Should welfare recipients be drug tested?

[Doomguy]

Okay -- so we institute mandatory drug testing as a condition for receiving welfare benefits -- now what?

When drug users fail the test and don't receive benefits, what's going to happen? Now these people will commit crimes to get the money they need. Okay -- let's process them and throw them in jail. Wow -- now we're spending FAR more money to house them in prison than just giving them the welfare check.

Great solution!

 

[xj0hnx]

Okay -- so we institute mandatory drug testing as a condition for receiving welfare benefits -- now what?

When drug users fail the test and don't receive benefits, what's going to happen? Now these people will commit crimes to get the money they need. Okay -- let's process them and throw them in jail. Wow -- now we're spending FAR more money to house them in prison than just giving them the welfare check.

Great solution!

Well why don't we just give bank robbers free money so they don't rob banks? Brilliant line of thinking.

 

[Doomguy]

Well why don't we just give bank robbers free money so they don't rob banks? Brilliant line of thinking.

Nice straw man. Try coming up with something that requires a little bit more thought.

 

[xj0hnx]

Nice straw man. Try coming up with something that requires a little bit more thought.

It's not a "strawman" at all, just saying it doesn't make it so. Why don't you come up with something besides "if we don't give them money they'll do crime", you know, something that requires a little bit of thought.

Your whole line of thinking is disgusting. It's an automatic accusation that poor people are criminals, and if we don't give them money than they will revert to crime. Sounds like extortion to me, you are calling poor people extortionist.

 

[alkemyst]

Okay -- let's process them and throw them in jail. Wow -- now we're spending FAR more money to house them in prison than just giving them the welfare check.

Great solution!

This is the main problem to begin with...no one wants to pay the real price or go on record stating the real penalty.

You go on welfare and commit ANY crime above simple low misdemeanors then you go immediately to what should be a work camp type jail. Bring back the Levenworth's where you just break rocks all day. You'd be too tired to shank anyone by the time you were done.

OH WAIT, we can't do that because now Joe Gangbanger who had no goal to go to college NOW must have access to it. Now he get a law degree to better protect himself when he finally gets out.

I am sorry, I don't believe in this. We let criminals mandate that prison can't fuck up their lives. We give them larger cells, more access to the real world, etc. For most prison is their 'rite of passage'. That's not going to change until prison is feared again.