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rulemylife -> RE: Drug Testing Welfare applicants proven waste of money.... (8/22/2011 7:00:53 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: FantasyKisses
I live in a welfare town, quite literally. Social Security, TANF, and General Assistance are responsible for 'paying' the bulk of the income in this area. Far more people receive welfare of some sort than hold jobs. This is not conjecture, this comes from multiple demographic studies by a variety of sources, both government and non.
I am also a disabled American who used to be a tax payer. I had an industrial accident, received nothing from Worker's Comp and was wheelchair-bound for some time before teaching myself how to walk again out of necessity. Now that I can walk unassisted (except in the winter, but hey, it snows here), I am trying to get retrained because I cannot go back into my work sector. I believe in being a tax payer and employed. I believe that welfare, in all forms should be limited (though I think there should be added assistance for those people who have no children and are trying to get back to work). I don't believe that people should be able to make a career out of welfare and that the qualifications for things like mental health should be restricted further because mental health diagnosis and care is out of control in this country. (If you were to look at further demographics, you'd notice that most of the residents in my town are bipolar. Which turns a legitimate mental health condition into a freakin' epidemic.)
Most of the people on welfare -post edit: in my town- are on drugs. That has also been proven by government and independent studies. (While self-answered questionnaires may indeed be skewed, both of the health groups here release information as part of their HIPAA consent forms.) I know first hand that drug use here is common in the mental health districts, and that people go so far as to let their rent slide in order to purchase drugs with welfare money and that a lot of people will sell their prescriptions for illegal drugs. (Btw, I'm also a criminal justice student and politically active.)
That being said, I am enthusiastically all for drug testing and I think there should be a federal law that requires pharmacies to report to PCPs. I think there needs to be more pro-social training courses for people as well, such as cooking classes, comparative shopping lessons, and gardening classes for those on food stamps. --Secondary Post Edit: I also think junk food and energy drinks should be banned from the program because it is not uncommon to go into a convenience store and see an energy drink with a hand written sign below it that proudly proclaims "foodstampable". (Why is that even a word???)-- I think that budgeting classes should be mandatory for people on any form of welfare, and that programs like Section 8 and energy assistance should pay landlords and utility companies directly instead of putting the money in the hands of the recipient. Drug testing results may be dependent on the type of drug used, length of time and tolerance to said drug, the person's body type and biology, however it can work for many cases including non-prescription medication abuse as many medications have a half life and build up in one's system.
Smoking pot may be the least offensive, but I do not think that people on welfare should be able to buy pot. Cigarettes, yes. They are legal for the moment. But I would also like to see alcohol (which is more of an epidemic as far as abused substances go) be put on the same chopping block as tobacco (and I'm a smoker). Then again, I think the manufacturing sector needs to be brought back to the US so we have jobs and can stop this so-called 'Cycle of Poverty' because too many people around the country see welfare as an answer.
So it's OK for you to be given assistance, but everyone else is a bi-polar, drug addicted alcoholic who needs to be cut off?
Conservative hypocrisy at its finest.
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