Welfare Programs Should Promote Self-sufficiency

We ought to provide aid on the basis of reciprocal obligation

Reader Comments
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I am 13 and doing a school debate in this topic. I loved the way you worded the point and the content was great too. But could you please list the studies that you got your information from because the point mostly said "most studies" or "sources say". If you could cite some of these sources that would be great. Thanks

Peyton Annoni of CA 9:32PM March 11, 2012

Medical Ghostwriting,

you are clearly an idiot. "The government needs to get it's filthy paws out of the drugmakers cookie jar"? So, it's none of the governments business of what the "drugmakers" do, and yet people pay money to those people. You're foolish if you think you're making a good point, and I'll go as far as making the assumption that you are probably one of the recipients that would be drug tested after hearing your thoughts, because you would have to be on drugs to think that way. In order to get painkillers, one must be perscribed them, or they but them from someone who has been perscribed them, therefore there's a division of extremes. If someone is perscribed medication, medicare will pay for it and their medical records will show that they were perscribed those painkillers. A drug test can reveal what drugs are being used, and if the painkiller showed up positive then a simple glance at a medical record would solve the dilemma.

Grow a brain.

YoungAndOpinionated of TX 11:36PM February 28, 2012

I also support a mandate requiring that all women and men receiving Medicaid be drug-tested every three months to maintain their benefits, or even just mandated drug testing of all pregnant women at their regular physician visits. In our situation, the 8 year old came to us with 10 cavities, several of which had been diagnosed more than six months prior, but she told me the stepfather said they had no money to have them filled. After I went through all the hoops to get the children set up with Medicaid in our state (and the baby was of course behind on shots), I took the 8 year old to get the cavities filled. Thanks be to Medicaid it cost us nothing, exactly what it would have also cost the mother and stepfather when the child was first found to have cavities. I will say Medicaid was the only taxpayer-funded benefit we received for the children while in our care - we paid for school and childcare for the children as well as for their other needs. Medicaid coverage for children is clearly a critical need, but I do think parents should be accountable for ensuring their children receive timely, needed care, or be visited by social workers. And how is an able bodied man in his early 30s able to enroll in Medicaid? I thought it was established to help children and pregnant women! And I know should the mother ever actually decide to enter taxpayer-funded treatment (as family has already spent tens of thousands of dollars to get her help which she refused and she cannot be involuntarily entered in a program without verification that she threatened to kill herself or someone else), she will be most grateful to the taxpayers that pay for her treatment and have paid to cover her children's insurance during the times she was out selling drugs and herself.

LibertarianinLA of LA 10:55PM February 27, 2012

Perhaps all states should screen and monitor their Medicaid recipients more closely. Medicaid was covering two able bodied adults who were "employed" selling drugs, (one of whom I am pretty sure was still collecting unemployment benefits) with a 8 year old (not enrolled in school for 4 weeks last spring) and infant in tow. How do I know this? I have the Texas Medicaid statement because we took in the two children as both of their parents were supposed to be in drug treatment (more like they were running from law enforcement). One parent (father of the baby) committed suicide, and the mother took off, leaving two of her three children (all with different fathers, the oldest having been taken from her by the courts) in the care of others. Of course, though, the mother refused to allow us to adopt the children, even as she is now out cavorting with other men, as evidenced by her Facebook page. Can you imagine the trash that has filled the 8 year old's head, as she has latched onto every man her mother allowed into her bed, since she never knew her incarcerated father? This is what we get when the government assumes parental roles - paying for services for able-bodied adults - in exchange for votes.

LibertarianinLA of LA 10:53PM February 27, 2012

Painkillers may be legal but they're the real problem as they kill more constituents than all drugs combined. The problem is that we have both legal and illegal drugs. We only have 5 percent of the worlds population and 25 percent of the worlds prisoners, already. The government needs to get it's filthy paws out of the drugmakers cookie jar.

Medical Ghostwriting of NH 8:59AM February 27, 2012

Legal meds are worse than street dope and are the real problem. We need to concern ourselves more with matters of life and death gateway drugs being subsidized by taxpayer dollars through medicare.

Medicated to Death: Painkillers Kill More Than All Drugs Combined

http://www.cbs12.com/news/drugs-4708496-long-painkillers.html

Report on Medicare Cites Prescription Drug Abuse

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/health/policy/04medicare.html

MedicalGhostwriting of NH 8:50AM February 27, 2012

only if CEO's all managers, partners and HR get tested too since they have the freedom and means to abuse drugs. successful wealthy bosses like to have a good time too. Many of them have a drug background in a rags to riches way.

ryan of FL 12:07AM February 20, 2012

Hello, What would the welfare rolls look like if everyone , lived on the same playing field. Did that welfare case walk away from a Mortgage he could not afford to pay anymore.Was it that homeless guy that signed the legal document that doubled his mortgage rate in 3 years. As credit card holders partied like rock stars by maxing out every credit card on the market, Then there is the banking world, do you suppose it was all the bad loans made to welfare people that brought the savings and loans to their knees.? It goes to show, those that have , will continue to have, those that do not have, live in poverty. To all legislators, leave the poor alone, do your job and let the Social Workers do theirs. Focus on directing your constituents, to create jobs. We put you in office to represent us, do Have you know who we are? or what we do? Do you have a handle on the moving us into the future are you aware at current usage there will be no more oil in 40 years. Do you have any hydrogen Fuel cell manufacturers, in you district, how about wind turbine companies, maybe another type of Green business that is ripe for expansion, have your aids find you funding that fit your constituents. then get out there and be a leader. Remember this Big Oil takes sludge out of he ground and produces gasoline we put in our cars, turning huge profits for Big Oil. Hydrogen fuel cells make electricity, using hydrogen, not oil. Big Oil is going the way of the dinosaurs, Let them hold dearly onto their reserves, for the smaller they become the more expensive oil will become. The more and more fuel cells that are made the cheaper they will become. To use fuel cells we need Hydrogen, Hydrogen can be produced and used locally, produced on farms, using water purifiers, we have to manufacture, using machines that produce electrolysis, we have to manufacture, using compressors to compress the hydrogen, which we have to manufacture. Then there are the trucks needed to transport and service stations to distribute. Sorry I got off the topic, that would be Welfare, I mean those impoverished, poverty stricken individuals, that suck up 200.00 a month of taxpayer money. Not the individual that had 50K in credit card debt, who not only was helped by the government,here the government made new laws to help us.So Rich or Poor, we are all Americans. The poor do not need any more laws. our legislator have an opportunity to change the world. In 15 years our vehicle,... infrastructure better be weened off of fossil fuel, and we can't rely on Nuclear power, so it can start by legislators guiding their constituents in technology and funding options Options that should be on the legislative block, not drug testing for the destitute. Maybe we should have been drug testing the banking executives a few years back.

Kim emon of MN 2:24AM February 16, 2012

This is just another example of a group being so principled that they throw the baby out with the bath water. Vitter spoke of the Florida results but only in the terms of the percentage in applicants not a savings in dollars. He also ignored that only 3% failed. Another fact he left out is that Florida only drugs test for the cash portion which maxes out at around $250/month. The state of Florida reimburses those that pass. Vitter chose to omit the most important facts just to score a meaningless point. The state of Florida is spending more than they are saving.

Harry Wortz of AR 10:49AM February 02, 2012

OMG are you gentalmen RIGHT.

Maybe next Someone will wake-up to the have more babies welfare will pay for having them and then give more money to support them. Why should any one on welware have to work when they can get more than some hard working people???

Paulette of AZ 6:09PM February 01, 2012

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