Paul Ryan's Substance Free Antipoverty Plan Outrages Dem. Moore

You’ve really got to hand it to Gwen Moore, a House Democrat from Wisconsin. She was totally fed up with the constant Republican proposals at the state and federal level that would require people needing some kind of state assistance be tested for drugs in order to be eligible for these programs. Of course, study after study has shown the number of people “caught” by this requirement to be miniscule and that the cost of administering these drug tests in many cases actually outweighs the assistance being offered. And that’s beside the fact that is just an additional hassle for the people trying to get the assistance they need.

But apparently the last straw for Moore was Paul Ryan unveiling his latest anti-poverty platform in front of a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. Some saw it as an indication that another Ryan proposal was substance-free, but for Moore it was an outrage. As Moore said, when Ryan “stood in front of a drug treatment center and rolled out his anti-poverty initiative, pushing this narrative that poor people are drug addicts, that was the last straw”. Moore, a former welfare recipient herself, has decided to introduce a bill that would reportedly require passing a drug test in order to itemize the deductions on the federal tax return.  Of course itemized deductions are used primarily by more wealthy taxpayers and also by homeowners wanting to claim the mortgage interest deduction. Moore’s bill basically says to Republicans what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, and good for her.  Needless to say, this bill will go absolutely nowhere in the House but it is a nice rejoinder to these needless Republican drug-testing proposals.