Almost everyone around the world has seen or heard of poverty. Whether it is that middle-aged man on the side of the road begging for money or those commercials asking for donations while showing pictures of starving children. Over the years, these images of poverty have created a stigma that goes along with the poor; they are drug-abusing, uneducated, lazy people. Americans in poverty, specifically those receiving welfare, have been criticized with this stigma for many years. Because of this, many states across the country have been pushing to implement laws that require welfare recipients to be drug-tested prior to receiving their money. Welfare recipients should not be required to complete a drug test if other people receiving government …show more content…
An article from The Washington Post, “The Double-Standard of Making the Poor Prove They’re Worthy of Government Benefits” by Emily Badger, conveys her insights on the double-standard that is put on citizens who receive welfare benefits. We don’t drug-test farmers who receive agriculture subsidies, college students who receive Pell Grants, and wealthy families who cash in on the home mortgage interest deduction (Badger). No one seems to give a second glance when the government hands out money to farmers, college students, and wealthy home-owners because, when compared to the portion of the population on welfare, society has taught us who is more likely to abuse drugs. In most cases, welfare recipients are given a check from the government about once a month. This is a clear-cut, easy to see benefit. However, the receivers of several different government handouts, such as farmers, college students, and wealthy home-owner, do not realize they are getting their benefits because we are given them in ways that allow us to tell ourselves that we get nothing. “Political scientist Suzanne Mettler has called this effect the “submerged state” (Badger). Whereas Schaberg provides ample evidence that drug testing welfare recipients is unconstitutional, it is actually Badger’s research on the double standard which convinces me that if those on welfare are drug tested, everyone else receiving benefits from the government should be as