H/T Rosalind J, who said: Walker in Wisconsin is talking about drug testing Medicaid recipients. Of the many recipients who are objecting to such an intrusion, two are in the following story. One is 38, the other 40. And they have 19 children between the two of them. It’s a crap shoot if either is capable of raising functional children. I’m thinking this be their benefits family.
Boston Globe:
MILWAUKEE — Low-income residents seeking government help in Wisconsin often slog through a frustrating, outdated bureaucracy at a run-down state building in Milwaukee, enduring a process that generates complaints about the difficulties of signing up for food assistance, unemployment benefits, and Medicaid.
Now, in a first-in-the-nation experiment, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker plans to raise the bar higher for people seeking Medicaid, with an expansive program of mandatory drug screening, testing, and treatment as a condition of receiving benefits.
If the Trump administration approves Walker’s plan, as state officials expect once they submit a formal application next month, Wisconsin would become the first state to put a drug screening and testing requirement on coverage in the 53 years Medicaid has existed.
“This could have sweeping consequences for poor people across the country,” said Hannah Katch, a health policy expert from the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
SNIP: Infuriating. These poor people can afford illegal street drugs, but not the drugs they need for legitimate medical reasons?
What’s with having a litter of children, when you’re too poor to even live by yourself? Imagine what some of these recipients could accomplish by using their energy to better themselves if they weren’t so busy scamming the taxpayer.
Instead, they’re encouraged to commit every deadly sin by the Left, because the Left are bigots.
19 children? Poor kids don’t have a chance. Will grow up feral and then prey on the community. How about offering a “reward” for voluntary sterilization?
“This could have sweeping consequences for poor people across the country,”
Yes, it could. They could get relieved of their addictions, begin clear thinking processes, see opportunities to better their place in life and society, and possibly become productive members of society while enjoying better health, better living conditions, and increased wealth.
Sounds good on paper.
Does the state have enough facilities for rehab? Will the bastards who test positive get involuntary admission if they refuse to particioate? Then there’s the dual diagnosis ones, will they have their psych and substance abuse addressed? What about outpatient treatment? How will the state force them to comply? Wait, there are lots of undiagnosed medical illnesses that will demand treatment. Can CPS handle the load of children removed from addicts/mentally/medically ill? OMG! The teens, will the whole welfare family have to get tested?
Will the state require them to work?
I hear there are crops rotting in the fields in Georgia right now.
Some judge won’t allow this to stand
Maybe all their kids can get together and organize a public transit raid. Welfare problem solved.
Never gonna happen – fo da l’il chillens, an all dat shit …
We are drowning in the socialist quagmire and are too stupid to claw our way out.
We maintain our illusions and accept the lies being spewn at us, with a sort of relish – the lies and mendacities seem to give us comfort – even while we know – KNOW – that our rights and liberties are being eroded on a daily basis.
The “gov’t” will raise the “debt ceiling” again! What is the point of a “debt ceiling” if you can raise it? What utter foolishness. What utter mendacity. What utter hypocrisy.
We live in bizarre times.
izlamo delenda est …
@ Tim, a quote for the times.
“Political correctness is communist propaganda writ small. In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, nor to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better.
When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is to co-operate with evil, and in some small way to become evil oneself. One’s standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed.
A society of emasculated liars is easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has the same effect and is intended to.”-Theodore Dalrymple
This is so appropriate and reasonable that only crazy libs could object. Many of us have to do it to earn the money to pay the taxes to support them.
wait! every time I have tried to get money out of some organization, ie a job, I have, since 1980, been required to take a drug test before I am allowed to git the money.
Why should the welfare, who are paid to do nothing, be exempt?
ah, clarification, medicaid is medical coverage. Drug abuse is treated as an illness.
Patients on medicaid definitely need to be drug tested.
Women should be required to be drug tested if pregnant and required to keep prenatal appointments.
We have random drug tests where I work…work, remember that progs? So if I can get canned for having drugs in my system why shouldn’t the same standards exist for those on the dole?
Send them all to Portland, if they object.
Some judge in Dane County will call it ‘un-constitutional’.
I think it would only be appropriate for all state and federal politicians and political appointees to be drug tested as well.
how come the insurance companies don’t demand it ?
they demand it for every private customer and most employees of the city, state and town. why not for all politicians in city, state and town offices ?