Drug Testing Welfare Applicants

As of 2011 there are 4.3 million Americans on welfare and using 131 billion dollars that come from the tax payers. Welfare has been a hot issue in the United States for a while and a common debate is whether citizens that qualify for welfare should be drug tested or not. Most Americans agree that some sort of support system for citizens that are struggling financially is a good idea and can help some get back on their feet. Others will argue that many people on welfare abuse their privileges to fund their substance abuse and misuse the taxpayer’s money. My own view is that people should have to pass a drug test in order to receive these government handouts and prevent habitual users from abusing these privileges. Welfare is a federally funded program that gives monetary assistance to citizens who have little to no income. The United States welfare system began back in the 1930’s, during the Great Depression, era due to an overwhelming amount of families that were struggling to get by. Still today there are millions of people barely making by during these tough economic times. Citizens can apply for different types of welfare including social welfare, corporate welfare, child welfare to name some of the most popular. On these types of welfare people can receive different types of aid such as health care, food stamps or child care. There are many factors go into a person’s eligibility for a welfare program. Eligibility is determined by using gross and net income, size of the family, and certain situations such as medical emergencies, pregnancy, homelessness or unemployment. After the initial application a case worker will gather all this information and determine if the person qualifies for any benefits and how much he or she can receive. A person can also apply for a state run welfare program called the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF. TANF, however, is different than most and requires that the applicant find work within two years