Should people be forced to volunteer for charity work? Should the government encourage such things? Is it even volunteering if it is required? Can volunteerism make a happier society?
I'm not quite into forcing people into it via legal means. Especially certain types of volunteer activites where if people were made to do perform the duties, things could turn out to be ugly. On the other hand when you see people that have been living on welfare for most of their life and providing nothing back, it would be nice to force them into some kind of work. (the physically able ones) Exactly how and what forms of work i'm not quite sure.
I' had classes where a certain number of hours of community service/volunteer work was mandatory in order to pass it. I wouldn't mind seeing that implimented in order to graduate.
I wonder if this question is in reference and leading to Obama's plan for mandatory service ? :dunno:
thats exactly what i got out of it the moment I read it (as well as seeing who posed the question). I will say though, it's one of several (of Obama's) proposals that immediately sounds better in theory than it is in reality. Aside from the semantics posed in Ropadope's question(s), offering someone a $4000 credit in exchange for that level of community service probably comes out to a lot less than what that same student would make if he was working his way through school.
I crunched the numbers ... It's a ripoff . The kid could make far more doing work at the local coffee shop according to the number of hours planned in this mandatory service. To me it smacks of .... hmmm . I'll let the rest of you figure it out.
Volunteerism has been suggested by both major parties at one time or another. It's not a party-line issue, and if the economy takes the dive that many are predicting, then make-work/volunteering could be an issue again.
well to answer your questions... actually NobleArt's post is pretty much /thread The lone exception might be agreeing with the government encouraging volunteer work, but then, so few people actually volunteer on their own to begin with. It almost always begins as a question posed.
I'd have to look it up again ... It was back when Obama gave some details and it was over a period of years ... for a measly sum. I made a post about it in the forum ... It's a total joke that amounts to less than minimum wage.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/service/ not as bad as i thought, though the foundation is being laid kind of early. Middle school seems a tad young to mandate community service. But it's certainly not less than minimum wage
That's different than what I read ... but not surprising that before the election that to has seen CHANGE. I'm sure it will again. It used to be over a period of years for a TOTAL of $4000
that was my first thought, until you get to the part about middle schoolers doing 50 hours per year. I understand the desire to tear kids away from TV and X-Box and all that other shit... but really, kids just need to go back to playing outside again.
Really? I don't ever remember reading or hearing that... unless the quote came from one of his tongue-tied "57 states" moments
Could have been ... I quoted it from an article and criticized it. It might be buried in one of the posts in the Daily Obamanation :bangh:
Actually, this is what I had in mind. When I hear New Deal or Great Society uttered by a politician, I know something is up. Are they expecting a major financial crisis or war, or are they just control freaks? What's the deal? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.examiner.com/x-536-Civil...ff-choice-favors-compulsory-universal-service Rep. Rahm Emanuel wants to force people 18 to 25 to labor for the government. Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, President-Elect Barack Obama's choice for chief of staff in his incoming administration, is co-author of a book, The Plan: Big Ideas for America, that calls for, among other things, compulsory service for all Americans ages 18 to 25. The following excerpt is from pages 61-62 of the 2006 book: It's time for a real Patriot Act that brings out the patriot in all of us. We propose universal civilian service for every young American. Under this plan, All Americans between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five will be asked to serve their country by going through three months of basic training, civil defense preparation and community service. ... Here's how it would work. Young people will know that between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, the nation will enlist them for three months of civilian service. They'll be asked to report for three months of basic civil defense training in their state or community, where they will learn what to do in the event of biochemical, nuclear or conventional attack; how to assist others in an evacuation; how to respond when a levee breaks or we're hit by a natural disaster. These young people will be available to address their communities' most pressing needs. Emanuel and co-author Bruce Reed insist "this is not a draft," but go on to write of young men and women, "the nation will enlist them for three months of civilian service." They also warn, "ome Republicans will squeal about individual freedom," ruling out any likelihood that they would let people opt out of universal citizen service. As chief of staff, Emanuel will not be in a position to directly introduce public policy, but his enthusiasm for compulsory service, combined with Barack Obama's own plan to require high school students to perform 50 hours of government-approved service, suggest an unfortunate direction for the new administration.
My guess is that Oama and Emanuel come at things from a slightly different angle. Obama is probably just a Lefty collectivist, and Emanuel is an Israel-first control freak and lover of state power.
Easy Ropadope. I consider volunteer work as being anything that benefits society. We have bullying which is an issue in schools. Kids get bullied daily. So I would gladly volunteer to do my part in protecting small childrens' rights to feel safe and learn by pounding the crud out of bullies. That's called volunteer work.
I don't need the approval of the government in order to volunteer to kick ass. And I bet there are many kids who would gladly pay for a little protection from schoolyard bullies. Didn't you ever read Bernard Hopkins' stories?
