Little Known News
Here are some more little known news items. These are events
and facts that you probably have not seen reported in the local
newspaper or on the evening news.
Municipal Bankruptcy
Jefferson County, Alabama filed for bankruptcy in November
of 2011. They are defaulting on more than 4 billion dollars in
debts, making this the largest municipal bankruptcy claim in
US history. Watch for other cities and counties to follow their
lead.
Massive Borrowing
As reported in the newsletter, Independent Living, the Treasury
Department has announced that it will borrow at least $541 billion
in the first three months of 2012. The only time there has been
more borrowing in a quarter was in the last three months of 2008
(during the financial panic), when borrowing topped $569 billion.
Illegal Light Bulbs
As of January first of 2012, you will no longer be able to
buy 100-watt incandescent light bulbs. The lower wattage ones
will be taken off the shelves over the following couple years,
to comply with a law signed into effect by President Bush in
2007.
Drug Testing Targets Poor
It is becoming more and more common to require drug testing
for those who are hired into jobs where safety is crucial. What
has not been reported very widely, though, is that many states
are now making drug testing mandatory to receive financial aid
from various prgorams. This may sound good to some people who
believe that illegal drugs are somehow a evil (unlike the far
more harmful legal ones), but ther are some serious issues here.
As recently reported on Media Freedom International;
In this past year alone, at least 30 state legislators
have considered bills that would require people to pass a drug
test to become eligible to receive welfare benefits. Some states
have even discussed going further and extending this mandatory
drug testing to the collection of “unemployment, Medicaid
and food stamps.”
At the federal level the act which was introduced is known
as the Drug Free Families Act, if put into place this “would
require all 50 states to drug test all Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families program applicants and recipients.” Florida
has already begun the drug testing administration and screening.
Previously only the state of Michigan forced TANF applicants
to take drug tests. That policy was ruled unconstituional by
the courts because it violated the Fourth Amendment’s protection
against unreasonable searches. Though the purpose is in part
to prevent taxpayer subsidization of drug use, even those who
support such laws admit that mistakes may be made. Drug tests
are not always reliable, and someting as innocent as attending
an outdoor concert in a park can cause inhalation of second-hand
marijuana smoke, which can be enough to cause a person to fail
a drug screening test.
|
