Investments, Drug Testing and Obama's plan

Welfare and Drug Testing

Look for Oklahoma legislators to take up the issue of requiring welfare recipients to take a drug test.

During the most recent legislative session, Rep. John Bennett (R-Sallisaw) introduced a bill that went no where. He plans to reintroduce the bill.

HB 1083 would require anyone applying for state-assistance to undergo a urine screening as part of their eligibility AND every six months afterwards.

Any applicant who might fail or refuse the test would have to forfeit eligibility for the next 90 days.

Oh, the cost of the drug screening would be deducted from the applicant’s first payment.

If someone receiving assistance fails a drug test they would be ineligible for the next year.

Looking at how Florida legislators took the same approach, Bennett says that sate saved nearly $1 million the first month it was implemented, with an anticipated $9.1 million savings annually.

A recent SoonerPoll indicates 88.3 percent of likely Oklahoma voters would support a law to require welfare applicants to undergo drug screening.

How much could Oklahoma save from the drug screening? No one really knows yet, but it looks like legislators are willing to try it.

POLL: Return on education investment not seen

Taxpayers spend on average $8,400 per student for education in Oklahoma.

The return on that investment is not being seen by taxpayers, according to SoonerPoll.

Of those polled, 62.4 percent said taxpayers are not getting a good return on their investment. Only 22.9 percent showed a favorable response.

Democrats in the poll showed a negative

“It’s a pretty sobering indictment of the status quo,” said Brandon Cutcher, vice president for policy at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA), “and this is using the government’s own spending data. If voters knew the real cost of education—which, as OCPA  has demonstrated, is north of $10,000 per student—I suspect the return-on-investment results would be even lower.”

SoonerPoll, Oklahoma’s public opinion pollster, was commissioned for this poll by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. SoonerPoll.com conducted the scientific poll July 25-Aug. 11. Likely Oklahoma voters were selected at random and given the opportunity to participate in the poll by phone or online. Of the 587 respondents who participated, 17 took the survey online and 570 responded via telephone interview. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.04 percentage points.

Tax, tax, tax….Spend, spend, spend

 Today, President Barack Obama proposed $1.5 trillion in new taxes as part of his 10-year deficit reduction plan. The bulk of the taxes are on the wealthy. He also reduces spending on Medicaid and Medicare.

“This is not class warfare. It’s math,” Obama said. The HuffingtonPost outlines the areas Obama's plan would cut and add.

What else is it? It pits the rich against the no-so rich and the poor.

Initial reaction from Republican leaders is Obama’s plan is not a recipe for growth, according to Sen. Mitch McConnell.

No matter what McConnell or Obama say the real cuts will be recommended by the new super committee. We will have to wait and see who wins the war of taxes and spending.