DiLascio describes welfare is his article as “a common blanket term used to describe several different types of public assistance programs.” Welfare was designed to help ones with little to no income. It allowed families to purchase healthy foods and the expenses of living when their income would not. The welfare system was overtaken by the United States congress in 1996. As a result of this take over “states were granted the ability to administer drug tests to applicants for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) public assistance program before approving benefits” (DiLascio, …show more content…
Welfare began when the British Poor Laws were introduced by the United States colonies. These British Poor Laws prepared a clear picture for the difference in ones who were not able to work because of their physical health and the ones that were not allowed to work due to age. The unemployed were also included in this discrepancy. Welfare, in history, consisted of the government helping by distributing cash or a different form of assistance. During the 1800’s, the poor were a top priority. The government persistently tried to find a way to get the poor to work instead of rely on financial assistance. The Great Depression also had a huge impact on welfare. Many families suffered greatly from financial problems. As a result, these families had no choice but rely on government assistance. This was the ultimate beginning of welfare as we know today. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed the Social Security Act. According to “History of Welfare,” the act, which was amended in 1939, established a number of programs designed to provide aid to various segments of the population. Government agencies were then created to administer the welfare programs. A few of these agencies in the United States welfare were “the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Labor, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of …show more content…
They believe that it will be good for the society, ones who pay taxes, and ones who have children and families. Supporters believe it is not fair for the ones who work hard on a daily basis to have to pay a high number of taxes for drug addicts to receive those tax dollars. Secondly, they believe that it will confirm that children who are growing up in underprivileged families are in safe environments. Drug testing will also maintain government resources. “Welfare Drug Testing” states that “as welfare spending approaches $1 trillion a year, taxpayers have a right to insist that their financial help not only goes to those who truly need it but that it 's not wasted on frivolous or self-destructive activities such as drug use.” Opponents have a different perspective. They believe that it is not fair and unconstitutional. They argue that it is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment. Daily Kos blogger Doug Berger states in “Welfare Drug Testing” that “if the Fourth Amendment means anything, it means the government has to have a probable cause to test you for drugs. Having a bias toward poor people, thinking they must all be dirty and on drugs