Delegate Craig Blair: Nowhere in our state or U.S. constitutions is it mandated that financial assistance is a right. Make no mistake, it is a privilege afforded to those in need by the taxpayers via our federal and state governments. Also, unemployment compensation premiums are currently paid by the employer, not the employee; however that may change very soon. We should also remember that illicit drug use is illegal. It is a crime that has criminal penalties.

I think it’s time that we get serious about the problem of illegal drug users abusing our public assistance system in West Virginia. We should require random drug testing for every individual receiving welfare, food assistance or unemployment benefits. After all, more and more employers are requiring drug testing. Why not make sure that people who are supposed to be looking for work are already prequalified by being drug free? Read More

More:  UPDATE

Austin ER’s got 2,678 visits from 9 people over 6 years costing $3 million
In the past six years, eight people from Austin and one from Luling racked up 2,678 emergency room visits in Central Texas, costing hospitals, taxpayers and others $3 million, according to a report from a nonprofit made up of hospitals and other providers that care for the uninsured and low-income Central Texans.

One of the nine spent more than a third of last year in the ER: 145 days. That same patient totaled 554 ER visits from 2003 through 2008.

The report that mentioned the nine high-frequency patients didn’t include reasons for all of those ER visits and didn’t identify the patients because of privacy laws. But Kitchen, a former state legislator from Austin, gave a sketch: All nine speak English; three are homeless; five are women whose average age is 40, and four are men whose average age is 50. Seven have a mental health diagnosis and eight have a drug abuse diagnosis. Kitchen said she did not know their citizenship status.
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What do you say about this drug testing recipients of Welfare, Unemployment and Food stamps? I agree with it because there are alot of dead beat drug users getting our tax money. Check out all the polls at the source of this story!