Another way that welfare recipients can abuse the welfare system, is by being a drug user. If the money that is used to help those in need, goes to an individual that uses drugs, that is one less person that will receive help. On the online article “Point: The Welfare System Should Not Support Drug Users”, the writer states “It is unreasonable to expect taxpayers to pay for someone else's food, housing, and other expenses while that person uses their own money to buy drugs” (“Point: The Welfare System”). The drug addict that is receiving welfare does not have to worry about the essentials of life, because they are being paid for him through taxpayer’s money. Thus, the welfare system “Enables those individuals to continue buying illegal drugs
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The way that this problem can be fixed is by implementing a drug test for recipients of welfare. On a personal level and community level, hard-working taxpayers should have the right to know that the money that they pay in taxes is going to a person in need and not enabling a drug addict to continue his or her addiction. The way a person or a group can achieve this, is by making their desires heard. They must push the lawmakers of the state to impose the law to implicate a drug test for welfare recipients. On a political level, the lawmakers are already for drug testing, in-fact they have wanted drug testing since the federal welfare reform of 1996, however, Federal courts have made it tricky to impose these mandates (Finzel). On an institutional level, the welfare office of the state that has now legalized the drug testing of welfare recipients, should have an area with proper medical staff to test welfare recipients. New welfare recipients should be tested, before beginning the process of receiving government aid, and those who are already on welfare should be tested regularly, and if they fail to abide by the law, then their funding will be terminated. To have a medical staff on hand would need funding, and that funding would come from the money that is given to the state for welfare. That would take away from the amount of money that is for welfare recipients, however, …show more content…
In Kansas (one of the nine states that has passed a drug-testing law) they screen welfare recipients and applicants, and if they have been convicted of a drug felony they will be ineligible for welfare, and first-time offenders will not receive assistance for five years, and repeat offenders will be completely denied assistance for forever (Finzel). “In the first year of Utah's program, the state spent $31,000 to administer 466 tests, with 12 positive results. Another 247 applicants, however, quit the process after they were told to expect a drug test, Representative Brad Wilson (R) told the Huffington Post, saving the state $369,000 in avoided benefits over the year, he said” (Finzel). Even though the testing only found 12 positive results, 247 of those who heard about the drug test quit, adding up to a total of 259. That means that 259 people in Utah who actually need government assistance have the chance to receive it. The focus should not be on how much money it will cost the state to implement the drug tests, however, the focus should be on the many lives that will benefit. “Additionally, the amount of money each state budgets for its public assistance programs is finite […] to ensure that it is doing the most good with its limited resources. Providing financial assistance to drug users simply takes away money that could otherwise be provided to a
The way that this problem can be fixed is by implementing a drug test for recipients of welfare. On a personal level and community level, hard-working taxpayers should have the right to know that the money that they pay in taxes is going to a person in need and not enabling a drug addict to continue his or her addiction. The way a person or a group can achieve this, is by making their desires heard. They must push the lawmakers of the state to impose the law to implicate a drug test for welfare recipients. On a political level, the lawmakers are already for drug testing, in-fact they have wanted drug testing since the federal welfare reform of 1996, however, Federal courts have made it tricky to impose these mandates (Finzel). On an institutional level, the welfare office of the state that has now legalized the drug testing of welfare recipients, should have an area with proper medical staff to test welfare recipients. New welfare recipients should be tested, before beginning the process of receiving government aid, and those who are already on welfare should be tested regularly, and if they fail to abide by the law, then their funding will be terminated. To have a medical staff on hand would need funding, and that funding would come from the money that is given to the state for welfare. That would take away from the amount of money that is for welfare recipients, however, …show more content…
In Kansas (one of the nine states that has passed a drug-testing law) they screen welfare recipients and applicants, and if they have been convicted of a drug felony they will be ineligible for welfare, and first-time offenders will not receive assistance for five years, and repeat offenders will be completely denied assistance for forever (Finzel). “In the first year of Utah's program, the state spent $31,000 to administer 466 tests, with 12 positive results. Another 247 applicants, however, quit the process after they were told to expect a drug test, Representative Brad Wilson (R) told the Huffington Post, saving the state $369,000 in avoided benefits over the year, he said” (Finzel). Even though the testing only found 12 positive results, 247 of those who heard about the drug test quit, adding up to a total of 259. That means that 259 people in Utah who actually need government assistance have the chance to receive it. The focus should not be on how much money it will cost the state to implement the drug tests, however, the focus should be on the many lives that will benefit. “Additionally, the amount of money each state budgets for its public assistance programs is finite […] to ensure that it is doing the most good with its limited resources. Providing financial assistance to drug users simply takes away money that could otherwise be provided to a