Indiana Democrat foils attempt to mandate drug testing of welfare recipients

the planIndiana Republican Jud McMillin (yes, just one “d”) introduced a bill in the Indiana General Assembly that would have required random drug testing of welfare recipients.
the sabotageDemocratic legislator Ryan Dvorak added an amendment to also require drug testing for elected officials in the state. McMillin withdrew the bill. source

» The nitty-gritty: “If we’re going to impose standards on drug testing,” Dvorak said, “then it should apply to everybody who receives government money.” McMillin claimed that he had to withdraw the bill after Dvorak’s amendment was added, due to a 1997 Supreme Court ruling that it’s unconstitutional to drug test candidates for elected office…but that logic is flawed, as the Dvorak Amendment would have only required testing of officials already in office, not candidates. Surprisingly, McMillin said he plans to introduce a new version of the bill….that requires lawmaker testing as well. “Give me the cup right now and I will be happy to take the test,” McMillin said. (EDIT: corrected spelling error)

Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

We should be reminded of what Dr. King was attempting to do when he was assassinated at 48 years [sic] of age. He was trying to put poverty on the American agenda. If he could speak to us today — and he will be speaking to us on Sunday — he would tell us that we should provide people with a living wage, end the wars, bring the troops home. He would say, ‘Do not forget the least of us.’
Rep. John Lewis • Speaking about Martin Luther King Jr. before the hurricane-delayed dedication of the civil rights leader’s memorial. Lewis knows a thing or two about all this civil rights/poverty thing, due to the fact that he marched with King in Selma, Ala. — and notably got injured in the process. (Edit: As one of our readers noted, Lewis incorrectly stated King’s age. He was 39 when he died. He gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, which the dedication was originally timed to celebrate, 48 years ago.) source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15.1% the poverty rate in the U.S. back in 1993 — the highest level in 20 years
11.3% the poverty rate in 2000 — the lowest it’s been in the modern era
15.1% the poverty rate in 2010 — MATCHING the 1993 high source

» What these numbers mean: The current poverty line in the U.S. is $22,314 a year for a family of four and $11,139 for an individual, so anyone making less than that falls into these numbers. To put this into hard numbers, that means 46.2 million people are living below the poverty line. As for the middle class, their median income is $49,445 — actually down just a little bit from the year before. (Editor’s note: We just clarified the poverty line numbers.)

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

$50 billion The latest bill of currency released by the third-world African nation
Two loaves The amount of bread that can be purchased with the new note source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

30 Jan 2012 14:28