Congress gave final approval to the renewal of National and Community Service Act on Wednesday. The primary goal of the bill seeks to increase the number of government-supported volunteers from 75,000 to 250,000 in the next five years.
This massive expansion of the program is expected to cost the American taxpayers almost $6 billion, which sadly enough is almost nothing considering the recent spending orgy that Congress and the president have engaged in.
The bill has several aspects to it that should make Americans hesitant, even if they accept the bill in concept.
Part of the bill has requirements that a committee be formed to explore the possibility of creating a national mandatory service program.
For the same reasons that our nation did away with the draft and slavery, we as a country should oppose any effort to force people into service.
From our past history, we as a nation have seen the negative effects of forced labor, and this bill is little better.
The bill suggests the possibility of making service a requirement.
The bill states, ‘If all individuals in the United States were expected to perform national service or were required to perform a certain amount of national service ‘hellip; ‘
Perhaps most eerily, this seems a possible beginning of what President Obama called for in his plans as president to create a national civilian security force, a concept not seen in the western world since World War II in Germany.
It is hard to disagree with the argument that as a nation we should give back to our communities and volunteer work would be beneficial to the nation. It is however, unwise that this should be done via the government.
Given how badly the federal government tends to mismanage most of the programs they start, along with the already extremely high burden on taxpayers, there is no reason that we should be subsidizing these efforts with tax revenue.
With a soaring national deficit and an ever increasing debt, there is no need to add almost $6 billion.
If the government truly wants to improve the living situation of the country, then it should consider reducing the tax burden on its citizens. If the economy is able to rebound, people will give of their excess to help those in need.
If we promote industrial growth, private sector job creation and allow people to actually keep the money that they earn, then private sector charities will be more than ample to serve the needs of those who truly need help.
The answer is not to create another 175,000 poorly paid government employees with no long-term economic growth.
Programs like AmeriCorps, which the government hopes to fund with this bill, are really popular in concept, but the reality is that the federal government has no business in creating volunteer programs or national aid programs.
If volunteer or service programs are to be created, that power should be delegated to local and state officials as it is constitutionally required to do so by the 9th and 10th Amendments.
Without an actual constitutional amendment giving Congress the authority to make a national volunteer program, Congress is given no enumerated right to do so.
Chris Busby is a political science and English junior and may be reached at [email protected]
