Florida’s Governor Rick Scott has signed a new law that would make it mandatory for welfare recipients to be drug tested. Scott says American tax payer dollars should not be subsidizing the drug habits of the poor. Scott recently made it mandatory for state employees working under him to undergo random urinalyses. On a CNN interview Scott was asked what evidence he had that the poor were using welfare monies to buy drugs. He was asked this question twice. And twice he said there are studies that indicate that it is true.
In a follow up interview, CNN talked to Howard Simon of the ACLU. Simon said that only one study of drug use among welfare recipients had been conducted in Florida. He further stated the study was ended when no evidence of said drug use could be found.
It was revealed in the first interview that Governor Scott owns a drug test company; however he said that he would be selling all interest in the company before enforcing the law. When asked if that company would be benefiting from the drug testing, he gave the standard politician response, “I don’t know,” and then acted indignant that anyone might think that he would be pushing for laws for drug testing to help bolster an industry that he was a part of.
The end of this clip was cut off where Scott admitted owning the drug test company.
Kind of reminds me of Henry Paulson getting a $31 million severance package from Goldman Sachs in selling his interest in that company before becoming Secretary of our Treasury and securing billions in bailout money for Goldman Sachs. He too said he was not using his political position to help the ex-company that had just given him $31 million before failing.
And of course we should all believe these professional politicians with lifelong corporate ties.
In the aforementioned interview, Scott kept repeating that the American people should not be giving money to people who are using drugs. Which makes me wonder, will the drug tests be coming to Wall Street next? It is a documented fact that the CEOs on Wall Street who have taken billions of tax payer dollars through bailouts, stimulus, and tax cuts, have brothels and strip clubs where they pay for services using company credit cards and of course they use only the finest cocaine every day of the week.
I would think the American people would be a little more concerned about the filthy rich who have destroyed our economy snorting cocaine at their private brothels, than some welfare recipient smoking a joint to help them try to get through the misery of the day.
Governor Scott should be recalled by his constituents as his ploy to foster business for those who put him in office is as brilliant as the sun glistening off his pompous bald head. But then again I guess this is just politics as usual in the good old USA.
The ACLU is going to challenge the new laws that force state workers and welfare recipients to submit to urinalyses, saying that unlike workers employed in the private sector, those employed in the public sector cannot have their 4th Amendment right violated, thus admitting that the random urinalysis being carried out in the private sector are constitutionally illegal, and also admitting that private corporations can violate citizens’ rights under the constitution without consequence.
This whole thing is just another nail in the coffin of freedom and liberty. How much longer are we going to tolerate the ongoing blatant assaults on our constitution? Our chains are being forged right before our eyes. We must rebel.
Let’s see….Would legislated increased demand of the need for the services of a given industry positively impact the sale price of that company? Too hard for me….let’s ask an expert. Any economists out there? This is a tough one.
And the tragic comedy continues…..
How utterly ridiculous! I love what you said about having wall street drug tested, that whole paragraph is great. When this guy is asked how much it’s going to cost not only does he not answer the question at the end he says we’ll see when we see how many people fail the test. That is just too much. Early on in the interview he is asked why he suspects they are using drugs and he says he doesn’t. Oh really, then why does he later say studies show they have a higher rate of drug use. Even if you didn’t know the whole story this guy is not even believable, I think he is the one on drugs!
Drug testing is all tied in to the labs making millions, the insurance companies, who get kick backs from the labs, demanding that employers test their employees, and the alcohol and tobacco lobbies, who don’t want pot legalized, because it would cut into their profits. I’ve probably left some more crooks out, but it’s all a money making scam by a bunch of greedy assholes. I agree with Dr. Paul. Legalize all drugs and take the money out of the of the hands of the criminals.
Rachel, my sentiments exactly. It’s all well and good to try and require drug testing for government funds to be distributed but if the Governor is insisting on doing that, then the same standards need to apply to CEO’s and business executives whose companies get government handouts. Drug test the rich, don’t make it an attack on the poor as Scott is trying to do, as well as increase his bottom line. He’s going to sell off his interest in the company getting the drug testing contracts to his wife. What a schemer.