The welfare programs in the states are here to assist those
who are temporary down on their luck and unable to provide financially for
themselves and their families. Yet,
there are those who abuse the benefits by purchasing drug with their benefits
and as a result, many states are working on mandatory drug testing to receive
welfare benefits.
Many people agree with drug testing and feel if they must
take a drug test to gain and maintain employment, why should welfare recipients
be any different. Drug testing will
reveal recipients who are wasting taxpayer’s money. Of course some will say it is
unconstitutional because it violates their 4th Amendment right of
the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants
shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to
be seized. No one hears the people complaining
how it is unconstitutional taking drug test for employment. Those individuals want a job and the
income. For those who fail a drug test
and become ineligible for assistance, their family will suffer without the help. The blame can be placed on the parent for
that. The parent should think about
their family first but then again, a druggie make rational choices. It sound mean to make children suffer but a
plan of action can be placed by having the welfare drug user go into a
rehabilitation center or substance abuse class to keep the assistance. The cost of testing is another factor which
taxpayers or states would have to foot the bill for it. Paying for months or years of assistance
compared to a drug test is financial difference but taxpayer would be better
off paying for a failing test than for supporting a drug user.
Welfare should be made available in
the United States; however it should be given to people who deserve it and who
can be effective people in the workforce.
The government will not be able to screen every welfare recipient, but
an easy way to weed out the people abusing the welfare system is to find the
drug users and addicts.
5 comments:
Your article “Mandatory Drug Testing To Receive Welfare Benefits” is spot on with my views and opinions behind welfare benefits. I’m glad you posted this topic, you wrote the article very well and have pointed out some validated positions. Welfare is a great system for those who truly need it and want it only as a temporary stepping stone until those people are able to get back on their feet and on the right track. However, welfare itself is controversial. I found this article to be interesting because it is a thought that has crossed my mind from time to time as to the type of regulation the welfare system undergoes. Taxpayers are contributing to a system with little regulation so it certainly raises questions as to why am I responsible for someone who is abusing the system potentially? I’m certain that there are quite a few individuals who abuse the system and/or are on drugs. As you stated, many people agree with the drug test screening and compare this notion to taking a drug test to gain and maintain employment, then why should welfare recipients be any different. Drug testing will highlight recipients who are wasting taxpayer’s money. I don’t believe that it’s unconstitutional to drug test if the welfare recipient is abusing the program and benefits. Those people need to be rehabilitated and if drug testing is required for employment, again what makes this any different? This type of filtering would create a better living situation and set better examples for kids if they are involved. As you stated, for those who fail a drug test and become ineligible for assistance, their family will suffer without the help. The blame goes to the parent. Removing a person from receiving benefits because they are using the program to support a bad habit will help reduce the costs to the taxpayers and truly provide the benefits to those who need it. This is a great solution to overlooked area.
The article “Mandatory Drug Testing To Receive Welfare Benefits” you wrote is spot on with my views and opinions behind welfare benefits. I’m glad you posted this topic, you wrote the article very well and have pointed out some validated positions. Welfare is a great system for those who truly need it and want it only as a temporary stepping stone until those people are able to get back on their feet and on the right track. However, welfare itself is controversial. I found this article to be interesting because it is a thought that has crossed my mind from time to time as to the type of regulation the welfare system undergoes. Taxpayers are contributing to a system with little regulation so it certainly raises questions as to why am I responsible for someone who is abusing the system potentially? I’m certain that there are quite a few individuals who abuse the system and/or are on drugs. As you stated, many people agree with the drug test screening and compare this notion to taking a drug test to gain and maintain employment, then why should welfare recipients be any different. Drug testing will highlight recipients who are wasting taxpayer’s money. I don’t believe that it’s unconstitutional to drug test if the welfare recipient is abusing the program and benefits. Those people need to be rehabilitated and if drug testing is required for employment, again what makes this any different? This type of filtering would create a better living situation and set better examples for kids if they are involved. As you stated, for those who fail a drug test and become ineligible for assistance, their family will suffer without the help. The blame goes to the parent. Removing a person from receiving benefits because they are using the program to support a bad habit will help reduce the costs to the taxpayers and truly provide the benefits to those who need it. This is a great solution to overlooked area.
In a recent blog entry entitled “Mandatory Drug Testing to Receive Welfare Benefits”, the author of
“Politics: Not Worth My Vote”, discusses existing welfare programs in the states and the beneficial and detrimental factors they bring into play. In this post, the author’s main intent is to examine the relationship between welfare programs and the recipients who insist on abusing the system. Ultimately, her goal is to find a way to eliminate the latter while still maintaining the former, and I believe she has some very excellent thoughts and ideas on how to formulate this change.
First off, the author states that welfare programs are designed to assist those who are experiencing temporary financial struggles and are unable to provide for themselves and their families. While these programs are incredibly effective tools in helping those who are going through tough times, the system is often heavily depleted by recipients who abuse the benefits by purchasing drugs. As a result, the author mentions that many states are working toward enforcing a mandatory drug test in order to regulate who is receiving these benefits.
I agree completely with the author on this particular subject. Unquestionably, welfare programs are enormously successful tools that help to foster the financial burdens of those experiencing a difficult time financially. However, as the author mentions, this system is frequently being taken advantage of, and I completely agree that we need a solution. Her suggestion to finding this solution is to enforce mandatory drug tests in order to collect benefits, and once again, I have to agree. I believe that if states were to implement a drug screening before receiving benefits, we could greatly influence a different outcome. Not only would this proposal eliminate recipients who are harming the system, but it would also preserve the welfare program for those who truly need the help.
The author also brings to light the fact that these drug-using individuals often have children that desperately need the benefits the welfare programs can provide. Is it right to deny aid to the parents, when the children will suffer the most? This is one question the author attempts to answer, and her response is to implement a plan of action that places these addicts into a rehabilitation center or substance abuse class. If the individual remains in these classes, then they are allowed to keep the assistance. While I believe the entire welfare system is far too damaged and void of morality to be miraculously healed by the engagement with rehabilitation, I do believe it is a good place to start. With this kind of system, these addicted adults could receive help, but there’s no way to determine if it will make any difference. Addicts are people whose dispositions are often set in stone, and while I believe the author has her heart in the right place, I don’t necessarily believe this will solve the issue, but it is a route worth traveling.
In addition, the author mentions that if drug testing were to be put into effect, taxpayers would be left with the bill. It is certainly a factor that must be considered, but in actuality, taxpayers are already being burdened with welfare program debt. The difference between the two is that the cost of a drug test is far more inexpensive than the paying for months or years of assistance.
To summarize, my belief is in accordance with the author’s: welfare programs should be available in the United States; however, it should only be given to those who desperately need it and who are receptive to assistance in order to become financially stable once again. I agree with the author when she states that it’s impossible for the government to weed out every welfare recipient who is ill-suited for the program, but the proposal of drug screening is an excellent way to work toward creating a system that can fully utilize its resources to affect the lives of those who desperately need it, not those who misuse it.
The blog that was posted by Politics: Not Worth My Vote titled Mandatory Drug Testing To Receive Welfare Benefits brings up many issues about our welfare system and it's fairness. I currently am a receiver of unemployment due to outsourcing. Because of where I live, jobs are few and far between. I live over an hour from Austin and jobs in the Burnet area are low paying and nonexistant. Because of all of the people collecting unemployment, it cuts benefits to those that are actually looking for employment and can't find a decent paying job. I agree that drug testing should be required to receive any type of welfare to include unemployment. The writer posts a good point that drug testing is required to get a job so it should be required to qualify for help. I worked for over 20 years without collecting unemployment and I don't think that it is right that my benefits might be cut because of lack of funding because of the number of people on welfare. I also believe that all of the classes to help you get a job that are available at the workforce offices should be available at all offices instead of just those in Austin or Round Rock. Because of where I live it cuts my sources to jobs and sources to broaden my work opportunities. If they took the money away from drug users maybe there would be more money for job hunting resources.
This article definitely pointed out a very unfortunate and common issue in our welfare system. The ability to aquire money without working has motivated certain individuals with the wrong intentions to try and trick the system to recieve a share of the welfare money. The specific group mentioned in this article are drug addicts who use the welfare money to fund their substance abuse. The solution that the author suggests is drug testing. My personal opinion is that even if we choose to force such tests, there will still be individuals who might successfully trick the system. So how do we protect the welfare money from being wasted on drugs rather than being spent on providing food and housing for those who truly need it? One solution might be closer financial screening on the recipients. We could basically use an automated or self reporting system where we closely monitor if the amount of money being given out to an individual is being spent on food, rent, medical expenses. Of course once again an individual would try and cheat through the financial screenings, but it would definitely discourage welfare reciepients from spending their money on the wrong things. These people are getting free money from our government so they really should not complain about the governments methods of ensuring the money is spent on legal investments and not illegal ones.
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