As vuzvilla noted in a diary from earlier today
Here's the problem with testing welfare recipients for drugs.
It's expensive, inefficient, heartless, and probably unconstitutional.
It also doesn't work.
Well, the TeaBigots in charge of North Carolina's State legislature have figured out how to take care of one of these problems - the expense. And their solution is truly the epitome of TeaBigotry - make the public assistance applicant pay for the test.
Yea, I know. {facepalm}
From Raw Story:
The North Carolina state Senate voted Wednesday to overrule Gov. Pat McCreary’s veto against testing applicants for public assistance for drugs and implement the policy anyway. According to the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina (ACLU-NC), the state House voted Tuesday to move forward with the tests, which will require some applicants to pay out of pocket for the tests before they can qualify for benefits.
Wokay, not all public assistance applicants will have to pay for their own test, just
some of them. That's mighty
white of dem NC's legislators. Betcha Rick Scott is kicking himself right now for not coming up with this solution. Also.
And why did NC Gov McCreary veto the bill?
When he vetoed the drug testing bill (North Carolina House Bill 392), he called the measure “a recipe for government overreach and unnecessary government intrusion…that is not a smart way to combat drug abuse.”
Imagine that. A RepubliKlan who opposes "government overreach and unnecessary government intrusion". I guess he never got the memo that opposing "big government" is just cover for the actual RepubliKlan support of government intrusion into the personal lives of those who have failed to either:
1 - become a member of the 1%; or
2 - become a lackey of the 1%.
In this case, I think that ACLU-NC Policy Director Sarah Preston hits the nail on the head as to the intended effect this program will have on NC's neediest:
Forcing people in need to pay up front for urine tests is not only cruel but will likely deter many low-income families from even applying for assistance.
Talk about ending welfare as we know it.
I can't wait to find out what will be the criteria that determines who will be selected to pay for their own drug test in order to receive public assistance, and who will have the cost of their test covered by the state. As a Black male with waist-long "dreads", I guess I know which group I would be assigned to.
You really have to hand it to NC's TeaBigots though. They certainly have no shame when it comes to displaying their disdain for those who may vote Democratic. One thing's for sure, however. If they keep up with their hate-inspired policies, "those who may vote Democratic" will soon become the majority.
Let's hope that "soon" starts with the next election.