Kentucky law maker proposes drug testing for Food Stamp recipients.

The question is however, whether or not it is right that these people are spending money on pot instead of using that money to buy food. If they are so poor they need taxpayer assistance, then shouldn't they forgo pot in order to buy food?

Every time this debate comes up somebody says that, so I'm just getting it out of the way. It's irrelevant.

But the garden this is pretty relevant, just ask Wisakas. You don't have to get a job or a degree to provide for yourself, that was my point.

Why stop at food stamps. Everyone gets some sort of handout in our cultures, fucking test everybody that gets any tax credits when they file. Or uses gasoline, that shit is subsidised like mad from the government. Want some gas? Give me the blood sample!

Yeah, but you are still carrying part of the load, you gotta work for part of it (at least more work then standing in line at the welfare office)

No, considering we're talking about those on public assistance, growing a garden is not relevant in the least.
To qualify for food stamps, in most cases, you need to have at least one kid. (or just be one broke ass motherfucker)
It's awesome that Wiskas can grow food for himself. But if you have 2 kids to feed, along with yourself, honestly how much food are you going to get out of your little shit garden, that will take a month to sprout anything to begin with?
Not to mention, Wiskas has his own land, far enough out into the country to do something like this. Not all, but a HUGE MAJORITY of people on Section 8, food stamps, etc. live in the city, in an apartment building, where there is no place to grow a garden. I would have thought you of all people could have figured this one out.

believe me, if public assistance were totally done away with, people would find a way to survive. Without welfare to fall back on they'd either get a job/become employable by continued education, depend on relatives/family, join co-ops, help themselves and other people in the same boat, resort to theft, or perish. If the part about "resort to theft" scare anyone, concider this: The amount of crime in projects neighborhoods, the amount of crime in largely welfare dependant sections of towns and the amount of theft by drugging, dealing, welfare people everywhere. The crime is already a part of the equation. Who knows, a society devoid of the entitlement mindset may even begin to reform the family unit to the health it was back in the 30's and 40's. WQithout welfare, people will find a way......or they won't. why should they try anything else if public assistance is so easy to exploit?

Hey smart guy, shouldn't you be mopping up piss and slapping a kid around?

My point stands, people who are on assistance should be actively working to better their situation. The garden was just one example, pretty much ANYTHING but sitting around and getting high would be the correct answer.

On paper at least you would recoup the testing money and then some by just punting the stoners from the dole. Once you factor in the associated crime spikes and what-not it probably would be a wash or worse, but I do like the concept. Better to keep the non-producers drugged and playing Xbox I guess. I'm 90% realist, but my 10% idealist side would love to see them all ground up and turned into cat food. At least then they would serve a purpose.

Ooooh, low blow! For your information, I had to dab the piss up because it was carpet. And I don't slap her around, I just punch her in the face when she talks or moves.
You have a valid point, it just wasn't very clear at first with the whole "growing a garden to help yourself survive" part.

Micromanaging is a waste of money, both in business and in Government.

An now our guv is hinting at austerity measures without even mentioning cuts in public aid. How's that going to work? If you ask me, they know they have a tiger-by-the-tail
and have made a monster that they have to keep fed. Remember the riots in Greece? There has been such a dependency on governement created that to shitcan everything would equate to rebellion.
[ :tinfoil: ]I have been noticing a lot of military aircraft on the move lately.....in an area that usually has no millitary aircraft traffic. I had a formation of chinook helicopters fly right over my head yesterday and had to stop working on a roof to watch. Then I thought: "WTF:". I've seen military vehicles a lot more on the freeway, and they're not painted in desert camo, they are painted in urban camo. Then I saw two formations of what appeared to be f15's flying north. These were all probably national guard. Again: "WTF?"[/ :tinfoil: ]

Something big is coming down. It'll be interesting to see just how it's done.

ROFL! Don't forget to work the body! :lol:

How about just not being an addict and if you need help from the government (because you've tried every other outlet including family) just work at a taco bell or something. Jesus!

Pothead != addict. Also, a Taco Bell wage is hardly enough to support one person. If you have a kid, you're going to need more. I remember reading something like 50% of families are on WIC or food stamps at one point in their lives.

Besides, with all the entitlements available, it's way more lucrative to draw NAFTA, food stamps, madicaid, housing assistance, free college tuition and books, WIC, EIC, childcare,
free handouts and clothing. Who'd want to work for a living at taco smell for minimum wage?

I think it's a good idea in theory but I'm somewhat conflicted. If you're collecting public assistance, you shouldn't be doing drugs. But I also feel that drugs shouldn't be illegal. We need to do like Portugal and legalize all drugs. Addicts should be treated through therapy and not prison which is just a failing cycle. Collect taxes from the sale of drugs, save a shit ton of money from ending the "War on Drugs". Alot of these people collecting welfare have most likely been affected by the correction system, whether it's them having been in prison or someone who once provided an income being imprisoned. Less people out there with a felony on their record means more people qualified to get a good/better job and go to school. That's more tax payers and less welfare whores to begin with.

But I guess there's too many people making way too much money from the corrections industrial complex.

I know my idea is way too simplified and idealistic but I know there's some good logic in there.

I'm pretty cynical about our government's ability to do anything frankly, at least on a federal level. I'm convinced that if it was in a -1 deficit situation and we could somehow magically put them in a +10 surplus situation, that they'd be back in a deficit within a few years. The best thing to do with the feds is give them less money and funnel it directly to state and local, and keep our torches lit and pitch forks sharp.

Portugal didn't legalize all drugs; they decriminalized them.

If we did that here, we'd fine people for carrying and/or doing drugs. They'd most likely not pay those fines, and they'd eventually end up in the correctional system anyway. Besides, we'd still have drug cartels.

My mistake, I knew it was decriminalizing and not legalizing but I didn't bother to fact check. Either way, they should be legalized. If you're just going to decriminalize, give the option of either a fine or rehabilitation treatment. I mean, right now for some infractions you're given the option of paying a fine or serving some time in jail. Give them a better option. Chances are those that can't pay the fine might be the ones with the habitual problem and would benefit the most from the rehabilitation. Either way, money would be going to those that legitimately need it because of natural unemployment instead of career welfare collectors.

Knowing how inefficient our system is, rehab programs would probably not work, most addicts would relapse, and they'd end up in jail. The result would be more money being thrown away without real results. But that's just me being a cynic. It could work, I guess.

Yep, I made a thread about it a while back: http://www.tweak3d.net/forums/showt...-point-during-their-childhood-quot&highlight=