For decades now, the most common concern that people have had against welfare is that they presume most of the people that receive it are lazy drug addicts. This belief has lasted so long and spread so far that mandatory drug tests are being introduced across the country for welfare recipients, even though the results show that not many are even using drugs at all.

To turn things around, Representative Gwen Moore of Wisconsin proposed a bill that would put rich people who receive major tax breaks to suffer the same scrutiny. According to ThinkProgress, the “Top 1% Accountability Act” will require anyone that receives at least $150,000 in tax deductions to pass a drug test within 3 months of filing their taxes. 

“I would love to see some hedge fund manager on Wall Street who might be sniffing a little cocaine here and there to stay awake realize that he can’t get his $150,000 worth of deductions unless he submits to a drug test,” said Moore.

“I am a former welfare recipient,” she continued. “I’ve used food stamps, I’ve received Aid for Families with Dependent Children, Medicaid, Head Start for my kids, Title XX daycare [subsidies]. I’m truly grateful for the social safety net.”

It’ll be interesting to see how far this bill goes, given the amount of influence the population it targets apparently has in politics. But hopefully it’ll help spark a discussion around the stereotyping that occurs among the lower class and how they’re unfairly viewed and treated by the same people that are meant to lead their communities.

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