Thursday, August 25, 2011

Hate Is Costly

I really wish there was more investigation and follow-up on these so-called "money saving" ideas that the GOP ram down our throats. Remember when they cut illegal immigrants out of health care reform? It's turning out (like it was fairly obvious then) that those same immigrants can simply go to the emergency room and get free treatment which costs the states four times as much.

The latest example of a hate-motivated policy dressed up as a cost-saving measure is the one in Florida, where families applying for cash welfare benefits are required to take drug tests first. The law, which went into effect July 1, makes applicants pay for the drug tests up front and reimburses individuals if they test negative. It has been widely believed that the testing itself would cost Florida more than what they would save in cutting welfare money off to drug users. Great idea in the current economic environment!

The ACLU predicted that this program would be a failure and cost the state of Florida much more money than they would save. In just the few weeks that the program has been in effect, the ACLU has been proven right.

The Department of Children and Families' central region has tested 40 applicants since the law went into effect six weeks ago, and of those 40 applicants, 38 tested negative for drugs. The cost to the state of Florida to reimburse those 38 individuals who tested negative was at least $1,140 over the course of six weeks. Meanwhile, denying benefits to the two applicants who tested positive will save Florida less than $240 a month.

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