The City of Baltimore tried to do something good for new parents by giving them $1,000 for each new baby born in the city but the mayor and city council put a stop to it.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, along with the city council, sued to stop the payment program because, they claim, “the proposal is unconstitutional and should be blocked from the ballot because it would give voters too much say over legislative decisions, effectively ‘usurping those powers’ from their elected officials.”
City residents had secured the necessary 10,000 signatures to put the measure on the ballot in November. What is that process for then, if not to give voters a say?
The money would have been allocated from existing Baltimore taxpayer money. It was not meant to lead to an increase in taxes given that it would only amount “roughly 0.16% of the city’s annual operating budget, according to supporters.”
The bill was intended to help alleviate childhood poverty but it also could help to stimulate the declining birth rate in the U.S. The mayor says that he supports the objectives but just doesn’t want that on the ballot.
