Gov. Rick Scott, and starinvestor, thought Florida's welfare drug-screen measure http://www.lpsg.org/3504298-post1.html would reveal a large number of welfare recipients were "druggers" who must be denied public assisstance. If so, a great amount of tax dollars would not be wasted on those persons drug habits.
However the huge savings Rick Scott anticipated from this program did not materialize as the % number of "druggers" detected was extremely small: excerpt:
Welfare drug-testing yields 2% positive results | TBO.com
Since the state began testing welfare applicants for drugs in July, about 2 percent have tested positive, preliminary data shows.
Ninety-six percent proved to be drug free -- leaving the state on the hook to reimburse the cost of their tests...
The as-yet uncalculated cost of staff hours and other resources that the Department of Children and Families has had to spend on implementing the program may wipe out most or all of the apparent savings...
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Shouldn't this progam be scrapped?
This would certainly save the Treasury Dept. billions of dollars; my guess is over half of welfare recipients use illegal drugs. They could redirect those dollars into federal training programs for people that actually want to work and make a contribution to society.
A saw that an uniformed poster above tried to spin this into an issue about unemployment benefits - which is altogether completely different. Unemployment benefits are available to those who worked and temporarily lost jobs.
However the huge savings Rick Scott anticipated from this program did not materialize as the % number of "druggers" detected was extremely small: excerpt:
Welfare drug-testing yields 2% positive results | TBO.com
Since the state began testing welfare applicants for drugs in July, about 2 percent have tested positive, preliminary data shows.
Ninety-six percent proved to be drug free -- leaving the state on the hook to reimburse the cost of their tests...
The as-yet uncalculated cost of staff hours and other resources that the Department of Children and Families has had to spend on implementing the program may wipe out most or all of the apparent savings...
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Shouldn't this progam be scrapped?