Should welfare recipients have to pass a drug test?

Should Welfare recipients have to pass a drug test?

I had to pass one for my job, should welfare recipients have to do the same?

 

you should not have to

and neither should they

 

The argument for drug-testing the poor is based on some myths that are very thoroughly debunked here.

And no, it's quite possible that you didn't have to pass a drug test for your job, even if you were required to take one. But I know several people who failed a drug test for a job, but were offered the position anyway. I can think of three people I know personally that it's happened to, one on two different occasions. It depends on the company, how badly/quickly they need to fill the position, the size of the candidate pool- oh, and have white skin, I've only known exceptions to be made for white people, but maybe that's a coincidence. Corporate America would be okay with hiring members of racial minorities that flunk a drug test, right?

Some say that if you willingly accept a free handout from the state, you should be tested. But since "free handouts" can include educational loans and grants, access to public roads and highways and the economic benefits of the products carried on them, emergency ambulance and ER treatment if you're in an accident, various small-business loans and grants, and so on, that would ultimately just be a means of drug-testing very nearly everyone in the country, I suspect.

 

You'll fail if you happen to eat two poppy seed bagels that morning.

No. The Work-For-Welfare system is enough.

 

I think any person on welfare should have to take a drug test once a month, every time they get a check. I pay 40,000 a year in taxes I have to take the tests and if I come back positive Im out of business. the people getting my money should have to get them to. it totally pisses me off

 

And how much do you propose the government should budget for these once a month drug tests, hum?

 

I see nothing wrong with testing those who have a known drug abuse history.

 

drug test everyone..... Why not...Labs screenings do that work for free anyways... Are we incorproating how many new jobs for this process... lets waste somemore money so we have less to give to ppl who need it..

We need to investigate more about welfare recepient to find their social habits to see what they spend our/your/my...money on....the debt card has proved a good tracking..method of reciepents spending but how much futher do we need to monitor this....idk... drug testing isnt the answer... Monitoring their behavior is... drug tests are another tool in the monitor... nice topic... ^btw...

 

Why not like, put more money into drug rehabilitation programs for the people who actually need them and save the nurses some time from being overworked just to make sure Mr. Jones pees in a cup each month?

Just a bloody thought.

 

I don't think anyone should be subjected to drug tests to get a job or get on welfare. It's unconstitutional. It is the same as a groundless search, one of your body, and it's wrong. Why shouldn't I be trusted to be a good employee based on my own character and references? Just the same, welfare recipients shouldn't be treated as drug addicts, just 'cause they COULD be. There's no cause to suspect random people of drug abuse and require that they prove otherwise. Innocent until proven guilty apparently doesn't apply to this.
I think the problem with welfare isn't a need for drug testing, it's a need to monitor what they can get. I think food stamps should be monitored in a similar way that Wic is. Wic is very hard to abuse. You can only get what's specified, and the only way around it would be if someone like me used their override key. Wic users get what they need: food.
Food stamps users can get almost whatever they want. I'm not saying they don't deserve to eat, but it's very depressing to see someone on welfare buying food I'll never be able to afford. (Crab legs, $50 steaks.) And EBT cash needs to be abolished. I've seen people come in and get $200 in cash off of their card. You cannot monitor cash. They can buy whatever they want with it. Alcohol, tobacco, electronics, perhaps even drugs. There's no way to know. I'm not saying that all people on welfare abuse it. I don't believe that at all. But we all know there ARE people that abuse it, and that's what we need to fix. I've seen people that very obviously from their outward appearance have a lot more money than me, and I was shocked to see them use food stamps. I don't think I need welfare, but if these people do, how the fuck poor am I? If I didn't live with my parents, I'd probably be on the street. It's winter and I don't own a single long-sleeve shirt. The money taken out of my pay check to give the abusers cash for whatever they want could be used by ME, the earner, to buy clothes to put on my back. But that's a luxury I won't have until I get a second job.
Job programs are what we need. Teach welfare users a trade, actively help them find jobs, get education, etc. Get them back on their feet, and then take them off of welfare. Don't just throw money at them indefinitely. Actually help them get to a point where they can take care of themselves.

 

your right not all ppl abuse it... who are they and how do we benifite..from knowing this information? I know what you say about the EBT can buy stuff and then be resold... But what cant be resold? How can we direct the monies to pay for necessity,, utilities...paid directly ....idk... lots of programs out there... Which one works?

 

What about the kids who suffer from malnutrition because you want to drug test their parents ?

Do those less fortunate kids matter to you, after all they are humans too?

 

It's kind of ironic when you think about it...

The government ships in the drugs which get people addicted. This breaks apart families and creates joblessness, which then causes people to turn to their very abusers for assistance. When you turn to the abusers for assistance, they want to test you for the drugs that they shipped in, which in many cases got them into the predicament they're in to begin with.

It's rather amazing how things work, yet most people have no clue, and if you were to suggest such a thing to them, they won't even question it.

 

Wait, so if the parents don't give up drugs in order to feed their kids, it's our fault?

 

kids should get feed in school...... those that are not in school are just fueling the problem...

 

Most people just don't want to do anything to help anyone else, even kids. But they're usually the first ones to scream when they want help. Oh, then it's different, isn't it? Until then it's me, me, me and screw everyone else.

To those who are all for drug testing welfare recipients...go ahead, cooperate with Big Brother and turn our society into a nightmare. Hell, invade everyone's privacy, leave no stone unturned, harass the unfortunate, have a field day. Hope you enjoy the nightmarish world you create with your shortsighted self-centeredness. Why doesn't anyone take the time to look at the bigger picture?

 

I can't help but find it a bit odd that you see drug testing welfare recipients to be "cooperating with big brother", but not welfare itself. Wouldn't relying on the state to feed you in the first place be considered cooperating with big brother as well?

 

Not if you're truly in need. Social welfare programs were created in countries that could afford to offer a hand up to those in need. There are many people who do need help, the blind, the deaf, the disabled and developmentally disabled, etc. Do you really want to live in a society that ignores the least fortunate, lets them line the ditches until they die and rot? I sure as hell don't. Do you realize funds for these programs are being cut right now so we can keep pouring money into phony wars? I think you've got more important things to think about than the occasional welfare cheat. How about the trillions being given away to the oil companies? Why doesn't anyone get this outraged over corporate welfare? Prioritize, people!

 

Well right now we're talking about drug testing those on welfare, why don't we stick to that and you can start a thread about the other stuff.

you said, "Not if you're truly in need."

How do you objectively determine need, and what does it have to do with drug testing? How does drug testing threaten the program, and wouldn't your belief that there are people who truly need welfare be the one thing that would justify weeding out those who are not in need of it, namely those who cheat welfare? How can you claim that it is essential to the survival of many on one hand, and dismiss those who abuse it on the other hand? Wouldn't your belief that it's essential lead you to make sure it is going to those who truly need, whatever that means, and to no one else?

 

I'm saying I don't believe welfare cheating is the problem you're making it out to be. The media likes to make a big deal out of supposed 'welfare cheats' because it keeps people like you busy hating people who aren't really a problem, instead of paying attention to the people who are. The amount of money a welfare cheat can get out of the system isn't even a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of money the corporations are jacking out of our wallets. Sorry, you've been successfully distracted from what's really important in the world today, and thus neutralized as a force to be reckoned with along with millions of others. This is an example of how hate is used to manipulate people. And this is why hippies believe in loving your fellow humans. You can only find true answers through loving your fellow humans, not through hating them.