...Drug testing for welfare recipients: Con By Austin Keller / In Blogs, Politics / January 17, 2014 See the opposing argument here. When one first hears about the idea of testing welfare recipients to make sure that they are not using drugs, the idea seems to be sound. Of course we do not want welfare money going toward the purchase of drugs when it should be going only to necessary and useful things. As with almost any political idea, however, these policies need to be executed. Political intentions are not realized in an ideal world. With welfare testing, the cold reality is that the costs and barriers of following through on the policy trump the benefits. One of the main reasons for this is the sheer cost of it. Right now, in American politics, money is obviously quite tight—and welfare testing is incredibly expensive. It involves overseeing every individual who participates in the welfare system. It also involves synchronizing this with other large systems of government data, such as crime history, type of welfare received, etc. A governmental entity then has to come up with an effective means of testing people. And finally, the most difficult part is the actual execution of this testing. It is certainly not easy to come up with an effective way to test so many welfare recipients in the state—especially when many welfare recipients come from rural backgrounds. Expense, however, is not the only problem with the idea of testing welfare recipients. It also adds an extra obstacle...
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...ITT | Drug Testing Welfare Recipients | Why We Shouldn’t | | Michael Chiodo (11594970) | 8/30/2012 | Drug testing welfare recipients has been a major topic across the United States for a few years now. Many argue that if working class people are subject to a test prior to hire or randomly during the length of employment, why should those that don’t have to work for money not have the same treatment? Invasion of privacy is a huge disadvantage on the government’s part, yes it is free money but that doesn’t entitle anyone, even government, to control every aspect of your life or hold it constantly over a person’s head until they feel guilt or just flat decline assistance. Let’s ask ourselves just one question; if you went to the bank for a car loan, being this is a necessity for everyday living to own, how would you feel if they asked you to take a drug test prior to lending you the money? I feel many peoples’ tune would change drastically. Money, we all know this is essential in the world we live in. would you go to a restaurant knowing you had no money in your pocket or bank account? Of course not because you know after the meal follows the bill. Working class people are already indebted to the governments ridiculous fees they deduct from each of your paychecks, knowing damn well you will never see social security or and type of 401k. You are throwing your money into a pit that promises no return, would you like an additional fee tacked onto the end of your paystub...
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...Drug Testing Welfare Recipients It is assumed by many that people who are receiving public assistance funds are using this money to support their alcohol and or drug addictions. Is drug testing to receive public assistance an answer to this problem? Would making this a condition of eligibility actually push people with serious substance abuse and or dependency problems farther away from the help and treatment they need? Federal Welfare Reform The Federal Welfare reform act which, was passed in the mid 1990’s has changed the way our system addresses these issues. PRWORA (Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act) provided some distinctive features to address the issues, and changed the idea that there was universal entitlement for all, and helped to reinforce the notion that there is a class of the deserving poor. In 2001 California implemented the policies required and created our version of the TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) called Cal-WORKS (California’s Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids program.) This program has allowed for rules to be implemented such as time limits, work requirements and the availability of substance abuse treatment. (Newell, 2011) The population and the substances. According to the National Poverty Center (2004) the numbers have been overstated and the number of people that are on welfare and are abusing substances are lower than originally estimated. The studies have varied widely in their...
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...Mandatory Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients Jason Hoops ENG325: Intermediate Composition Instructor: Ms. Heather Auger August 11, 2014 Mandatory Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients One of the most controversial issues surrounding the governmental welfare system today is the push for mandatory drug testing for its participants. With the present controversy surrounding it, several would pose the question as to whether or not the government should have the right to hold people who partake in the government entitlements accountable for illegal drug use or would this sort of action actually cross that boundary line of civil liberties into an invasion of one’s privacy? The state welfare system was established to financially assist those who are unable to meet the basic needs for everyday living; drugs are far from the basic human needs. If drug-using recipients receive the same benefits as those that are not parking in the illegal usage, they are much more likely to use their benefit check to obtain their next fix rather than to purchase the groceries needed to feed their families. Implementing mandatory drug testing for its recipients would decrease the amount of people abusing the system as it would require them to maintain a drug free status in order to receive their aid. In doing so, it would also reveal the recipients who are utilizing a portion of the governmental program for the wrong reasons; thus being a waste of tax payer’s governmental...
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...Drug Testing Welfare Recipients: Scandal or Solution Welfare programs as we know today were created in the 1930’s during the great depression to aid unemployed and under employed people in supporting their families. (“The”) It was not intended to be a government funded crutch for substance abusers. Often tax payers complain about tax monies being spent to support the habits of drug users who receive welfare. The fix to this problem is simple, drug testing. Drug test everyone on welfare and when the welfare recipient tests positive, take away the benefit. Problem solved. But is it? The consideration of testing welfare recipients for drug use has been debated since welfare reform in 1996. Subsequently, “at least eight states have passed legislation regarding drug testing or screening for public assistance applicants or recipients (Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah)”. (United, par. 2) Legislators in twenty other states have also proposed drug testing for people who receive welfare. (Prah) However, drug testing welfare recipients is an ineffective use of tax monies because drug abuse is not common in welfare recipients, it is expensive and unproductive, and it is a violation of personal rights. It is easy to believe that most people who receive welfare have some sort of drug abuse problem; nevertheless this could not be further from the truth. The reality is, of the 310 million people living in the United States in 2011, only 1.95 million...
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...Drug Testing: The Aid to Improving Our Welfare System By: Jennifer, Jacob, Kelsey, Mattie, and Devin Introduction Attention-getting remarks: Every single one of us in this class will one day have a job, and with that job we will be required to pay taxes. Have you ever thought about where the taxes we pay goes to and whether or not it’s going towards a helpful and productive cause? Thesis: Today we will break down the pros and cons of enforcing welfare recipients to be drug tested. Preview: Our group will inform you all about what welfare actually is, as well as reasons as to why some people believe it is a violation of their rights to be drug tested in order to receive welfare. More importantly, you will hear the opposing side of this issue, which is in favor of drug testing, along with reasons we believe it will benefit the welfare system. (First let’s get a better understanding of what welfare actually is.) Body I. Usually when one hears the word welfare, he thinks of public assistance. A. According to the welfare info website, welfare can also be characterized as a financial assistance to needy individuals, which is supplied through the taxes paid by the working society. (welfareinfo) 1. It also improves the quality of life and standards of living for the poor. II. Now that we all understand what welfare is, let’s look at the pros and cons of enforcing drug testing to receive this assistance. A. As said by Florida’s Governor Rick...
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...Welfare Drug Testing COMM/215 Welfare Drug Testing Welfare was originally designed to help out poor families in need. Throughout the years, there have been issues with people taking advantage of the system. The government has made efforts to try to help welfare recipients to get a job instead of seeing welfare as a lifestyle. The next step government should take is to drug test welfare recipients. If a person has enough money to get his or her drugs; he or she should have enough money to support their family. It is unfair for us tax payers to support other people’s family and addiction. It is clear that drug testing welfare recipients would benefit not only the system, but also recipients themselves, and tax payers. One of the first benefits the system would get by drug testing welfare recipients is decrease the number of people who take advantage of it. I personally know people who get all the government help they can without having a real need. I had a coworker whose husband would sell their food stamps in order to get his marijuana and other drugs. My coworker had 5 kids and would get about $800 worth of food stamps, plus WIC, plus section 8, and plus cash aid. She made sure she only worked enough hours not to go over the low-income limit requirements. Of course hours where available for her, but why would she get tired and work more when she can get more money by not doing much? And just like her, there are many people who do this. I think if a person is healthy he...
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...money to drug users collecting welfare. Numerous people can argue and say that our tax money should be use elsewhere instead of giving it away. First of all, California has the highest amount of welfare recipients in the United States. One of the reasons is high is because California has a population of over 39 million people. Secondly, California does not require a criminal background or drug test for people needing...
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...seeking government assistance be required to take drug tests? INTRODUCTION On August 22, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, also known as the Welfare Reform Bill, into effect ending welfare as it had been known for many years. “This law transformed the traditional entitlement to cash welfare under Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) into a transitional program, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), which requires most recipients to work after two years of receiving assistance, or, at state option, even earlier, with few exceptions. After 60 months of receipt during a lifetime, a recipient is ineligible for federally-funded cash benefits (NPC, 2004)”. (1) The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act shifted the responsibility of the poor to the states. The Act also made allowance for states to perform drug testing of those who were in need of federal assistance. According to an article in the New York Times “Policy makers in three dozen states this year proposed drug testing for people receiving benefits like welfare, unemployment assistance, job training, food stamps and public housing (Sulzberger, 2011) .” The controversy rising from the proposed drug testing has many debating the question: Should people seeking government assistance be required to take drug tests? PROs/CONs: There are several pros and cons to the new legislature to drug test those seeking government assistance. PROS: ...
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...Persuasive Essay Jamarcus Allen COMM215 August 25, 2014 Yolanda Harding Persuasive Essay Welfare was originally designed to help out poor families in need. Throughout the years, there have been issues with people taking advantage of the system. The government has made efforts to try to help welfare recipients to get a job instead of seeing welfare as a lifestyle. The next step government should take is to drug test welfare recipients. If a person has enough money to get his or her drugs; he or she should have enough money to support their family. It is unfair for us tax payers to support other people’s family and addiction. It is clear that drug testing welfare recipients would benefit not only the system, but also recipients themselves, and tax payers. One of the first benefits the system would get by drug testing welfare recipients is decrease the number of people who take advantage of it. I personally know people who get all the government help they can without having a real need. I had a coworker whose husband would sell their food stamps in order to get his marijuana and other drugs. My coworker had 5 kids and would get about $800 worth of food stamps, plus WIC, plus section 8, and plus cash aid. She made sure she only worked enough hours not to go over the low-income limit requirements. Of course hours where available for her, but why would she get tired and work more when she can get more money by not doing much? And just like her, there are many people who...
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...during the Great Depression, the American welfare system has aided poor and low-income Americans within our nation, giving them opportunities that beforehand would have been impossible. With nearly 1 trillion spent on programs associated with welfare (excluding Social Security, Medicare, or Unemployment Insurance), its continuation for these Americans is vital. However, in recent years, this system has become more abused by those benefiting from it with many stating that a number of welfare recipients are not self-sufficient and misuse their funds on drug use and other auxiliaries. Even Franklin D. Roosevelt—the enactor of these welfare programs—warned of their potential misuse. “The lessons of history, confirmed by evidence...
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...that can be said about the subject of drug testing welfare recipients. It can be said that it is unfair, and that may be true. It can also be said that it is justifiable, and this may also be true. In this paper I plan to prove that drug testing welfare recipients is unconstitutional, as well as costly to the state administering such test. Testing the recipients can be considered stereotypical and very demeaning. While making sure welfare funds are used properly, it is too costly and does not provide adequate results. In the past ten years drug testing welfare recipients has been a huge issue. While most people are all for it, there are just as many people if not more that are against it. While it may be true that some welfare recipients are doing drugs, all of them are not. It can and will be proven that drug testing these recipients is a waste of time and tax payers’ money. Yes, yours and my hard earned tax dollars are and will be spent on welfare recipients who may or may not be using drugs. Think for a second…what else can my tax dollars be used for? Possible improving badly paved streets. How about fixing that run down playground with the overgrown grass? Maybe the money can even be used toward the remodeling the library of a school. While other states such as Florida have tried testing and been semi-successful other state such as New Hampshire attempt turned out differently. According to Concord Monitor (2013) “while the drug testing was in place there, only 2.6 percent...
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...Should drug testing be mandatory to receive welfare? Americans face tough challenges in life, and some may have to apply for financial aid for federal or state funding through rough times such has lost of job or current job not providing enough money pay the bills. Those who do receive assistance, should they be drug tested? There are several Americans who will agree with the drug testing because they feel their tax dollars are being wasted on those who do not qualify for assistance. The welfare program is there to help those in need. The ones that are suffering due to lack of employment or lay off should be receiving the assistance. There are several families out there struggling but the parents are causing their struggle because of drugs. Many people decide that drugs are more important than their families because they are so addicted to the drug. If drug users can afford to pay for their drugs, than why can’t they also afford their own food? A person should put their own life and safety and as well as their family before they purchase any drugs. If they decide to buy drugs, than they are not in much need for TANF, food stamps, or any other federal or state assistance. If they take a drug test and fail the test, the state should have their own laws and take action for the safety of the family. This could mean more children in foster or shelters due to the parents lack of judgment of what is important. One in six Americans are relying on government anti-poverty programs...
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...Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients "I'm not downing the welfare system; I just believe that it should be reserved for emergency situations, like people losing their jobs because of the economy and the disabled." Ranee brings up a point that many Americans agree with. The modern welfare system began during the great depression and has grown ever since. Many Americans have become concerned that the welfare system is hugely abused and a majority of the money goes to drugs and alcohol, and that welfare recipients should be drug tested in order to receive benefits. While this seems like a logical idea, many argue that testing them would cost more and can be unconstitutional to the welfare user. Drug testing should be required of welfare users. Primarily, Ranee...
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...An Economical Examination of Welfare Reform This section details the concept of drug testing as an eligibility requirement for welfare recipients who receive cash under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The economical ramifications that pertain to this situation include the wants and needs of individuals versus the limited resources of the funds by taxpayers. Sources, data, and popular opinion will show that this requirement will be extremely beneficial for the American taxpayers by saving money and refusing to subsidize the drug habits of individuals who receive government assistance. Scarcity In 2011, over 4 million people received cash assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program (“ACF”, 2011, para. 8). These numbers do not include Food Stamps, Medicaid, or other forms of government funds; this is simple cash assistance. Ideally, all hungry and unemployed individuals would have the resources to provide for themselves and their families. However, in this economic downturn, more and more individuals are reaching out for assistance and it has become taxing on our government resources. In 1997, the U.S. Government overhauled the welfare programs known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS), and Emergency Assistance (EA) (“ACF”, 2011, para. 4). Under this reform, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program was developed. TANF was designed...
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