| Photo: Val Does Politics |
| Dumb-ass alert: Florida Gov. Rick Scott said it is “unfair for Florida taxpayers to subsidize drug addiction” when he signed this bill in May. So why is it OK for them to subsidize politicians’ stupidity? |
Welfare Drug Testing Program Costs $5 For Every $1 It Saves
Florida’s dumb-ass new law which requires the drug testing of all families applying for welfare benefits kicked in on July 1. It forces already financially challenged public assistance applicants to front the cost of the drug test, then reimburses them only if they test negative.
Florida Governor Rick Scott, who spends most of his time with head way up his ass, said it is “unfair for Florida taxpayers to subsidize drug addiction” when he signed this bill back in May, reported CNN. So why is it OK for them to subsidize politicians’ stupidity?
“It is the right thing for taxpayers,” the deeply clueless governor said at the time. “We don’t want to waste tax dollars.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and others predicted the program would be a dismal failure, and cost the taxpayers and the state of Florida much more money than they would save.
Surprise, surprise! In just a few weeks, the program has already proven the ACLU right, reports Rachel Bloom at the organization’s Blog Of Rights.
The Department of Children and Families’ central region has tested 40 welfare applicants since the law went into effect a month and a half ago. Of those 40, 38 tested negative for drugs.
Preliminary numbers indicate that for every $1 the new law saves, it costs about $5.
The cost to the state of Florida to reimburse those 38 blameless individuals who tested negative for drugs was at least $1,140 over the course of six weeks.
Meanwhile, denying benefits to the two applicants who did test positive will save Florida less than $240 a month.
So there’s some Florida math for you: Spend $1,140 to save $240, and then brag about it!
And let the taxpayers pay the difference.
The measure provides no money for substance abuse treatment.
“The ironic thing is Florida should know better,” Bloom writes. “They ran a similar pilot program a decade ago but ended up scrapping it because it cost the state way more money than it saved.”
So why are these morons throwing cash up a wild hog’s ass and hollering sooeeee?
Florida is already seriously broke — like many other states. Things are so bad that good, successful programs like Healthy Start, which provides prenatal care and parenting education, have been cut. Others are joining it on the chopping block.
“Why are they cutting budgets for programs that work, instead of ones that don’t?” Bloom reasonably asks.
