Rant

[misombra]

Racism, classism, inhumanity, unconstitutionality. everything that is disgusting about america is in this bill.


[url]http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090326/ap_on_bi_ge/states_welfare_with_strings[/url]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Want government assistance? Just say no to drugs.

Lawmakers in at least eight states want recipients of food stamps, unemployment benefits or welfare to submit to random drug testing.

The effort comes as more Americans turn to these safety nets to ride out the recession. Poverty and civil liberties advocates fear the strategy could backfire, discouraging some people from seeking financial aid and making already desperate situations worse.

Those in favor of the drug tests say they are motivated out of a concern for their constituents' health and ability to put themselves on more solid financial footing once the economy rebounds. But proponents concede they also want to send a message: you don't get something for nothing.

"Nobody's being forced into these assistance programs," said Craig Blair, a Republican in the West Virginia Legislature who has created a Web site — notwithmytaxdollars.com — that bears a bobble-headed likeness of himself advocating this position. "If so many jobs require random drug tests these days, why not these benefits?"

Blair is proposing the most comprehensive measure in the country, as it would apply to anyone applying for food stamps, unemployment compensation or the federal programs usually known as "welfare": Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Women, Infants and Children.

Lawmakers in other states are offering similar, but more modest proposals.

On Wednesday, the Kansas House of Representatives approved a measure mandating drug testing for the 14,000 or so people getting cash assistance from the state, which now goes before the state senate. In February, the Oklahoma Senate unanimously passed a measure that would require drug testing as a condition of receiving TANF benefits, and similar bills have been introduced in Missouri and Hawaii. A Florida senator has proposed a bill linking unemployment compensation to drug testing, and a member of Minnesota's House of Representatives has a bill requiring drug tests of people who get public assistance under a state program there.

A January attempt in the Arizona Senate to establish such a law failed.


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[Aeradalia]

If the drug tests come back positive.. do they offer drug rehab?

I mean this is suppose to help people right? Hopefully they're not turning away those who are addicted and can't break the habit by themselves...

[misombra]

they are denying these people welfare if they come up negative in a random.

[Sonrisa]

how do you feel about it Miso?

[misombra]

it's classic blame of the victim. when our country is in financial straits, the poor always suffer and our policy changes to make them suffer more.

the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

[Sonrisa]

how do you feel about drugs in general though?

[Sonrisa]

can i just give you kudos for posting a stimulating thread which we have not seen in a while here. i know this is a LOVE forum, but there are only so many times one can say, dump him/her.

[vashti]

I have to say that I am personally burned out on junkies right now. They wear on my last nerve at work, and I am afraid my tolerance for them is rapidly diminishing. When I've got a couple of patients who are literally dying and in pain, the last person I want to hear from is that freakin' junkie down the hall begging me for dilaudid every hour on the hour, stalking me in the hallways and getting hostile because I don't magically appear the minute s/he is allowed more drugs. Sorry, buddy - but you are my LOWEST priority, and I am sick of feeling like a drug dealer.

Alcohol detoxers are often disgusting, too.

[Sonrisa]

i must agree with Vashti to some extent. not sure if you remember but i had a thread about snitching, where i was complaining about a coworker who did nothing and i felt bad about snitching on him since he has a wife and a small child. he'd come to work stoned or drunk every morning and just sit there and browse internet. guess what? finally got rid of him. he ****ed up one of our new accounts that he was supposed to supply with medical equipment in December, and in February we got a call from the doctor's office that nothing was done.

[misombra]

how do you feel about drugs in general though?

drugs have been around forever. people and animals have been altering their minds since life began.

moderation is key. people take it too far and run their lives on them and that is what turns it into a bad thing in general.

it also urks me that there are legal and illegal drugs. the law pisses me off.

I have to say that I am personally burned out on junkies right now. They wear on my last nerve at work, and I am afraid my tolerance for them is rapidly diminishing. When I've got a couple of patients who are literally dying and in pain, the last person I want to hear from is that freakin' junkie down the hall begging me for dilaudid every hour on the hour, stalking me in the hallways and getting hostile because I don't magically appear the minute s/he is allowed more drugs. Sorry, buddy - but you are my LOWEST priority, and I am sick of feeling like a drug dealer.

Alcohol detoxers are often disgusting, too.

yeah, those crack heads and alcoholics get on my damn nerves. along with those people who are hooked on prescription drugs.

but there's no policies that actually help people help their loved ones who are hooked on those things. my cousin is hooked on crack and we can't do a thing about it. we can't force him into rehab, we can't take him to the wilderness and hold him there against his will. all we can do is wait until he gets arrested and let people who don't give a shit about him do something. and rarely do they help. no i would say they never help.

[Gribble]

I don't think it should be legal for employers to force drug tests, either.

If a guy isn't performing fire him for that. If he steals fire him and prosecute him.

Don't punish people before they've committed a real transgression.

[bluesummer]

The only way this bill would make sense is if the people who tested positive for drugs were put in a state-funded rehab program.

Otherwise, they're basically trying to drive drug addicts into even more desperate situations.....homelessness, starvation, crime. How does that help?

[misombra]

i think a policy that would help this is one that would allow a family member to take over as guardian for an addicted person. you can take over as a guardian for an old, incapacitated person, or a medically fragile, or someone with developmental disabilities. but you can't do it for an addict.

i think they don't want to give money for welfare in general. although food stamps and other benefits don't use up any money compared to social security and medicare. and it's really REALLY nothing compared to the bailouts we're giving out.

[The_bobb]

I know a lot of you will hate me for this... BUT, i'm ok with this. If you can afford drugs, you can afford to feed yourself. Plain and simple. I do also think if positive they should offer rehab or something though, because yeah, it's wrong to just take they're life line away without offering help.

If positive, maybe they should continue welfare ONLY IF the person attends rehab classes?

[lovesjoyajm]

I know a lot of you will hate me for this... BUT, i'm ok with this. If you can afford drugs, you can afford to feed yourself. Plain and simple. I do also think if positive they should offer rehab or something though, because yeah, it's wrong to just take they're life line away without offering help.

If positive, maybe they should continue welfare ONLY IF the person attends rehab classes?

People don't "afford" drugs. They get themselves into massive, massive amounts of debt because they consume drugs they can't actually afford.