This past year, more than 30 states proposed some form of a bill that would require drug testing for people who wish to receive welfare, unemployment assistance, job training, food stamps and public housing. Proponents of the idea believe that it would ensure that tax dollars would not be wasted feeding recipients’ addictions, while those opposed say that the bill would reinforce stereotypes about those who need income from welfare and similar programs. Laws of this nature have already been implemented in states such as Missouri, Indiana and Arizona.
While it may very well reinforce a stereotype, we need to look beyond the emotional implications and examine the fiscal benefits. Whatever money is spent on drug testing potential welfare recipients will be more than compensated for in money saved by eliminating their eligibility for welfare funds.
Granted, many would make the argument that drug addicts come to that state through no fault of their own and need that welfare just to survive, but just because they need it does not mean that taxpayers have an obligation to sustain them.
Moreover, many businesses require drug testing for all their employees before they can receive payment; it should be no different for those who receive their income from welfare. Almost all government employees are subject to both pre-employment screenings and tests at random, and as welfare is money that comes from the government, it makes sense to screen those who would receive payment.
Drug testing does not have to come with a stigma attached. Those who are receiving government funding should be utilizing that money properly, not for their own illicit activity.
Such stipulations attached to welfare distribution would also render conservatives who normally oppose it to be more sympathetic to its perpetuation, which ultimately helps those who depend on it for survival.
Additionally, according to The New York Times, welfare recipients in Florida have had to pay for their own drug testing since July, and because of this, enrollment in the program has decreased to its lowest point since the beginning of the recession, which is a step in the much-needed direction toward welfare reform.
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