![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsSo, here's what Obama's section on "National Service" currently reads. He calls it voluntary, but I call it extortionist. Twice: once, when he takes our tax dollars, and again when he requires your participation (along with your indelible membership in Federal identification databases) in whatever structured activities deemed necessary by your government.
Calling this a "brownshirt operation" is simply disengenious. None of this can happen without the consent of Congress, and there's going to be a lot of wrangling, and I'm going to be first to pound on my representative not to pass stuff like this. It will be a violation of our law to have an operation loyal to our President, rather than to our country; worrying out loud about another Reichstag Fire is irresponsible and incompetent fear mongering.
I have no doubt that Obama wants to go down in history as an important and transformative President; I'm equally confident that he wants to go down as a successful president and that, unlike Bush or McCain, he has some kind of clue as to how that's done (hint: more Clinton without blowjobs, less Reagan even without Iran-Contra). This all looks clean and automatic on paper and electrons; I'm curious as to how it will appear after it's travelled through Congress.
My major concern with the below is not that it, as FallenPegasus contends, federalizes all non-profit institutions, but that it de-incentivizes private philanthropy to the point where the philanthropic system, with its evolved set of checks and balances, whithers away. Without competition, that layer of our American infrastructure, vibrant thus far mostly because it's been left alone to weed out its own problems and highlight its own successes, will rot the way welfare did until Clinton helped kick it in the ass.
Calling this a "brownshirt operation" is simply disengenious. None of this can happen without the consent of Congress, and there's going to be a lot of wrangling, and I'm going to be first to pound on my representative not to pass stuff like this. It will be a violation of our law to have an operation loyal to our President, rather than to our country; worrying out loud about another Reichstag Fire is irresponsible and incompetent fear mongering.
I have no doubt that Obama wants to go down in history as an important and transformative President; I'm equally confident that he wants to go down as a successful president and that, unlike Bush or McCain, he has some kind of clue as to how that's done (hint: more Clinton without blowjobs, less Reagan even without Iran-Contra). This all looks clean and automatic on paper and electrons; I'm curious as to how it will appear after it's travelled through Congress.
My major concern with the below is not that it, as FallenPegasus contends, federalizes all non-profit institutions, but that it de-incentivizes private philanthropy to the point where the philanthropic system, with its evolved set of checks and balances, whithers away. Without competition, that layer of our American infrastructure, vibrant thus far mostly because it's been left alone to weed out its own problems and highlight its own successes, will rot the way welfare did until Clinton helped kick it in the ass.
Expand Corporation for National and Community Service: Obama and Biden will expand AmeriCorps from 75,000 slots today to 250,000 and he will focus this expansion on addressing the great challenges facing the nation. They will establish a Classroom Corps to help teachers and students, with a priority placed on underserved schools; a Health Corps to improve public health outreach; a Clean Energy Corps to conduct weatherization and renewable energy projects; a Veterans Corps to assist veterans at hospitals, nursing homes and homeless shelters; and a Homeland Security Corps to help communities plan, prepare for and respond to emergencies.I'm still gonna vote against John McCain, and help and encourage others to do the same. I'm more opposed to what McCain stands for.
Engage Retiring Americans in Service on a Large Scale: Older Americans have a wide range of skills and knowledge to contribute. Obama and Biden will expand and improve programs that connect individuals over the age of 55 to quality volunteer opportunities.
Expand the Peace Corps: Obama and Biden will double the Peace Corps to 16,000 by 2011. They will work with the leaders of other countries to build an international network of overseas volunteers so that Ameri- cans work side-by-side with volunteers from other countries.
Show the World the Best Face of America: Obama and Biden will set up an America's Voice Initiative to send Americans who are fluent speakers of local languages to expand our public diplomacy. They also will extend opportunities for older individuals such as teachers, engineers, and doctors to serve overseas.
Integrate Service into Learning
Expand Service-Learning in Our Nation's Schools: Obama and Biden will set a goal that all middle and high school students do 50 hours of community service a year. They will develop national guidelines for service- learning and will give schools better tools both to develop programs and to document student experience.
Green Job Corps: Obama and Biden will create an energy-focused youth jobs program to provide disadvan- taged youth with service opportunities weatherizing buildings and getting practical experience in fast-growing career fields.
Expand YouthBuild Program: Obama and Biden will expand the YouthBuild program, which gives disadvan- taged young people the chance to complete their high school education, learn valuable skills and build af- fordable housing in their communities. They will grow the program so that 50,000 low-income young people a year a chance to learn construction job skills and complete high school.
Require 100 Hours of Service in College: Obama and Biden will establish a new American Opportunity Tax Credit that worth $4,000 a year in exchange for 100 hours of public service a year.
Promote College Serve-Study: Obama and Biden will ensure that at least 25 percent of College Work-Study funds are used to support public service opportunities instead of jobs in dining halls and libraries.
