Welfare Persuasive Speech

Tressa Gettelfinger
4/9/13
English 202 College Speech
Persuasive speech #1
Topic: People should be Drug Tested to be on Welfare
Purpose: To persuade
Specific Purpose: To persuade people into wanting people to be drug tested to get welfare.
Central Idea: If you have to be drug tested to get a job, you should have to be drug tested to get money from the government.
Order of Main Points: Spatial I. Introduction a. There is a growing movement to make sure those on general welfare aren’t also on drugs. In these hard economic times, voters don’t want their tax dollars wasted on fueling the habits of junkies. Americans take a hard line on this dual habit. In a poll that was taken in July of 2011, fifty-three percent believe all
Main Points b. What is welfare? i. Welfare is any program in which the government provides money or services to citizens who are in need of a welfare program. ii. Welfare is managed on a state-by-state basis. Meaning programs vary from state to state. All states maintain food stamps and medical assistance. c. Tax Payers iii. Many tax payers want people on welfare to also be drug tested. Most tax payers do not want to be paying for a drug addiction of those receiving welfare, if they are in fact using it to buy heroin, cocaine, crystal meth, etc. iv. Also, when applying for a job, you more than likely will have to take a drug test to get hired. So, if you have to take a drug test to work for your money, you should have to take a drug test to have the government hand you money. d. “Hand up NOT Hand out” v. People who favor this say that testing will help those who need drug treatment get it and therefore be better qualified to obtain and keep jobs. vi. "What we're trying to do is give somebody a hand up instead of a handout," said Rep. Jud McMillin, the republican who wrote the bill. vii. Some states are considering mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients. Florida being one of
Florida’s savings viii. In July, 9.6 percent of otherwise qualified applicants for cash assistance were denied for a drug-related reason. With an estimated annual savings to the state of $1,608 per drug-related denial, these 574 denials from July 2011 represent annualized savings to Florida taxpayers of $922,992. The cost of reimbursing the 5,390 approved applicants with a negative drug test ($30 average for each) reduces this annualized savings figure by $161,700, for a remaining savings to taxpayers of $761,292 for the first month of the program alone. ix. Since Florida’s first denial rate is 9.6 percent, the State is currently saving an estimated $5.71 on drug testing for every $1 it spends reimbursing approved applicants with negative drug tests who ultimately receive cash assistance. If these July trends continue throughout the first year, the drug testing requirement will save Florida taxpayers $9,135,504 from July 2011 through June 2012. III. Conclusion f. So now that you know what welfare is, what it is doing to tax payers, and how much Florida is saving doing drug test to get welfare, I hope it helps you better understand the need for drug testing before you can receive