The prevailing conservative assumption is that most welfare recipients are drug addicts who get their check and proceed to smoke, snort, or shoot up the money they’ve scammed from good, hard-working Americans. This theory took a hit when the ACLU of Florida released documentation they obtained from the state showing that the program actually cost Florida taxpayers a net $45,780 in a four month period. During this time, 108 of 4,086, or 2.6%, of applicants failed the drug test, and because the law requires the state to reimburse those who pass the test, they actually paid out more than they saved. The law also failed to deter people from seeking assistance in the first place. The report indicated that caseloads from July to September 2011 were not dramatically reduced.
The conservative supporters of the bill are not discouraged because fuck the ACLU “The drug testing law was really meant to make sure that kids were protected, that our money wasn’t going to addicts, that taxpayer generosity was being used on diapers and Wheaties and food and clothing.”, argued Chris Cinquemani, Vice President of the Foundation for Government Accountability.
How noble of them.
Read the entire article at The New York Times
