Harris County and The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Part One

Harris County has aligned its development strategies with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were adopted in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. These goals aim to address global challenges including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice. Although, surprisingly, everything in which the county has done to “achieve” these goals has been nothing but counterintuitive of such goals. Below are the Seventeen Goals, and I will list out the money which has been allocated to these goals, and how they haven’t even come close to achieving such goals. The only thing that has been achieved, is Rodney Ellis spending millions of taxpayer funds going towards painting murals throughout the county.

No Poverty (SDG 1): Efforts in Harris County could focus on reducing poverty through economic development initiatives, affordable housing projects, and social welfare programs aimed at the most vulnerable populations.

The County and City of Houston have both allocated hundreds of millions of dollars towards “ending homelessness” though, the city and county has not shown much progress to achieving the goal and have released data that one may ascertain as manipulated and troubling when you start to break down the cost analysis per homeless person.

Houston "invested" $200M to reduce our homeless population by 612 people. That's a grand total of $326,797.38 per person. Nobody, could figure out a way to get, all 3835 homeless people set up for $52K p/p? That's more, than a lot of working families in our area make, in a year

Just last week, an article was written concerning human feces littering the streets of downtown from the homeless. You can read the article here

The county had allocated $65 million to the Community COVID Housing Program. They broke it down to allegedly house 5,000 people, has it been achieved? No.

Zero Hunger (SDG 2): Local food banks, community gardens, and agricultural education might be supported to ensure food security, although this goal might be less directly addressed at the county level compared to broader policy or state initiatives.

Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3): Harris County could improve healthcare access, promote mental health services, and address issues like obesity and diabetes through public health campaigns and infrastructure for physical activity.

Harris County’s public health department has been riddled with alleged fraud. The Health Director, Barbie Robinson was fired after it was discovered Robinson had shown favorability to a vendor, Dema Consulting which Robinson previously worked with in Sonoma County. Dema Consulting currently is being investigated in Harris and Sonoma County for double billing.

Robinson also was in charge of the gun buyback program, costing the county millions. At one buyback event, a man had turned it boXes full of 3d printed guns.

Quality Education (SDG 4): Initiatives might include improving the quality of education, reducing dropout rates, and enhancing educational equity, possibly through partnerships with local schools and community programs.

Gender Equality (SDG 5): Efforts here might involve supporting women's leadership roles, addressing domestic violence, and promoting equal pay and opportunities in workplaces within the county.

The county has been dulling out fortune 500 salaries to their employees. Currently there are employees making over $400 thousand a year. The newly minted County Adminstrator, Diana Ramirez is taking home a salary of $418 thousand a year. The County Administration office was created back in 2021 by the advisement of PFM Group Consulting. The offices budget has blossomed from $2 million to $25 million in just 4 short years. No wonder why the county is having to raise our taxes every opportunity they have.

To note: Lina Hidalgo’s former chief of staff Alex Triantaphyllis (who was indicted for Vaccine Outreach Bid rigging) was just moved from her department and was given a pay raise, as was her other employee.

Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6): This could involve water conservation programs, managing wastewater treatment, and ensuring access to clean drinking water, especially in underserved communities.

Here X Josh Young documents a “water recycling” truck dumping water into a storm drain.

Part 2 coming soon.