convince me welfare recipients should take drug test...

rexlunae

New member
If it's truly that expensive then nevermind.

The expense is what makes it an irrational policy. But it's also unconstitutional. Using a government service shouldn't be grounds for forfeiting your rights.

But otherwise, drug tests are required for all kinds of jobs, so I don't think this would be any more of an infringement on someone's privacy.

Well, welfare isn't a job. The reason some jobs test for drug use is that it relates to the performance of the duties of the jobs. I'm not sure what even could qualify as a parallel criterium for welfare benefits, but I'd note that even if a person is on drugs, as long as they meet the requirements for receiving assistance, it is in everyone's interests that they get those benefits.

The welfare recipient drug tests could identify those with drug problems and may be a way to get those with a problem some help. Just spitballing, but maybe if they admit a drug problem the government can put them into a rehab facility

Well, how about if we had free, privacy-respecting, voluntary, universally available drug treatment programs? Maybe throw in mental health for the hat trick? We don't really have that, so I don't see why we'd go around trying to coerce people into treatment who clearly don't have the money unless it's free anyway. Start with the low-hanging fruit before you go trying to shame people who need help, which is what these drug-testing programs really do. Drug testing follows from our general approach of treating public health problems as matters of personal choice and responsibility, but it's irrational and unproductive.
 

Angel4Truth

New member
Hall of Fame
Get rid of the welfare. If a man will not work, he is not allowed to eat.

Should his child work to eat? Should they starve because of the parents?

Sometimes people will work, and cant get a job, what about them?

I dont think food stamps are actually considered welfare, to me welfare is cash payments and yes people should be drug tested for them imo.
 

Angel4Truth

New member
Hall of Fame
You must be following a different constitution than I am.

You mean unlawful search and seizure? It isnt unlawful when its the law.

If the law says you can be drug tested for a job, or for a benefit, and you agree to it by receiving such or applying, there is nothing unlawful about it.
 

rexlunae

New member
You mean unlawful search and seizure? It isnt unlawful when its the law.

The phrase is "unreasonable searches and seizures". Otherwise what would be the point of having an amendment to protect the right when Congress or the states can just pass a law authorizing it?
 

rexlunae

New member
Then why haven't employers been sued for it?

Because they aren't the government. Generally.

"Unreasonable" is a vague enough term to allow for reasonable minds to disagree, so you'd have to go back to the jurisprudence for a comprehensive understanding, but given that there is little rational basis for the government to test welfare recipients (it doesn't save money, doesn't help people on drugs or on welfare), it is unlikely that a court would find it reasonable.
 

Angel4Truth

New member
Hall of Fame
The phrase is "unreasonable searches and seizures". Otherwise what would be the point of having an amendment to protect the right when Congress or the states can just pass a law authorizing it?

If a party gives consent to a search, a warrant is not required. There are exceptions and complications to the rule, including the scope of the consent given, whether the consent is voluntarily given, and whether an individual has the right to consent to a search of another's property.[88] In Schneckloth v. Bustamonte (1973), the Court ruled that a consent search is still valid even if the police do not inform a suspect of his right to refuse the search

If you apply for a job or a benefit and know up front that you can be subject to drug testing, then its reasonable because you consented when applying.
 

Tambora

Get your armor ready!
LIFETIME MEMBER
Hall of Fame
There shouldn't be a government run Welfare Program to begin with.
 

rexlunae

New member
If you apply for a job or a benefit and know up front that you can be subject to drug testing, then its reasonable because you consented when applying.

You can certainly waive your rights. But the government's ability to force you to waive your rights is limited, lest the right be entirely meaningless. Most of us drive on a government road to leave our homes, but the government couldn't simply require us to foreswear our rights just to use the roads to leave home. I think that most courts would find that telling a person in need of food aid that they are required to give up their rights in exchange is unreasonable.

False, its because they knew up front and applied anyway and or received the benefit- which is consent.

The government isn't allowed to coerce you into forfeiting your rights. And it isn't consent.
 
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