Drug Testing For Lawmakers Proposed in Ga.

Democratic Georgia state Rep. Scott Holcomb has introduced legislation to the General Assembly that would require lawmakers to pass a drug test before taking office.

The usual bill was filed last week in response to a proposal to drug test welfare applicants, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“This bill is really very simple,” Holcomb said in a statement. “If the General Assembly is going to pass laws requiring struggling, jobless Georgians to pay for drug tests as a precondition to receiving state benefits, then members of the General Assembly should lead by example and take the tests first.”

Random tests would also be mandated by the bill, which lawmakers would be required to pay for with their personal funds.

Following the example set by Florida and Missouri, Georgia state Sen. John Albers (R) introduced a bill that would require all applicants of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare program to pass a drug test.

Get full article here: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/12/07/georgia-lawmaker-proposes-legislative-drug-testing-bill/

Being an advocate for the poor it would be easy for me to say "yeah! Test them too!" But two wrongs don't make it right. There are many people who would vote no to this, but yes to testing the poor, because they are biased and resent the poor, are fearful of the poor, and hold numerous stereotypes as fact. But I am no hypocrite myself. I do not support this proposal for many of the same reasons that I do not support drug testing of welfare recipients.

You can read more about that here:

Why Drug Testing of Welfare Recipients is a Bad Idea

Foodstamp Chart

It's important to keep in mind here, that this does not represent a sudden spike in the number of people who just decided that they would rather not work, and chose to get government assistance instead. This chart represents a huge surge in the number of Americans who cannot afford to buy food, even though they may actually still be working, if they are lucky enough to have a job. The maximum benefit for foodstamps is $200 a month, at a time when food prices are also going through the roof. $46 dollars a week is not easy at all to get by on, and it gets more difficult each month. It is also important to keep in mind here that it is not "easy" to get foodstamps. You must qualify, by proving that you meet the government designated criteria which shows you cannot afford to eat. There are plenty of people who still earn too much to qualify but are actually at risk for serious malnutrition, because of the strict standard set to qualify. And lastly, consider that foodstamps was never designed to be a primary food source, but a supplement. Nonetheless, most people who use foodstamps today rely on this subsidy as their primary source of nutrition for themselves and their family.

Read more: http://nojokebroke.blogspot.com/2011/12/foodstamp-chart.html#ixzz1fw76T6GA

Click to enlarge

Check out the brief at source:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/over-46-million-americans-foodstamps-first-time-ever

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