Is Drug Testing Welfare Applicants Unconstitutional?

[Matthew Edlund]

Being a civil servant my paycheck comes from the government. I get randomly drug tested. If I commit a crime I get fired and my paycheck is lost. But I made a choice to take on this challenge, I recognize that fact. Welfare is nothing more than a government paycheck that most don't have to work hard enough for. Anyone receiving taxpayer money should be held to at least some of the same standards.

@Chris Piper- I agree with your above post as far as the video games. I've personally witnessed apartments in squalor. No food in the fridge, kids in dirty or no clothes, bare mattresses on the floor, but a 60 inch, flat screen and all of the newest video game consoles STACKED on top of others. People waste their lives in front of those games. Sally Struthers should forget 3rd world countries and focus on The South Bronx! Thousands of dollars in electronics, a Cadillac Escalade outside on 22's but no food, clothes or cleaning supplies in the place? Closets full of Puma's and FUBU and no soap in the shower? Something is definitely wrong.

Taxpayer funded welfare should be used for nothing recreational. Including drugs of any kind. Alcohol, cigarettes and yes pot (I'm a big advocate of it being legal, seriously). You really want your money paying for someone else good time? I shouldn't have to fund YOUR pursuit of happiness. I'm trying to expend all of my energy pursuing mine.

Welfare should be a trade school boot camp. Cut your hair, tuck in your shirt, wear your hat right and get an education. If they we're making plumbers instead of bums the world might be a little better. Once you prove to be a productive party of your community then you earn the rights our fore fathers penned.

Think about it this way. If you and 4 other people were trapped on a deserted island, you'd get to work surviving. What would happen to the person who refuses to aide in that survival and instead leaches off of your fruitful effort? That's welfare when people don't work to get off of it. We're all just on one big-ass deserted island. We've got a lot of people leaching off or our efforts.

[Matthew Edlund]

And the argument, in the article, about the cost effectiveness of the tests is a valid one. On the flip-side...Cops, Fire Fighters, Nurses, Doctors, Teachers and most other public employees are drug tested to maintain/obtain their employment. 99.9% of us come up clean. If they really want to save cash then just stop testing everyone. There are probably more public employees then people on welfare anyway. The 0.1% usually slips by for a while before they are found. When they're first found it's by their co-workers, not a drug test.

You feel comforted knowing your child's Teacher or the Fire Fighter coming to help you isn't a heroin addict. Testing people on welfare makes me more comfortable knowing they're not spending my money being heroin addicts.

[Frank R.]

Being a civil servant my paycheck comes from the government. I get randomly drug tested. If I commit a crime I get fired and my paycheck is lost. But I made a choice to take on this challenge, I recognize that fact. Welfare is nothing more than a government paycheck that most don't have to work hard enough for. Anyone receiving taxpayer money should be held to at least some of the same standards.

@Chris Piper- I agree with your above post as far as the video games. I've personally witnessed apartments in squalor. No food in the fridge, kids in dirty or no clothes, bare mattresses on the floor, but a 60 inch, flat screen and all of the newest video game consoles STACKED on top of others. People waste their lives in front of those games. Sally Struthers should forget 3rd world countries and focus on The South Bronx! Thousands of dollars in electronics, a Cadillac Escalade outside on 22's but no food, clothes or cleaning supplies in the place? Closets full of Puma's and FUBU and no soap in the shower? Something is definitely wrong.

Taxpayer funded welfare should be used for nothing recreational. Including drugs of any kind. Alcohol, cigarettes and yes pot (I'm a big advocate of it being legal, seriously). You really want your money paying for someone else good time? I shouldn't have to fund YOUR pursuit of happiness. I'm trying to expend all of my energy pursuing mine.

Welfare should be a trade school boot camp. Cut your hair, tuck in your shirt, wear your hat right and get an education. If they we're making plumbers instead of bums the world might be a little better. Once you prove to be a productive party of your community then you earn the rights our fore fathers penned.

Think about it this way. If you and 4 other people were trapped on a deserted island, you'd get to work surviving. What would happen to the person who refuses to aide in that survival and instead leaches off of your fruitful effort? That's welfare when people don't work to get off of it. We're all just on one big-ass deserted island. We've got a lot of people leaching off or our efforts.

Well said and I agree.

[Christopher Piper]

40 ounces of freedom baby!

The government and rich get to exploit and bend rules as they wish and exploit people too, but when it comes to poor people having a chance to do the same - its a no no!

What about all those fucks on wall street that fist fucked the worlds economy. I wonder what kind of drugs they were on, better yet.. I wonder how many of them are still doing drugs.

They can fuck ppls lives up without hesitation or remorse and keep on toking cracking or smacking while they are a prime reason for the explosion in unemployment and welfare benefit collection.

But lets not allow some handicapped disabled person smoke a joint, just remember he didn't create the system.

Things are the way they are cause of the people on the top, not the bottom.

Democracy means the people rule, so tell me... what do you rule?

[Christopher Piper]

Being on a deserted island is a straw man fallacy.

[Daniel Valdez]

Idc if anybody considers this constitutional or unconstitutional. A person or family in poverty should be able to enjoy a joint without scrutiny and people or government asking for their bodily fluids or body parts for examination.

I know more ppl that are jobless due to video games than drugs.

And why are we trying to push the little guys out the boat again?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7Vl0...e_gdata_player

IMO...whatever a person wants to do with there money is one thing, illegal or not is another subject, but fuck the idea that they should be able to be drug addicts while receiving government aid. recreational habits sometimes need to be put on hold while getting a job.

[Frank R.]

People that are rich and buy their own drugs is a lot different than poor people asking the United States government for a handout and possibly use that money to supply their drug habits. Ok so someone can have a hard time getting on their feet; however, to prevent that help from getting abused they will be tested just to ensure that illegal drugs aren't being purchased with it. Don't like it then you get no help. Get a job like everyone else so you can buy all the drugs you want. America is great isn't it.

[Cody Kietzman]

^^Your confusing me^^ ...did you mean Federal welfare is unconstitutional? That's what you said earlier so I am assuming you just made a typo.

Federal welfare = the Federal government using taxes to give people money. That is not a power afforded to the Federal government therefore it is a states right, not the Federal governments...therefore UNCONSTITUTIONAL! <---(uses sweet announcers voice) : ) a lot of things the Federal government does now is unconstitutional, but is done in the name democracy, order, freedom, liberty, justice, homeland security, and a bunch of other things that the govt uses to make people feel good about themselves/safe. Its simply the beast we have become. Let me wrap up by saying i absolutely love this country and i will live here forever. (I just dont want you guys to think im like a Canadian wannabe America hater).

[Christopher Piper]

IMO...whatever a person wants to do with there money is one thing, illegal or not is another subject, but fuck the idea that they should be able to be drug addicts while receiving government aid. recreational habits sometimes need to be put on hold while getting a job.

Lol.... the rich get government aid... this argument is weak...

[Joe Durham]

Well said and I agree.

Ditto