Speed Reads

Playing politics

This Democratic congresswoman wants to drug test the rich

Anyone who wants to claim $150,000 or more in itemized deductions when filing their taxes should have to submit to a drug test, says Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) — and she has proposed legislation in the House to that effect.

The bill is conceived as a response to Republican efforts to drug test low-income welfare recipients. "Such baseless attacks against the poor inspired me to draft the Top 1 Percent Accountability Act of 2016," Moore explained. She specifically objected to House Speaker Paul Ryan's decision to announce his poverty plan in front of a drug treatment center, imagery Moore argues presents a "false narrative" about the poor.

She says she is serious about passing the bill and "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."