Obama’s new website expounds on his plan “to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year.” This program is disturbing, representing a new government intrusion into private life cloaked in the patriotic rhetoric of “serving America,” and a crowding out of private enterprise by government-created programs using forced labor. So it would seem that the nation’s first black president wants us to work for free.

Relevant link: http://change.gov/americaserves/

Just stop being so selfish and recognize that service is a virtue that we could all practice more. This way maybe we won’t raise citizens like you who freak out about 2 hours of community service a month.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I’d wager it’s not the service, but rather its compulsory nature that has free-thinking people up in arms.

I note with interest that the wording of the website has been changed, no doubt because of the spate of blogs talking about it. (Change…on our position on the issues!) The original full text will be posted above. Nevertheless, the amendment is still troubling.

Grants contingent on community service, while still a matter of government taking money from taxpayers to entice others to do things, is an easier sell. It’s voluntary, right? The problem is that it’s such a good deal for students that many take part in it. That’s $40/hr, more than most of us will make at graduation (minus ibankers, of course), and several times more than a summer internship would pay – particularly for lab slaves. So instead of gaining experience in private industry or academia while in college, he would rather have us jammed into makework government programs. Businesses that rely on summer students will be destroyed, career paths, particularly for poorer students, will he hijacked…and a huge injection of cash into the college environment might simply result in tuition inflation. So now kids of the non-obscenely rich will HAVE to work these jobs, or pay tuition that only increased because of those jobs. (Note that in this case the rich will be better able to afford lower-paying but better resume-building internships – a way for Democrats to play to their Upper West Side faction.)

And for secondary school the ploy is even more coercive. He talks about “setting a goal” to force kids to volunteer. But how will that be accomplished? By the only means that the federal government has – public schools will have their funding cut unless they force their students to perform 50 hours of service a year. Since for most people, public school is the only choice they’ve got, this amounts to a mandatory service program for every child in a public school in the country.

The original Obama blurb, before they were called on it and cloaked it in nicer sounding language:

“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’s a fucking idiot. In 4 years (if he’s not impeached before then) his approval ratings will be whatever minute percentage of this country consider themselves socialists. Also, IvyGate, get on this shit: http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=525151

This is not the Keggy I’ve grown to know and love. I mean, I guess a lot of Sig Nu’s are nerds who weren’t hugged enough as children and act out by supporting government policies of economic and social repression. But Keggy, aren’t you supposed to have a sense of humor?

Fucking nerds…

I don’t like the idea of compulsory community service, and I have some doubts that his administration would succeed in pushing it through, but I’m still glad I voted for Obama.

To the Harvard Crimson:
Why would the staff of the YDN rather play a football game before the Game than tailgate? Pigskin versus beer… tough call.