There is an ongoing debate over whether or not Welfare recipients should be drug tested to receive the benefits. The lines of reasoning from both sides of this argument have unambiguous points. Those who oppose the idea of drug testing say that it is unconstitutional, and violates the Fourth Amendment. Furthermore, they claim that this law stereotypes and discriminates against the poor , implying that because they are poor, they must be drug addicts. However, individuals that support the law, express that the plan being put in effect is to ensure that tax payer’s money isn’t being thrown away on people who only plan to abuse this assistance. Out of the fifty states, only nine have proceeded with the drug testing of candidates. The drug testing has proven to be quite expensive. Consequently, some of the states only test subjects with whom they find suspicion, or that have admitted to drug use in the past. Though the proposal of drug testing Welfare applicants appears to be a good idea to weed out spongers from getting assistance, it seems that more money may be wasted on the testing itself, which would be imprudent in proving this law worthwhile.
Welfare is a federally funded program that provides health care, food stamps, child care assistance, unemployment, cash aid, and housing that is under the umbrella of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). Per Welfare Information, eligibility is determined by net income, family size, and any crisis situation such as: pregnancy, homelessness, and unemployment. TANF also requires the recipient to obtain employment within two years of receiving help (2014). A majority of the monies that support Welfare come from taxes paid by the working class and donations from private companie...
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... News. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/story/2012-03-18/drug-testing-welfare-applicants/53620604/1 Pollack, H. (2002, January –February). Drug Testing Welfare Recipients-False Positives, False
Negatives, Unanticipated Opportunities. Women’s Health Issues, Vol. 12(1), pp. 23-31, Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1049-3867(01)00139-6
Shaberg, A. (2012, April 1). State Drug Testing Requirements for Welfare Recipients: Are
Missouri and Florida’s New Laws Constitutional? Missouri Law Review, Spring2012, Vol. 77 Issue 2, p567-589. 23p. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=aef9f6f7-734d-4a6c-adae-2b97736ecc93%40sessionmgr111&vid=2&hid=127
US Welfare System – Help for US Citizens. (2014). Welfare Information. Retrieved from http://www.welfareinfo.org/
During the problem definition stage, one must realize that “a condition is not a social problem unless it is seen as violating certain fundamental values and beliefs about how society should operate” (Gusfield, 2011). I have determined that there exists a problem concerning gun control, more specifically, concealed carry laws, as they are inconsistent throughout the states. While 48 states now have some form of concealed carry policy in place, the Illinois does not. Thus, the citizens’ rights are in violation of the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
These people are looking for help to pay for their living expenses such as their property costs, mortgages, and utilities. Welfare was meant to be a short term solution that would provide people with a helping hand that would allow them to take control of their life and once again be productive and able to provide for themselves and their families. At that time many families were forced to rely on government funding in order to pay their utilities, mortgage or rent, provide food and clothing for their families. While welfare is meant to be a short term solution to helping people while they find work, many people are requiring it for longer periods. Each state has their own set of rules for which people
Interpretation of the Eighth Amendment-Rummel, Solem and The Venerable Case of Weems v. United States. Duke Law Journal, Vol. 1984:789. Retrieved from http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2886&context=dlj&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar_url%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fscholarship.law.duke.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D2886%2526context%253Ddlj%26sa%3DX%26scisig%3DAAGBfm0U6qTJJcBT1EoWmQVHDXIojJgBHw%26oi%3Dscholarr#search=%22http%3A%2F%2Fscholarship.law.duke.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D2886%26context%3Ddlj%22
...ult, and some times it does not give a result at all. It is unfair because it only targets certain workers; mainly low wage employees. It is unjust because people are automatically accused of using drugs, and that is why the drug test is given. Drug testing should not be abolished, but it should be a more controlled issue since it is something everyone in the US must go through.
"States Consider Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients." FoxNews.com - Breaking News | Latest News | Current News. 26 March 2009. Web. 31 January 2011
On 30 January 2011, the Missouri House of Representatives passed a bill and sent it to the senate that would require drug testing for those receiving state Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) funds. Funding from food stamps, medicare, and public housing would not be affected by this bill (Keller – House). According to Columbia Tribune reporter Rudi Keller, the bill is very similar to the Arizona law which is the only other state that tests welfare recipients. Missouri and Arizona would use a questionare and interview which would determine which applicants to test. The two states are also similar in their caseload of 45,017 people on assistance in Arizona and 42,885 in Missouri. The state would not be obligated to provide treatment for those that fail. Also, children would be protected because the money would be given to them by a third party in the event that their head of household tests positive (Keller- Arizona). According to the Columbia Tribune, TANF is a five year maximum support benefit for people who are attempting to find a job or gain employment skills. The maximum TANF payment is $292 dollars a month with the head of household portion being $58 (Keller- House). The issue of drug testing those on welfare goes back to 1996 with the welfare reform act authorized, but did not require, states to impose mandatory drug testing as a prerequisite to receiving state welfare assistance (Drug Testing).
Meth, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin are among the top drugs that many people use and utilized as money making tactics. As we all know, drugs are found and they are heavily used in low income areas, not only do they pose a significant effect on one’s health but they pose a significant effect on our economy. Generally it is perceived that those who reside in low income areas are the ones who resort to drugs, evidently they are. Likewise, they are also the ones who are assumed to be enlisted on government assistance programs. Some of these programs include; health care, child care, ebt benefits, and even housing assistance programs. So the substantial question is “Should people who receive government assistance undergo drug tests?”
Remy, Richard C., Gary E. Clayton, and John J. Patrick. "Supreme Court Cases." Civics Today. Columbus, Ohio: Glencoe, 2008. 796. Print.
In 2005, the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Promotion Act was amended by a house subcommittee to cut federal welfare funding to any state that did not drug test those applying for welfare benefits. Similar bills have been introduced in Kansas, Missouri, and West Virginia. Arizona has a limited drug testing program and some conservative politicians are still pushing for more regulations on drug testing (Haerens 1). Having family members that have received government assistance in the past and knowing their background with drug use, I believe it would be good if the regulations were stricter about testing for drug use and taking corrective action. Drug testing should be required for welfare recipients to ensure help is being provided to those who truly need it, to be sure that tax dollars aren’t going to irresponsible drug users, and because the working class already has to, so they should too.
... to introduce a bill to modify a state law that mandates random drug testing of welfare recipients who have recently been convicted of a drug felony.” The law burdens and already stressed county welfare system, costs more money and time than it will save. The role of the county welfare is to follow the law, not to redefine it.
The ultimate goal with distributing welfare is that it is used for essential needs not for drugs; the tax payers do not work to have their hard earned money spent on drugs. Having these welfare recipients submit to a drug test would also cost the tax payers but only if the test comes back negative. When the recipients take the test they pay for it and are reimbursed if it comes back negative but if it comes back positive there is no refund and they are automatically removed from the program for a year. This ensures that the welfare recipients are not using their government issued checks for drugs and will ease the minds of the tax payers. Ensuring that tax payers’ mon...
Drug testing kits have become relatively inexpensive over the last few years due to our increased imports from China. The annual savings of promoting good health by screening out a drug addicted applicant is substantial when comparing the difference in taxpayer money that was lost after a recipient misused their benefits to support a chemical addiction. After a welfare recipient passes an initial drug screening and receives their electronic benefit card, the food stamp account should be monitored monthly to verify nutritious foods are being bought. Buying nutritious foods instead of selling or trading food stamps for illegal drugs or alcohol promotes the overall health of a mind and body. A healthy mind and body then creates an individual who makes adequate progress in their daily
Welfare is the modern day Robin Hood, robbing the rich and middle working class to support the poor. Our current welfare system has reached a record level of over 109,000,000 means tested recipients. (U.S. Census) Means tested is a process in which the government analyzes your ability to take care of your family without their assistance through subsidized aid. Some of the more popular government aid programs include Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Medicaid, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). With all the different government aid programs available now, the lines between social classes become blurred. The morality of taking free money is questioned, despite knowing where it comes from, and how hard people have to
... violation of the Fourth Amendment. There have been many cases and debates on the decisions made by employers to implement random and/or pre-employment testing as well as subjecting welfare applicants to the same testing guidelines. With the high unemployment rates, there are many Americans in search of employment who will be subjected to a drug test so why not utilize the laws to control the abuse of government benefits.
The article identifies the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, both from 1996. These acts state that it is individually up to the States in that they may require drugs tests for recipients and have the option to penalize those who fail. Further, states may put a “lifetime ban on TANF and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program… benefits for persons convicted of a drug-related felony”, however, most states chose to offer and/or require substance abuse treatments for those receiving benefits. Further, the article discusses a pilot test conducted in Florida for drug testing welfare recipients. It states that, “drug testing did not produce reliable estimates of the level of drug use” amongst recipients and goes on to discuss that several candidates likely to have tested positive instead returned negative tests. Also discussed is the cost to test welfare recipients. State costs were estimated to run between $92,487 and up