Those numbers dont seem to make sense to me.
Even if it cost a grand per drug test....thats 1200 test that they can afford to give at 1.2 mil.
Thats a LOT for a drug test
some info I found says the average welfare payment for a family of four is 346 a month. Combined with 668 in food stamps, about 1,014 a month is available.
So....out of the 1200 people tested.....say 300 people cant pass. 25%. I dunno maybe thats a high estimate. Then again...maybe its low.
How long do they lose benefits for? Say....they arent eligible for 6 months.
300 people at 1014 a month times 6 months makes for a savings of 1,825,200.
Now you spent 1.2 mil to save that 1.8 so its roughly a 600k real world savings.
Keep in mind though....I used a super high estimate for the cost of the drug test
in reality the test is going to be cheaper by a large amount. So even if less fail.....if they collect anywhere near the average per month...it will be a big savings.
And just to expound further... What if a percentage of those folks losing their assistance actually go out and get work!
Add just a percentage of those people back in to the work force and have them pay taxes, instead of receive taxes......and indirectly.....state revenue grows even further.
And you and I know.....PLENTY of those people are capable of work, and some of them will start to work if they absolutely have to.
Unless the analyst anticipates that very very few people will fail(or get caught)....then I wonder how they came up with the figure that they lose welfare.