Drug test before welfare checks

Generally, when I receive stuff by e-mail it goes directly to the recycle bin. But this particular e-mail made me think. The following was forwarded to me by a friend, but the author is unknown.
“Like a lot of folks in this state, I have a job. I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit. In order to get that paycheck, I am required to pass a random urine test with which I have no problem. What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don’t have to pass a urine test. Shouldn’t one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check because I have to pass one to earn it for them? Please understand, I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet. I do, on the other hand, have a problem with helping someone sitting on their BUTT, doing drugs, while I work. … Can you imagine how much money the state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check? Pass this along if you agree or simply delete if you don’t. Hope you all pass it along, though. … Something has to change in this country – and soon!”
As interesting as this is, and although I fully agree with the position, I didn’t forward the e-mail to 15 people because it didn’t say I would have bad luck for 17 years or that my nonexistent pet would die in three hours. But the unknown author, who probably had to remain anonymous to save his job, does make a very convincing argument. If drug testing is necessary to earn a paycheck, it should be necessary to receive one.
The author who could be from any state and work for almost any employer, private or public, speaks for every law-abiding, hard-working, income-earning, taxpaying citizen. Most employers require a pre-employment drug test and many also have random testing clauses as a condition of employment. Just as the e-mail stated, you have to take a drug test to be able to earn a paycheck. So, why not require public aid recipients to take a drug test to receive a free check and health benefits?
The writer made it very clear he or she was not opposed to helping fellow Americans in need, but was annoyed that the individuals who have the initiative and desire to work to contribute to the national economy is put to a greater scrutiny than ones who merely reap benefits. Understandably, it is a little troubling that those receiving public assistance can’t be forced to work, and they aren’t mandated to be drug free.
We could even take the drug testing issue a bit further. To register to vote, you must submit a urine sample. To run for political office you must secure a predetermined number of signatures of registered voters who passed a drug test and you must do a drop, and do a subsequent drop before every primary. How about requiring candidates to submit a urine sample after making stupid comments during debates? If the comment by presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich that he believes in UFOs didn’t warrant a drug test, nothing should.
It’s not like anyone is suggesting welfare recipients must study a 600-page manual before taking a drug test. The drug test is one of the easiest tests to take because no study is involved. There is no pressure to get an “A” since it’s a pass/fail grading system.
The process to earn a paycheck is similar to getting a free check. Both require completion of an application followed by an interview. Upon mutual agreement, more times than not, the potential wage earner must take and pass a drug test before working for his or her check and contributing to the government. Upon approval, the potential public aid recipient merely begins receiving benefits.
Drug testing in the workplace came about as a safety issue. Working around dangerous equipment, flying an airplane, or performing surgery while mentally impaired could lead to personal injury or death. Because we are such a litigious society, drug testing became an even greater necessity in every industry. If someone fell on a business property and the business had not drug tested the custodian, there could be dire consequences. Some slick lawyer would find a way to show the employer’s failure to drug test the employee was the direct cause of his drunken client’s fall resulting in a swollen big toe that turned into a life-threatening injury.
Since most public aid recipients are responsible for children, shouldn’t drug testing be necessary to ensure the safety of those children?
In a nutshell, to earn a check you have to be drug free; to get a free check you can be drug-test free. Something is not right with this system, and not one of the current campaigning “agents of change” will address this issue.