I personally feel very strongly about the conditions tied to government assistance programs. Yes, there are many people who use government assistance (such as SNAP benefits, cash assistance, etc.) properly. There are also many people who abuse this, unfortunately.
Something that has been very controversial is mandatory drug testing to receive benefits. Personally, I feel that drug testing should be required to be on any type of government assistance, including unemployment benefits, SNAP benefits, and cash assistance, as well as others. Unfortunately, we see people who use their cash assistance and unemployment benefits just to buy drugs, not to better their lives as it is meant to do. I think that drug testing to receive benefits may help control this.
There are some conditions required, such as applying for jobs. However, many abuse this and purposely apply for jobs they know they can’t get just to continue receiving benefits. I feel that somehow this should be controlled as well. Maybe with career counselors or mandatory employment training courses.
Yes, both of these options may be costly, but if it reduces the amount of money transfers that are being misused or abused, then it could very well be worth it.
Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying that everyone abuses their benefits. There many people who truly need and deserve government assistance. Unfortunately, few may make it more difficult for many. I just wanted to focus my post on imposing more regulations to help reduce the abuse of government assistance. It seems to me that if the goal ultimately is to reduce poverty, then controlling to maintain proper use of the government-funded assistance programs is an important factor in making that happen. And for those who are using this aid properly, stricter regulations shouldn’t affect them much anyway.
So can the poor be trusted? Maybe, but it will be easier to trust them with more regulations.