Building The New Permanent Underclass Talking Point By Talking Point
by digby
The demonization of the unemployed continues apace:
Welfare and unemployment beneficiaries would have to pass a drug test to qualify for programs under an amendment offered Tuesday by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).
Hatch introduced an amendment to the tax extenders bill that would require those who are applying for some of the benefits in that bill, including unemployment and welfare benefits, to pass a drug test in exchange for the benefits.
"Drugs are a scourge on our society — hurting children, families and communities alike," Hatch said in a statement. "This amendment is a way to help people get off of drugs to become productive and healthy members of society, while ensuring that valuable taxpayer dollars aren’t wasted.”
See the only reason that someone doesn't have a job in this thriving economy is because they are drug addicts. Hatch is just trying to help.
What with David Walker's wistful call for a return to debtor's prison and this hideous attack on the unemployed it's evident that the fatuous elites in this country are so out of touch that they really have no idea how obscene their aristocratic braying sounds to average Americans. or perhaps they do, and just don't care. If your point is to pretend that 10% official unemployment is simply a reflection of the bad character of the unemployed so you can protect the wealth of the ruling class, then turning every unemployed person into a suspected criminal and potential drug user makes sense.
I don't know that I've ever seen anything quite like this. Historically, of course, it has some precedents. The most famous example didn't turn out so well for anyone, unfortunately. But you can certainly understand how the people got to the point of bloodlust, can't you?
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