Welfare Recipients and Mandatory Drug and Alcohol Testing

Welfare Recipients and Mandatory Drug and Alcohol Testing

Debra GreerCM220 Kaplan University

July 18, 2012

Professor Emily Lundin

Welfare Recipients and Mandatory Drug and Alcohol TestingA national poll was conducted by RassmussonReports that shows fifty three percent of the national population supports mandatory drug testing on welfare recipients (RassmussonReports, July 20, 2011) It is clear that the majority of the working class oppose the spending of their tax dollars on benefit program's that are enabling some to abuse the system by supporting drug habits. The American working class is sick and tired of the rules and regulations that are enforced upon them while others live off our tax dollar support with no rules. The debate around mandatory drug and alcohol testing on welfare recipients has been ongoing since Michigan's policy to impose drug and alcohol testing on welfare recipients was deemed unconstitutional in 2003. It has become a hot topic once again since Florida enacted law to drug test applicants for welfare benefits and those already receiving these benefits. This law was signed by the Governor on May 31, 2011 and went into effect July 1, 2011 (NCLS,2012). By testing recipients of public assistance it would satisfy two things. The tax payer would not feel that their tax dollars are being wasted ,and that there is a constitutional fourth amendment equality between the tax payer and ones that are being supported by the tax dollar.

There are many arguments about this topic. Some of those arguments are the concern that requiring drug tests on welfare recipients is a violation of their fourth amendment rights (ACLU, 2012). Other raised issues are expenditures to the welfare recipient and to the tax payer, the stereo typing of welfare recipients, other ways to test that is less expensive and can accomplish the same goal, more intrusion of the government into our personal lives. Why not test all public assistance applicants and recipients...