Just say no

The latest Front Porch podcast is about whether or not to drug test welfare recipients. I voted not.

Targeting workers and the poor

I was hoping that once WV's Republican-controlled legislature was out of session the attempted beatdown of working people would be on hold for a while. No such luck. Construction workers and local contractors once again have a bull's eye on their back with the state's prevailing wage law in jeopardy again.

Next up: drug testing welfare recipients.

OFF TOPIC, here's an interesting look at Appalachia's economic transition from a Kentucky perspective.

What he said

I'm not always on the same page with WV Metro News commentator Hoppy Kercheval, but he nailed it with this commentary on why drug testing TANF (welfare) recipients is a bad idea.

Meanwhile, kudos to WV Senate Minority Leader Jeff Kessler for putting the kibosh (I love that word, although I have no idea about its etymology) on another bad idea, to wit charter schools, which would siphon resources away from public education.

Testing 1 2 3

The latest brilliant idea from the Republican-led WV legislature is pretty predictable: drug testing welfare recipients. There are probably as many myths about people on welfare as there are about the changing of the seasons

People may not realize just how small WV's TANF (Temporary Assistance For Needy Families) program is. In December 2013, it was around 9,800 adults out of a population of 1,850,000 or so.

If you want to be exact, that's 0.0052972972972973 percent of the population, if I read my calculator correctly.

There are also many misconceptions about how much cash assistance TANF recipients get here. The average benefit is $340 for a family of three.

I don't think you can buy a whole lot of welfare Cadillacs with that. Ones that run anyway. And, while I'm no expert on the local drug scene, I kind of doubt you'd be able to buy much of the "good" stuff with that either.

Some such laws have been declared to be unconstitutional, such a Florida's which was struck down by a federal court in Dec. 2014. Even if WV's proposed law survives a legal challenge, odds are the testing won't unmask many users. Six months after passing a drug testing law, Tennessee officials found only 37 users out of over 16,000 applicants.

Scoped

Posts from this blog may be a bit irregular this week. I'm having knee surgery Monday and may be out of it for a while. That might be my excuse, anyhow.

The knee in question has been cranky for a long time but has gotten a lot worse this summer. Every step has been painful. I've had to give up several things I like to do, including jogging, jumping rope, kicking a heavy bag, and sparring in karate.

I mean, jeez, it's been nearly three months since I kicked anybody in the head. I'm going through withdrawal.

The procedure is pretty simple, arthroscopic surgery on an outpatient basis. The only part of it I'm dreading is the wait. I'm not supposed to go in until 1:30 p.m. and have been told not to eat or drink anything after midnight. That wouldn't be so bad were it not for the fact that the instructions perversely include coffee as well. It's gonna be a long morning.

Still, I look forward to having my leg back at some point.

THE DREAM AND THE MONUMENT. Here's an op-ed by a friend of mine on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from someone who knew him.

GOING TO BAT FOR HEALTH CARE REFORM. While we're at it, here's another Gazette op-ed from another friend in defense of the Affordable Care Act.

BAD RIGHT WING IDEA #5857495. Mandatory drug testing for public assistance in Florida hasn't turned up very many users.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED