Scott Walker wants jobless, food stamp recipients to face drug tests
Source: THE WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL
Wisconsin could have one of the nations most sweeping drug-testing requirements for those receiving public benefits if the proposal by Gov. Scott Walker to test those who apply for unemployment checks and food stamps becomes law.
But with scant details, its unclear whether any expansion beyond the current testing of drug felons would be allowed under federal law governing the states FoodShare program. Its also unclear how Wisconsin could craft any broad-based testing program for public benefits recipients that would be found constitutional.
The newly re-elected governor and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, both say a top priority of the upcoming legislative session is to require that recipients receiving food assistance and unemployment compensation be drug free to qualify for benefits.
In Wisconsin, an estimated 836,000 people receive FoodShare benefits, about 40 percent of them children, according to the state Department of Health Services. As of last week, 39,958 people had filed weekly unemployment compensation claims, according to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
As part of his re-election campaign platform, Walker vowed to require a drug test for those requesting unemployment and able-bodied, working-age adults requesting food stamps from the state. But no further details, including the cost and scope of the proposal, were available last week from the Walker administration.
Read more: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/scott-walker-wants-jobless-food-stamp-recipients-to-face-drug/article_d8f8fcb4-c6ec-5deb-af86-668209d69aff.html
geomon666
(7,512 posts)At best it's a waste of money. Of course I'm sure Gov. Walker will see that a friend of his who owns or operates a drug testing facility will get the contract for this from the city. So it's not really a waste of money...for him.
Yup, not only did Ricky get to send money his wife's way*, and Scott "Cronyism is Awesome!" Walker will get to send some more public money to his buddies, but now Walker knows voters won't even bat an eyelash at wasting taxpayer money as long it's wasted on belittling the poor. Ricky got reelected, and I really don't know what it would take for this state to vote Walker out either.
*Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the drug testing company he used a company his wife owned?
geomon666
(7,512 posts)When he became governor, he put all of his interest in the company into a trust for his wife.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/business/gov-rick-scotts-drug-testing-policy-stirs-suspicio/nLq8f/
FogerRox
(13,211 posts)mountain grammy
(26,621 posts)Brigid
(17,621 posts)He's trying to impress . . . Somebody. No idea who.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,693 posts)But didn't they try that in Florida, only to discover that only a tiny fraction of welfare recipients tested positive and that it cost the state way more than the amount of the funds paid to those people?
Doesn't matter. GOPers are always looking for a way to make the poorest even more ashamed of being poor.
DBoon
(22,366 posts)The point is to humiliate people receiving assistance by having the government require them to pee in a cup, to analyze their bodily fluids ensuring their personal habits meet the approval of the government.
BTW, unemployment is an insurance program not welfare. This is abusing the unemployed who have paid into the program while working, and who have a right to it benefits when not.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,693 posts)And GOPers like Scott Wanker are the same people who complain that "the government" is too intrusive.
Danmel
(4,915 posts)Humiliate people. My husband lost his job in August. He has had one 1 interview for a consulting job with no benefits, vacation time. He has 30 years of experience as an engineer. Nothing. And these fuckers want to drug test him? Why, other than to pile on. Fuckers can kiss my ass.
Scarsdale
(9,426 posts)Since we taxpayers are paying the wages, pensions and healthcare costs for those politicians in DC, I would like a law that THEY have to pass drug and alcohol tests. They make laws for the rest of us to live by, why not them? Boehner carries a cup everywere he goes, and I doubt it has coffee in it. Bachmann is so wild, she HAS to be on something. Ryan is wild eyed constantly. Ms. Lindsey Graham is so weird some substance has to be involved. From the way they act like 12 year olds, either most of them are senile or afflicted with dementia. There should be a MANDATORY retirement age for them plus the Not-So-Supreme-Court.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)Apparently the voters want this.
Worried senior
(1,328 posts)How dumb can this state be. I am very ashamed of the ones here that voted for him or didn't vote.
Kingofalldems
(38,458 posts)still_one
(92,190 posts)truthisfreedom
(23,147 posts)Hangingon
(3,071 posts)I don't think it will. I think he would welcome it.
Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)"Unless, you get food stamps, are unemployed, have a womb, or want to marry the person of your choice."
NickB79
(19,243 posts)Now multiply that by 836,000 people, and try to claim you're still fiscally conservative.
Atman
(31,464 posts)They actually require the testee to pay for his/her own test! This is just a way to soak even more money out of the people who can least afford it. And it has already been proven NOT to work, and costs much more money than it saves the taxpayers. This is just another GOP pocket-lining scheme.
still_one
(92,190 posts)lastlib
(23,233 posts)Hey, Walker, you listening??!? [font size=10]FUCK YOU!![/font size]
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)He is going to listen to himself and how great he is to win so many times. He is going to be worse then anyone imagines. Strap in Wisconsin, you have quite a ride ahead. I doubt he cares if he gets a "fuck you" here or there. He is full on powerful in his mind.
lastlib
(23,233 posts)Couldn't live with myself if I had passed up the chance......
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)I find myself needing to from time to time. This week more often then normal.
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)If you outlawed privatization and insisted that the government do the drug testing Walker and his minions would be against it.
bhikkhu
(10,716 posts)I presume. I wonder if they think in Wisconsin that votes don't matter, and that both parties are the same?
jmowreader
(50,557 posts)bhikkhu
(10,716 posts)lutefisk
(3,974 posts)It seemed like really odd timing, but I guess it energized the voters who like to kick people when they're down. The campaign must have tested it in focus groups or something, because it seemed to have worked for him.
"This is really about compassion," the Republican said. "It's not about making it hard to get government assistance, it's about making it easier to get a job."
link for quote
C_U_L8R
(45,002 posts)There should be some kind of standard
before a politician qualifies for our tax dollars.
I've had it with tea party numbskulls.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)Lol. Would any pass our side included?
C_U_L8R
(45,002 posts)Makes it an even better idea
onecaliberal
(32,861 posts)They've had three chances to get rid of that fucking criminal. When does he face charges? There is concrete proof he coordinated with dark money which is illegal during the recall. Where are the charges against him?
Vinca
(50,271 posts)Cosmocat
(14,564 posts)This is what people wanted.
Cosmocat
(14,564 posts)cause they are living off the tax payer dollar and getting paid A LOT more to do it.
Also, someone made a REALLY, and frankly unfathomably, forgotten point.
Unemployment is an INSURANCE program, people taking in the money THEY PUT IN.
onecaliberal
(32,861 posts)Or by not voting allowed others to decide for them. So, yes, this is what they wanted.
hue
(4,949 posts)Not surprisingly, Governor Scott refused to have his urine tested for drugs. Why? We can only guess, but it's probably because mandatory and suspicionless drug tests are invasive, offensive, ineffective, and as of this week officially unconstitutional.
Citing the 4th Amendment's protections against unreasonable government searches, a federal District Court handed down a blistering decision in the final hours of 2013 that knocked down a Florida law mandating that all applicants for the state's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program submit to suspicionless drug tests.
I expect more of the same in WI. I especially think all WI administrators & legislators should pee in a cup as they are on the state dole also.
SoapBox
(18,791 posts)Pilots, Flight Attendants and "certain" safety sensitive persons are still subject to random drug and alcohol testing.
There was a stink years ago where the executives were challenged to do the same.
They refused.
bluevoter4life
(787 posts)ATC. I think I, along with everyone else in my type position, should be randomly tested. I do not however, think Joe Schmo working a minimum wage retail job should be subjected to these invasive procedures. No probable cause, no test. I do not believe in pre-employment drug testing, as they a) paint everyone as potential criminals and b) never are effective at weeding out (no pun intended) drug users.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)I took the pee test for 24 years. Part of the job I signed up for. Welfare recipience didn't volunteer for it.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,693 posts)But that was the deal I signed up for, and I had no problem with it. But it's outrageous to require drug testing in any other situation, and it's not only unfair and ineffective for non-safety-related personnel, but insulting. Also, as at least one court has held, unconstitutional.
Make Scott Wanker and his minions pee in a cup. They are endangering the safety of every-damn-body in Wisconsin.
secondwind
(16,903 posts)onehandle
(51,122 posts)SamKnause
(13,106 posts)policies are all the Republicans have to offer.
The 1% do not keep the Republicans in power.
The uninformed and misinformed keep the Republicans in power !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The anti science crowd keep the Republicans in power. (end of times, climate deniers)
The rewrite history and deny facts crowd keep the Republicans in power. (believe in the failed economic trickle down policies, deregulation, and free trade)
The religious fanatics keep the Republicans in power. (pro-life, pro Christian nation, anti same sex marriage)
The white power crowd keep the Republicans in power. (racists)
C Moon
(12,213 posts)MillennialDem
(2,367 posts)(airline pilots, police/taxi/professional drivers, and certain medical and construction workers).
I don't use drugs and it's bullshit that I have to piss in a cup for a job not related to safety. It's a hassle and inconvenience for me with only two outcomes: the hassle and a corrective test... or the hassle and a false positive.
And yeah I believe people should be able to get blasted out of their mind on their own time. I think it's stupid as hell to do so, but it's not my problem.
elleng
(130,908 posts)How the hell did he get re-elected??? Wisc + Fla!!!
bravenak
(34,648 posts)If so I know how the ladies can pass, I'll write up and instructional and post it.
If unobserved, then they should just use their children's urine.
If nobody fails the test, it will cost the state MILLIONS.
I wonder if Rick Scott's company has a branch up there.
This is bullshit. I do not believe in drug testing poor folks in order to not feed them and their children. We should end welfare reform!!! It was terrorism against the poor. Stagnant wages + welfare reform + drug tests = stress, starving kids, abuse, and homelessness.
So many kids were eligible for free lunch in the Beloit Wi. school system, that the decision was made that ALL kids eat for free. So, Walker wants to make sure these kids ONLY eat at school if their parents make poor choices? This man dropped out of college, and is now being groomed for the WH!!! Makes sense when you consider that he is a republican.
bravenak
(34,648 posts)What a creature!
Cryptoad
(8,254 posts)who will feed the kids of these poor Drug users after their food stamps are taken away,,,,,,,,,
KingCharlemagne
(7,908 posts)visited upon the sons and daughters. Really very Old Testament\Nathaniel Hawthorne-ish.
CrispyQ
(36,464 posts)It's a really sad statement about a significant number of our population that he won again.
OldRedneck
(1,397 posts)But what about the mean, nasty pricks who vote for him?
He's giving them what they want.
he was just reelected by a majority. Says it all.
hatrack
(59,587 posts).
undeterred
(34,658 posts)If people are cheating the system, go after them.
bravenak
(34,648 posts)Rick Scott did this in Florida and cost the state Milions. The people weren't on drugs. They were less likely than the general population to be on drugs. No money!! No drugs!! If they go into a welfare office they wait weeks for the money, rarely do people with money go through the dehumanizing process of getting welfare just for kicks.
shenmue
(38,506 posts)Then let's drug test every person in the entire country. Why not?
There are more people off welfare than on it. Therefore, the likelihood is greater that someone not on welfare will be on drugs. Stands to reason.
Also, most drugs are legal. Like for instance, beer.
They've got big stores full of it.
When do we get to make this piece of garbage take the pee test?
Go on. I'm waiting.
Peacetrain
(22,876 posts)LeftishBrit
(41,205 posts)EEO
(1,620 posts)freshwest
(53,661 posts)Gee, what am I thinking?
Yes, they're all criminals, just like women wanting information for abortions, the disabled, elderly and poor needing shelter.
Add in those who aren't wanted by private schools and prepare them to go to the big house instead.
Take away all public parks and services, those who thought they were their birthright are thieves in reichwing world.
They are pushing people - well, not just pushing, shoving and kicking - away from government. Get your help from the church of their choice, not yours, or FOAD.
IIRC, he is the hellbeast who told the parents of vulnerable people that if they didn't move them out of care immediately, they could make contact at the homeless shelters because they were going to be dumped there.
And so it goes, destroying civil society from the top down, in intimate ways, and AFAIK the ACLU and no one else was capable of resisting the will of the voters who placed these fascists in office, from transvaginal ultrasounds, forced colonscopies and peeing in a cup or giving blood when no crime has been committed.
Thanks to the majority of voters in this country, you can kiss all that goodbye.
Thank you, Charles Koch and your Libertarian platform, for showing us just how low we can go.
Not that it wasn't obvious after two terms of Bush...
bigdarryl
(13,190 posts)giftedgirl77
(4,713 posts)Ask Florida & a few other states. The idiots are just too stupid to learn from others mistakes.
kelliekat44
(7,759 posts)WTF is wrong with this scumbag? What kind of drugs would disqualify one from getting food stamps? He probably only intends to test minorities.
kelliekat44
(7,759 posts)officials from the legislature up to governor should be tested?
riversedge
(70,218 posts)do not know if I want him to run for Pres or not. Am leaning YES
BlueStater
(7,596 posts)You had TWO opportunities to get rid of this moron and you choose to keep screwing yourselves.
Adenoid_Hynkel
(14,093 posts)and any politician on a public salary, then we'll talk.
Odin2005
(53,521 posts)UglyGreed
(7,661 posts)are down, so patriotic of him.
lutefisk
(3,974 posts)Further proof he's a sociopath.
Old Nick
(468 posts)Most of the Republican Party needs it! (As well as psychiatric evaluation.)
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)Given some of the shit he comes up with, that's the next logically conclusion.
redruddyred
(1,615 posts)they received public funds.
Tatiana
(14,167 posts)But I know his fan club is cheering him on.
How sad. Being poor isn't awful enough. We have to humiliate the poor, as well. The only hope is that the courts strike this down. This seems like an unreasonable search and invasion of privacy.
jayfish
(10,039 posts)liberal N proud
(60,334 posts)underpants
(182,803 posts)sakabatou
(42,152 posts)He'll kill the poor.
Lifelong Protester
(8,421 posts)All those Wally World employees?
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)Mandate to decriminalize marijuana.
Mandate a drug test can not be used to delay, refuse or remove any gov. assistance.
Let them sue you, it will take a lifetime.
Orsino
(37,428 posts)TBF
(32,060 posts)with Congress (and all governors for that matter) being drug-tested. Their salaries are paid with our tax dollars.
Steerpike
(2,692 posts)Then when all these draconian "requirements" are implemented, people will either decide to vote Democrat or we will finally learn the real character of the American People.
LiberalFighter
(50,928 posts)Requiring Social Security beneficiaries to be drug tested?
Myrina
(12,296 posts).... my guess is he's a major shareholder in the same company that Rick Scott is part of that robbed the state of FL under the same guise.