If you click on the picture it will take you to the story. It is a funny story, especially if you are familiar with the writings of William S. Burroughs. Welfare recipients in Florida would be required to pass drug tests in order to receive their checks...And someone is thinking of this now? Why not 40 years ago before the welfare programs were busted? Why not 20 years ago during the crack epidemics?
The ACLU believes this to be a privacy issue, and is going to bat for the welfare recipients that are going to be drug tested. Now my buddy Shawn brings up a good point, if he has to get drug tested at work to collect his income, why shouldn't it be legal for someone to get drug tested picking up a check from the Feds? I agree with Shawn 100%. Now given my personal background, I can attest to a lot of ways people I associated with got around the legalities of a welfare state, and used the loopholes available to pinch a pretty penny from the Feds and the State of Illinois. I can say, for legal reasons, that I was not involved in any of this, but people do talk. I refused to accept welfare or public aid, even in the worst of times.
There is, however, an issue with generational welfare. This is a family receiving welfare benefits, and it being passed down to their children, and eventually their grandchildren. Now, if these people need help in finding a job, or paying their bills until they do, I am all for assisting them. If these people are collecting check after check over the course of a 40 year period, then no, there is something wrong with that recipient, or they are doing something wrong and manipulating the system.
Personally, I would love to see the data on the number of people that are convicted of drug crimes and also receive a welfare check. That data would help decipher this problem. Now, I understand the argument is at the discrimination point, where we are persecuting the innocent for a select few that are guilty. Like I said, show me the data of the drug crimes/welfare recipients in any given state, and then I'll decide if this law is being discriminatory.
Back to the original point, the article states that people failing drug tests would be subject to a year suspension, or they have to go to rehab to reinstate their benefits. I think this is a great idea. We live in an entitlement country, where people believe the government should be paying their way. Fuck that, get off your ass and do something. Yeah, I am sitting here unemployed at the moment, and yes I am bitching about it, and yes I blame Obama and the GOP at the same time for the poor economy, but I am NOT running to my local Government office and asking for a handout. I was sick two weeks ago, and should have seen a doctor, but without medical insurance, there is only one place I could have gone, Cook County Hospital, and I would have sat there and waited for hours on end, but hey, I would have gotten free health-care. NOPE, I didn't even do that. The government is broke just like me, except they are borrowing from my kids and grandkids (hypothetical of course) at interest rates that are insane. So why should I increase the amount of money they are spending by asking for a handout?
So, is it fair for a large percentage of Americans to be collecting welfare if they are getting high? I say no, if they have heavy narcotics in their system, especially cocaine, heroin, meth, etc. they should be cut-off immediately, be given an opportunity for rehab, and then they can try again. Rehab worked for me, after all the hard core shit I was up to in my teens and 20s, that says a lot. I have recovered, it took me a long time, but here I am 10 years later, and I still haven't received 1 welfare check. Yes, I have borrowed money, but at least it is debt on my shoulders. Imagine if welfare was a borrowing system like my student loans? That would be an interesting conversation...But the Feds and States should be able to drug test those that receive aid from the government, if you don't want to have your privacy invaded, then don't ask for free money...They should also keep a running tab going, and start a welfare interest rate and a cap on spending. This might deter people, considering the cap on student loans is 138,000, and the interest rates are fixed. Put this system in place with the current welfare program, and let's see how many people reach their cap, and are getting high! Quantitatively, this is a perfect experiment/research project. I don't have the time to dig through the .Gov sites to find the information I am looking for...Ah well, I guess I will just leave it with this...
There is no Free Lunch! I am sure you have heard that before, and it only rings so true at this point, so true!
This won't be testing for the worst offenders IMHO: alcohol and Rx abuse. It will net a bunch of stoners and dump public funds into the industries involved with the testing. Meth, Heroin, Cocaine - all out of the system within a few days.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, this clause stands out to me as to where it might go all wrong: "Those who fail the required drug testing may designate another individual to receive the benefits on behalf of their children."
Personally, I don't blame only the previous two Administrations for the current economic mess. The situation has been developing over our entire lives (70's, 80's, 90's 00's) as control of the Gov has been handed to the big corp's, banks, and the outrageously wealthy. The economy won't be fully righted until cash and jesus is stripped out of the political machine.
I agree with you about the heavy users, but there are a lot of people that can't even get off a drug for 3 days. Now, some of them might suffer through the psych- and physical-effects of withdrawal, but a lot won't. The ease of testing these days makes it a five-minute process.
ReplyDeleteI agree it will increase spending in the industries involved, but it will also highlight other things like people supposed to be receiving the checks are not, i.e. direct deposit does not allow for oversight. They will have to go to pick up their checks, which would force legitimacy.
I sometimes wonder how long it takes for the Gov't to notice when someone dies or goes to prison. My Uncle Ed, who passed away a year and a half ago, collected his Soc. Sec. Disability the whole time he was in prison for 3 years. It was illegal, yet he received the money. They tried to make him pay it back, but he got the better end of the deal and died before they could collect.