Texas advances bill to require drug screening for welfare

[Aramike]

Originally Posted by August

Nobody is forcing them to undergo drug testing. Accepting public assistance is a voluntary act just like accepting employment with a private company. You want the money you pee in the cup.

Precisely.

Now to address Mookie's point regarding the cost: on the surface, it may cost more, but there may be savings here that are difficult to detect. For one, if this can deter welfare recipients from using drugs, this may make them more confident in passing employer screenings. For another, how many hospital emergency room beds which are not paid for will be freed by additional healthy immune systems, less drug-related illnesses, fewer drug-related accidents, etc?

I think that perhaps you're looking at this the wrong way, as though it's supposed to be a measure to kick drug users off of the welfare rolls. I see it differently, as I've first hand witnessed the rampant drug use in the low-income welfare community: it's yet another incentive to get people clean, healthy, and employable.

Returning to self-sufficiency is what welfare is about - not merely a substitute for a real, earned paycheck.