Drug testing welfare recipients

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We should test people who claim mortgage interest deductions and anyone who takes a government student loans. These are all welfare. I remember a bunch of hard right conservative arguing about how we must crack down on all these druggies as they got drunk and smoked pot! LOL
I know lets test for alcohol and tobacco before any medicare or ss checks go out. Big brother is watching you!

I don't believe that welfare recipients should be drug tested, but your "stretch" of the definition of welfare is ludicrous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:first of all, I don't think this has anything to do with unemployment benefits. unemployment is a benefit you earn because you paid your unemployment taxes while you were employed.

second of all, I don't see a problem with this. welfare is supposed to be a temporary situation where the govt helps you to get back on your feet. It should be combined with job training and counseling - and should have both a carrot and a stick approach. So why not have an incentive to get people off drugs?

Because you should not have to give up your rights as an American just because you fall on hard times, that's why.

your right to abuse illegal drugs???? how is that a right of an american? if the recipients consent to it as a condition of their participation, not sure how it is possibly illegal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:first of all, I don't think this has anything to do with unemployment benefits. unemployment is a benefit you earn because you paid your unemployment taxes while you were employed.

second of all, I don't see a problem with this. welfare is supposed to be a temporary situation where the govt helps you to get back on your feet. It should be combined with job training and counseling - and should have both a carrot and a stick approach. So why not have an incentive to get people off drugs?

Because you should not have to give up your rights as an American just because you fall on hard times, that's why.

your right to abuse illegal drugs???? how is that a right of an american? if the recipients consent to it as a condition of their participation, not sure how it is possibly illegal.

Just for the sake of argument (why else are we here?), couldn't the same be said about, say, the use of public streets, thereby opening everyone up to periodic drug tests as we walk or drive about?

[Anonymous]

I think there has to be a rational reason behind it. so sure, if there was a public street that was infested with drug crime, I'd have no problem with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:first of all, I don't think this has anything to do with unemployment benefits. unemployment is a benefit you earn because you paid your unemployment taxes while you were employed.

second of all, I don't see a problem with this. welfare is supposed to be a temporary situation where the govt helps you to get back on your feet. It should be combined with job training and counseling - and should have both a carrot and a stick approach. So why not have an incentive to get people off drugs?

Because you should not have to give up your rights as an American just because you fall on hard times, that's why.

your right to abuse illegal drugs???? how is that a right of an american? if the recipients consent to it as a condition of their participation, not sure how it is possibly illegal.

No, your right to be protected against illegal search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. This didn't occur to you on the Fourth of July?!! {facepalm}

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:first of all, I don't think this has anything to do with unemployment benefits. unemployment is a benefit you earn because you paid your unemployment taxes while you were employed.

second of all, I don't see a problem with this. welfare is supposed to be a temporary situation where the govt helps you to get back on your feet. It should be combined with job training and counseling - and should have both a carrot and a stick approach. So why not have an incentive to get people off drugs?

Because you should not have to give up your rights as an American just because you fall on hard times, that's why.

your right to abuse illegal drugs???? how is that a right of an american? if the recipients consent to it as a condition of their participation, not sure how it is possibly illegal.

Great, so they have to give up their civil rights to make a claim against the insurance that the government forcibly deducts from their paycheck while they are working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:first of all, I don't think this has anything to do with unemployment benefits. unemployment is a benefit you earn because you paid your unemployment taxes while you were employed.

second of all, I don't see a problem with this. welfare is supposed to be a temporary situation where the govt helps you to get back on your feet. It should be combined with job training and counseling - and should have both a carrot and a stick approach. So why not have an incentive to get people off drugs?

Because you should not have to give up your rights as an American just because you fall on hard times, that's why.

your right to abuse illegal drugs???? how is that a right of an american? if the recipients consent to it as a condition of their participation, not sure how it is possibly illegal.

Great, so they have to give up their civil rights to make a claim against the insurance that the government forcibly deducts from their paycheck while they are working.

we are not discussing unemployment.

[Anonymous]

No one has defined "welfare" here. There are different types of assistance. The people I've known on Medicaid and food and housing assistance are on disability. Don't we pay for SS and Medicare/Medicaid as a weekly deduction?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:first of all, I don't think this has anything to do with unemployment benefits. unemployment is a benefit you earn because you paid your unemployment taxes while you were employed.

second of all, I don't see a problem with this. welfare is supposed to be a temporary situation where the govt helps you to get back on your feet. It should be combined with job training and counseling - and should have both a carrot and a stick approach. So why not have an incentive to get people off drugs?

Because you should not have to give up your rights as an American just because you fall on hard times, that's why.

your right to abuse illegal drugs???? how is that a right of an american? if the recipients consent to it as a condition of their participation, not sure how it is possibly illegal.

Great, so they have to give up their civil rights to make a claim against the insurance that the government forcibly deducts from their paycheck while they are working.

we are not discussing unemployment.

Well TANF already has a work requirement. You can't stay on it forever. There is more power in drug testing medicare recipients. Their abuse raises the program costs, and that's for decades of care.

[Anonymous]

Really not sure what the big deal is here. I had to go through drug testing before I was officially hired to work at an insurance company. In fact, all employees had to as a requirement for employment there. It didn't mean that the company assumed I was a druggie and I never thought my rights were taken away. It was just standard proceedure. So I'm surprised this is such a dramatic argument.

[Anonymous]

Please stop saying that you pay into unemployment. If you live in MD/DC/VA you don't - only your employer pays unemployment insurance. Most states do not tax employees - I think right now it's just NJ, PA, and either Alaska or Washington. It is a tax that your employer pays while you are an employee of theirs. I would count it as part of your benefits package so anyone who is unemployed should ABSOLUTELY file for unemployment if they are unemployed, but you did not pay into to the fund.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please stop saying that you pay into unemployment. If you live in MD/DC/VA you don't - only your employer pays unemployment insurance. Most states do not tax employees - I think right now it's just NJ, PA, and either Alaska or Washington. It is a tax that your employer pays while you are an employee of theirs. I would count it as part of your benefits package so anyone who is unemployed should ABSOLUTELY file for unemployment if they are unemployed, but you did not pay into to the fund.

It doesn't matter whether it is added to the gross payroll or not. It's fungible.