a boat tour [that] exposed them to million-dollar homes and luxury yachts."
"In what she called a rare moment of self-indulgence, Miller spent $180 ahead of the vacation to get her own hair and nails done," The Post reported. She also took her kids shopping and got them new outfits and toys for the trip.
Griffith said that the D.C. mayor would have been better off spending money on reducing crime.
"Spending money on what effectively is a lotto for city residents is the wrong thing to be doing. I think what parents want, whether single moms, single dads or married couples, is a safe city," he added. "What the mayor could do is take these resources that they're going to be distributing randomly to single moms. And you could hire, by my calculations, 25 full-time police officers. That would go a long way in some of these neighborhoods where you can't even walk safely at night."
In January 2022, Democratic Mayor Bowser allocated $1.5 million to a direct cash transfer pilot program called "Strong Families, Strong Future DC" that was intended "to support maternal health and advance economic mobility."
"This program is about supporting new and expectant moms with cash so that they can have the autonomy and flexibility to make the best choices for them and their baby," Bowser said.
The Strong Families, Strong Future DC pilot was at "the heart of our equitable economic recovery strategy," Bowser added.
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But some of the issues arose when the mothers were uncertain about how to spend the cash.
Building generational wealth generally requires a solid educational background, which in D.C. is lackluster, Griffith said.
"[As a resident of D.C.], you're likely to graduate with a subpar education. And we're talking about sometimes an inability to do basic math and basic reading comprehension. And those are the core skills that in a work ethic that allow people to succeed in this country, even if they don't come from a wealthy family," he added.
Miller seemed to share a similar sentiment when she told The Post, "A lot of communities in my area don’t know the financial gain of credit, saving for your kids; that’s why we’re broke, that’s why we don’t have nothing to pass down or no house to give down. I’m trying to get to the level where I’m passing something down that really matters, so I can be set and my kids can be set, and they don’t need to push so hard like I’m doing now."
Altogether, Miller saved $50 from the program.
"She opened up a savings account, aiming to keep at least $50 in it. She used the remaining $4,000 or so from the pilot in a matter of months, mostly on bills and a used car," The Washington Post reported.
