Let me start by reiterating how much I respect anyone who is a liberal/Democrat/moderate/sane person in the state I am about to discuss. Good, now that we got that out of the way - on to the WTF-ness.
Our country’s role-model state, Florida, is the first to pass legislation requiring drug testing for those availing of welfare benefits. In theory, I suppose, this seems like a “fiscally responsible” move – or at least that’s what the fiscally responsible Rick Scott would have you believe, along with much of Republican congresspeople (sic).
Just a couple of questions spring to mind:
1) What about false positives? Won’t they deprive people who genuinely need food, clothes and shelter of these base necessities? I’m willing to bet that one failed drug test lands you on a DNS list – even if you clean up your act and try to contribute to society meaningfully (read: effective penal system). But why reward those battling back from addiction? It could just be hardline political policy, right? It’s not like Republicans ever asked for second, third or fourth chances after demonstrating an inability to handle money.
2) Won’t drug testing cost as much money as it will save? Well, I guess they could just not count alcohol (most-addicted-to-substance for impoverished US citizens?). Or even better – don’t debar welfare-collectors based on marijuana use. But that might just be too close to actually solving economic problems, theoretically.
3) Wouldn’t the money used to fund this program be better spent on rehab/recovery programs?
4) Doesn't this strike anyone else as latent socioeconomic discrimination?
I’m just going to leave it at that – Socratic interrogation without the Platonic discursion. Sort of.
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