Hudspeth leaves money on the table
Harris County Commissioners may have had plenty to debate when it came to raises for elected officials, but there was one salary increase that apparently wasn’t controversial: Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth’s.
Commissioners voted unanimously to increase Hudspeth’s salary from $179,000 to $305,000, a nearly 70% raise that would bring her compensation more in line with county clerks in other major metropolitan areas.
Sounds good, right? Hudspeth said no. That’s right. She turned down an additional $126,000 a year.
Not because she doesn’t believe the job deserves the money. Hudspeth thanked Commissioners Court for recognizing the responsibilities of her office. The problem is that elected officials accepting the raises must absorb the additional cost within their existing departmental budgets. Hudspeth said her priority is filling positions requested during the budget process and maintaining the staffing needed to serve Harris County residents.
In other words, taking more for herself could mean having less available for the people helping her do the job. Hudspeth could have taken the money, smiled for the cameras, and kept it moving. I don’t know many people who could stare down an extra $126,000 and say, “I’m good.”
But leadership isn’t always about what you’re entitled to receive. Sometimes it’s about what you’re willing to leave on the table when taking it could come at somebody else’s expense. Now, if Hudspeth needs somebody to take that $126,000 off the county’s hands, I am somebody. (What? The Lord is still working on my leadership skills)
Trump promises money that isn’t yet on the table
President Donald Trump has a deal for America. If Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in November, Trump says every adult American citizen will receive a $5,000 “Trump Dividend.”
There’s just one little problem. Well, several.
Trump didn’t initially explain exactly how the government would pay for checks that could cost more than $1 trillion. He suggested tariffs would help cover the expense, but FactCheck.org calculated it would take more than six years of tariff revenue at the current pace to generate $1.2 trillion. And despite Trump suggesting he could issue the payments himself, House Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged the obvious: Congress would have to approve the money.
Vice President JD Vance has since suggested high-income Americans might not qualify, meaning we’re already adding fine print to a program that doesn’t actually exist yet.
Maybe Congress will eventually approve some version of it. But right now, there is no $5,000 check, no enacted program, and no guarantee Republicans winning in November would put five grand in anybody’s bank account.
So before you start mentally spending that money on groceries, bills, or a much-needed vacation, remember we’re talking about a campaign promise, not a check. And if you believe that $5,000 is already as good as deposited, send me your debit card and PIN, and I’ll buy a bridge over downtown.
MacKenzie Scott actually puts money on the table
MacKenzie Scott should be the poster child for “Don’t talk about it, be about it.”
The billionaire philanthropist has written another massive check to an HBCU, this time giving $42 million to Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina. The gift pushed Scott’s total giving to historically Black colleges and universities well past $1 billion.
Billion. With a B. And this isn’t Scott’s first investment in Elizabeth City State. She gave the university $15 million in 2020.
Her latest gift will help support scholarships, academic programs, and campus improvements through ECSU’s strategic plan. But what continues to impress me about Scott’s philanthropy isn’t simply the size of the checks. It’s how she gives.
Many of her donations are unrestricted. Instead of swooping in with millions of dollars and a list of instructions about how institutions should spend it, Scott has largely trusted the people running these organizations to know what their communities need.
Imagine that. Scott has given major gifts to Prairie View, Howard, Spelman, Morgan State, North Carolina A&T, Norfolk State, Winston-Salem State, and other HBCUs. Since 2020, her overall philanthropy has reached roughly $26 billion.
HBCUs have spent generations producing doctors, lawyers, educators, entrepreneurs, scientists and leaders while operating with a fraction of the resources available to many predominantly white institutions.
Scott isn’t just praising that legacy. She’s investing in its future. Plenty of wealthy people talk about changing the world. MacKenzie Scott keeps quietly writing checks that actually help somebody do it. And that is why she remains THAT girl.
