Do you think those on public assistance should be drug tested?

I suppose I do owe you a better response than simply "No." don't I. It just seemed to be an obvious answer and the why just seemed equally obvious, at least to me. but that doesn't seem to be the case either I guess. I have seen the same thing on facebook and other forums. I also responded to another discussion similar to this here, it was actually pretty frightening. The entire 4(and counting?) pages were a public lynching of a group of people with out any evidence of a crime having been committed. A disgraceful 4 pages of people willing to arbitrarily strip rights from another group of people with out due process of law, with out any evidence of criminality, with out any reason other than they are receiving public assistance of some sort (keep in mind, "public assistance" is a very broad term and can apply to a lot of things). And even reading through this discussion, I see a similar pattern. Stereotypes and wildly non-factual generalizations, same justifications, same willingness to strip rights of a group of people, with out regards to our constitution or a legal system based on the presumption of innocence. I'm pretty sure many of you who are agreeing with this idea are also some of the same people who oppose the patriot act, the actions of the TSA and other unconstitutional and baseless stripping of rights. No one has yet been able to satisfactorily demonstrate to me that this is any different from those constitutional travesties.

I have had to be on welfare after my divorce. I was expected to fill out a form every month listing what I had in bills, I had to provide receipts for my utilities paid & my rent paid. I was being supported by the state. I never questioned their right to know if I was being responsible with the money they provided. It's called accountability. Once I finished school and found a job, I was as a healthcare worker, expected to pee in a cup. Again, I did not deny them the right to find out if I was using. After all, I was going to be put in a position of responsibility over vulnerable residents and patients. I had no problem with being held accountable. In our zeal for our rights we have to understand that all of life is about responsibility and accountability. We have our rights if we are responsible with them. They are taken away if we break the law. Being on welfare does not mean we are giving up our rights or privcy and in no way am I saying all welfare recipients are irrresponsible. But if I am employed, I am responsible to carry out my duties. If I don't, I loose my right to be employed there. With every right, there is a responsibility and someone to ensure accountability. If we lie under oath, if we break the law, if we hurt someone else or deprive them of their property, the state has the right to take away some of our rights, that means we are accountable to the state in some respects. If the state is providing our living, like an employer they have the right to hold us accountable.

I see your points, the only part I see as it being a waste of times is this. The government workers are already spread very thin and have enough paperwork that they lose ALL the time. They would lose the paper, the client would have trouble getting there, and then reapply (creating more paperwork). And many of them dont have health care, so who will pay for all this?? Taxpayers, thats who. And then they can get a good test in some cases as they know how to do this.

I most definitely think anyone on public assistance should be subject to testing at irregular intervals (having no pattern or order in time). I believe this should be mandatory when accepting public assistance paid for with our tax dollars.

I agree too. I also feel that someone needs to look more closely at people that are receiving public assistance, yet are able to drive expensive cars or wear expensive clothing. I used to own my home, but it turns out that three homes away was Section 8 housing. Somehow these folks were able to have an affordable home AND have a lease on a 2-year-old Nissan Altima! I was struggling to pay my bills while driving a 13-year-old SUV! Very frustrating when I had gone to the same people (public assistance) just a few years before for food stamps and was turned down (I made too much on unemployment yet considered 'weathy' because I owned my home!). It seems that the entire system needs to be revamped--it only works now when you know how to work the system.

YES. Test 'em high, test 'em low. Test 'em where the Sun don't show. Absolutely. Maggiepie "You can't fix stupid." ~ Ron White "Blue Collar" (very risque) comedian

yes id say most will agree. but it seems any time decent people come up with such an idea, its shot down for some reason. especially if it will save us money. who knows why. ive way lost faith in our government.