You're laid off after years on the job.
It wasn't your fault. It's the economy, stupid.
When you apply for unemployment benefits, a clerk hands you a plastic cup and points to a nearby restroom.
The resulting urinalysis--costing you $35 or so--will determine the presence of drugs and your eligibility to receive the insurance benefits you paid for while employed.
The screening is part of a Republican proposal to scale back worker benefits and profit from the jobless status of 14 million Americans.
If conservatives have their way, the same screening would be mandatory for government employees and recipients of Medicaid, welfare and food stamps.
What's behind this? It's greed. stupid.
Chain owners of drug-testing clinics are heavy contributors to conservative politicians and causes.
The wife of one Republican governor, Florida's Rick Scott, owns an urgent-care chain that specializes in drug testing.
And Florida, by Scott's executive order, requires drug testing for state employees and welfare recipients. (18 DECEMBER 2011)
