Tucked away on the third page of the Sunday Paper, was an article about how congress is very close to finalizing a new welfare overhaul.
There are several things the government could do that would clamp down on abuse of the system, and save billions in the process.

I think it is too convenient for people to be on welfare. Do you even have to leave your house anymore? If you ask me, the welfare program has become too user friendly and politically correct.

When I’m at the grocery store, I see the neat little food stamp machines that accept food stamp credit cards (for lack of knowing what they’re actually called). Who pays for these, and are they there to make things a little bit easier for the food stamp user? Why not eliminate these terminals and go back to the old fashioned food stamps. If you’re going to be on food stamps, you should have to go pick them up somewhere.

The biggest idea that I had that would never make it. It should be mandatory that before you pick up your government check, you should be required to provide a urine sample for a drug test. If you test positive for any illegal drug, no check for you. I can hear it already. “That’s discrimination!” But is it? If you can’t afford supporting life and need government assistance, how can you afford drugs?

Why I’m on the subject, how many people would you think use a portion of their welfare check to buy alcohol or tobacco? I would guess it’s a lot.

I realize there are a lot of people out there that have genuine reasons to be on government assistance, but there are also a lot that abuse the system. I don’t want to see a bunch of elderly citizens hauled into the welfare office to pee in a cup. On the other hand, the woman that’s been sitting around making babies one after the other should.

This article posted 11 30 05