Let me preface this by the following. I'm not against community service. I'm a strong believer of VOLUNTARY community service. I used to coach football for free. I loved it. If I still had the time to do a good job doing it, I'd still have the whistle and coaches golf shirt coaching.
I have a problem when it is required, mandatory, by law. That's what Comrade Obama wants. I have a problem with the following for three reasons. He changed the words for obvious political words, but I saw the original.
Originaly on Obama's website
The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation’s challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.
Problems:
1. Involuntary servitude. The constitution. Big government in DC is forcing our students by law to committ 350-850 hours of work without pay. It's a mandate.
2. What is considered community service in the eyes of government? ACORN? Radical leftist causes? This strikes me of "reducation camps."
3. How will this be enforced? No diploma? Maybe the affluent areas won't have a problem by this, but some kids have to work for money to help support the family. Will they be denied their diploma?
The Times-Gazette also caught the original with the words 'to require'.
Obama or his people. changed it later for some reason. Good thing I saved the original paragraph. Here's the new one...
The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation’s challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by setting a goal that all middle school and high school students do 50 hours of community service a year and by developing a plan so that all college students who conduct 100 hours of community service receive a universal and fully refundable tax credit ensuring that the first $4,000 of their college education is completely free. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.
Require is now "setting a goal." That's a nice vague term. Now they are making it sound like it is tax credits? Or are they really planning for the original "requirement" and want to delay that. I still don't care for the tax credit plan. Community service should be done for the right reasons. It is something government shouldn't go near, especially from the incompetent fools in Washington DC.
My guard is up. The true intentions can often be seen by the first draft posted, and that say "to require." My response to Comrade Obama's requirement is that he can take it and shove it where the sun don't shine.
