Florida welfare drug testing

[dacjohns]

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
Benjamin Franklin

May not be entirely applicable but it is pretty close since we are basically talking about liberty/freedom from government intrusion.​

 

[Beekissed]

We've all seen it firsthand and yes, it is horrible that folks use and abuse the system and for drugs. So they test positive and they get a surrogate to file for their stamps so their children will eat...and who would that surrogate be? A mother or grandmother? Will she insure those kids get food instead of the stamps being used for drugs? Really? She raised the child who is currently abusing the system but she is responsible enough to see her grandchildren will get the stamps used for them?

I see all sorts of problems with this reasoning and the proposed outcome. Around here the whole family is aware of or in on the abuse of the system and there is NO ONE trustworthy to have the responsibility of those funds/stamps. So....who insures the children get fed? Take them away to a foster care home? Many of which are taking the money they earn for housing kids and using it to fund THEIR drug habit?

Yes, I see that whole scenario here all the time. Mandatory drug testing is just a small and futile step to try and stop this practice.

Will they arrest the person who tests positive? How many jails will be able to hold that slew of incoming? And, again, what happens to the children?

 

[PineappleMama]

Welfare recipients DO have people's lives in their hands... the ones with kids obviously, but if nothing else they have their own life in their hands and suicidal people are monitored, if needed by force, to protect them from themselves... but also even with no kids they have other people's lives in their hands because them being on drugs can cause them to harm others... whether that's assault in a rage, robbery to fund the habit, or crashing because they're skitzing out those are all very real threats to innocent people.

As to grocery clerks... what's the latest numbers on the amount of salmonella, e coli, etc in foods? And what happens if you don't pay adequate attention and allow your store bought chicken, beef, pork, etc to come in contact with your carrots... carrots that are not cooked, just given a quick rinse, cut up and fed to your kids? So yeah... clerks DO have lives in their hands. If they're stoned they aren't going to give a crap if they put a leaking package of (quite likely contaminated) chicken in the same bag as some kid's afternoon snack.

Savage you summed it up. If you know you'll get a positive test because you're a user then don't fill out the application, then act all indignant when a test is ordered, n'mind when it comes up positive and you're not handed cash. Whether that is for a job or benefits, if you know that's part of the 'interview' and you willingly choose to subject yourself to that interview, then you give up your right to privacy. Just like you give up your right to financial privacy.

Now should having a positive test ban you for life? No, I don't think so. See previous post about the background thing. That can hurt clean people. Folks who've grown up, bucked up and are doing their best. If they're clean, no risk that their kid will starve as they zone out in a drug haze or their kid will be beaten in a drug rage, then I've got no problem with lending them a hand.

But I'm not going to hand someone I know is high the money for their next hit. I'm not going to be an enabler that helps anyone hurt their self, their kids, or innocent bystanders. I don't want to be a statistic, or for my kids to become statistics, in the news as just another injury or death due to drugs. Not that I can stop users from using, they make their choice, but I'm not going to hand them the drug any more than I'd hand a suicidal person a gun. I don't think our government should either.

 

[GaNewChick]

Quote:
But someone escorting you to the toilet and standing outside the door while you give up your personal pee because the government thinks you might be doing drugs is not invading your privacy?

 

[pdsavage]

Quote:
But someone escorting you to the toilet and standing outside the door while you give up your personal pee because the government thinks you might be doing drugs is not invading your privacy?

Not if you agree to it...

 

[ams4776]

The govt has already intruded by starting the system. The Federal gov't should mostly be abouy security. The State gov't should handle the rest. If a state wants to drug test and u r a user move to a state that doesn't then. Thats why we have states so each could be different but still together. Welfare was not something the original gov't did.
oh and ive already heard rumors that they would like to stop allowing people to grow/raise own things so it would be 'safer' If the gov't stwpped OUT and forced people to grow up. Yeah the firsy while would be very rough

but it alreay is amd the taxes are killing our middle class. The rich don't feel it like we do and those pompus gov't officials sure don't. Save some money by eliminating perks. They get paid so no free cars/planes /tax exemption/ect. If they lived like most of us their opinions might change.

 

[domino7]

It scares me how many people are willing to give the government more leeway. I'm against all mandatory drug testing. In fact, it seems silly to me that drugs are even illegal. I think if they legalized all drugs, a lot of societies problems would be solved. The government would have billions of extra dollars. Too bad they would just waste it.

Let's face it, everyone who wants to be doing drugs, is doing drugs. It's also pretty well known that chronic drug users know how to beat the urine tests.

 

[Beekissed]

And would we also have to swear allegiance to Hitler to get in that bread line?

 

[Kikiriki]

Quote:
But someone escorting you to the toilet and standing outside the door while you give up your personal pee because the government thinks you might be doing drugs is not invading your privacy?

Have you ever been tested? No door allowed, and no washing hands after you pee all over the place...(former military, and aerospace...)

Girls have bad aim, typically.

 

[Laurajean]

Quote:
But someone escorting you to the toilet and standing outside the door while you give up your personal pee because the government thinks you might be doing drugs is not invading your privacy?

Have you ever been tested? No door allowed, and no washing hands after you pee all over the place...(former military, and aerospace...)

Girls have bad aim, typically.

Really? No doors allowed? I did not know that....