Walker should push to restrict subsidies for bad behavior.

Posted: Saturday, December 6, 2014 10:00 am

Taxpayers should have rights, too

A FEDERAL APPEALS COURT has upheld a trial court ruling that Floridas law requiring public assistance applicants to submit to drug tests as a condition of receiving aid is an unconstitutional violation of Fourth Amendment search-and-seizure protections.

The court ruled that the collection and testing of urine intrudes upon expectations of privacy that society has long recognized as unreasonable. ... By virtue of poverty, TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) applicants are not stripped of their legitimate expectations of privacy.

During his successful campaign for re-election, Gov. Scott Walker promised to pursue a similar drug-testing policy for Wisconsin. We dont think he should give up.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE IS one of the more common and severe barriers to finding and keeping a job. Its also one of the social pathologies disproportionately affecting at-risk populations. Police officers and prosecutors will tell you its one of the primary drivers behind criminal behavior. And prison officials will say a disturbingly large percentage of those entering the corrections system are substance abusers.

So, explain again: Why is society wrong to raise the bar and insist that people seeking tax-funded assistance are drug-free?

The legal system largely amounts to this: What one clever lawyer can put together, another can tear apart, and vice versa. So maybe theres a tweak or a turn to the Florida approach that could reach the same goal of discouraging drug abuse without running afoul of the Constitution.

We believe in Fourth Amendment protections as much as anybody, but we also believe taxpayers have no obligation to subsidize bad behavior. Governor Walker should continue looking for a way to keep his promise.

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Taxpayers should have rights, too