Will Paul LePage Pee in a Cup

The title of this article is rhetorical of course. Interestingly I have little doubth that Governor LePage would pee in a cup to prove his point. I think our Governor is many things but I do believe he believes and will act on on both a theoretical and real world basis.

This weekend the Bangor Daily News stated that across the country and in many state legislatures a growing desire to have welfare recipients drug tested is taking hold. The issue is complicated and nowhere near as simplistic as its adherents would have you believe.

On paper who can argue with the logic of this. If someone is on welfare, gaining government help to improve their lot in life then would it not make sense that they not commit a crime while doing so. It seems logical, it is logical, it does not negate however the issues with the policy.

Many folks on welfare have children, most do actually. If a child is not being fed or taken care of due to a lack of funds does cutting off benefits which help that child benefit society. The answer is no. If Mom smokes pot and fails a urine test and the welfare benefits are taken away does it benefit society to have that child go hungry. The answer is still no.

Secondly with budget cuts gutting state health programs more and more drug prevention and addiction treatment outreach programs are being cut. It would seem to me that it is slightly hypocritical to cut addicton treatment programs and then punish people for being addicted.

Perhaps when folks fail a drug test they should be given one chance to enter a rehabilitation program that the state will pay for. If they qualify for welfare this does not seem like a bad suggestion. If they enter treatment, stay in and complete treatment they shall not have their benefits cut. Continued tests will be needed and clearly a relapse would have to be dealt with in a more punitive way.

Now the reasoning for the test is that those getting government pay should not be breaking the law. Congressman, government employees and contractors are all getting government pay. For that matter so do retirees and the disabled. Should they also have to pee in a cup. If so I think that I want to buy stock in a drug testing company. Where does it end. Is there something inherent in receiing welfare that makes you more likely to use drugs and more responsible to prove that you are not.

I am not against drug testing automatically, I am against a legislature imposing such a program without considering if it is discriminatory.

We have a serious budget problem, perhaps if we cannot afford to offer free drug treatment programs, which would have to be increased dramatically, then we can at least make the pay for the same be at the back end. For example could not a lien be placed on any future tax refunds for the cost of the program. We do the same for many other costs it would seem that would be a valid way to recoup some of the cost. If the thought is to get folks off drugs and off welfare the presumption is that later in life they will pay taxes. Often these people might later be due refunds. While not all of the cost could be recouped that way certainly a percentage could. Indeed the more people succeed in drug treatment the higher percentage of payback could be expected.

I believe LePage would pee in a cup. I really do. Before you think that all welfare recipients should ask yourself if you are receiving any government benefits at all, from Pell Grants to Social Security to Government payroll and beyond, would you pee in a cup?