To Tim Zimmermann:

No serious proposals for mandatory service? President elect Barack Obama indicated on the recently launched Change.gov website that:

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.

That was present on the site till the other day. Now it reads:

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.

In a December 5th, 2007 post on Barack Obama’s website, still available, he said:

We’ll reach this goal in several ways. At the middle and high school level, we’ll make federal assistance conditional on school districts developing service programs, and give schools resources to offer new service opportunities.

Indicating that if local schools do not enact the service programs desired they will not receive the federal funding they currently get. Putting greater burden on the local tax payers therefore greatly incentives the schools to enact the requested programs. Given that individuals are required to attend school and would likely not be able to graduate without completing the service it seems to me safe to call it mandatory. Especially if it becomes required for private schools. Even if it were not since anyone who sends their children to private school or homeschools is still required to pay property taxes to pay for government school it is hardly a fair scenario.

Websites I referred to are:
http://www.barackobama.com/2007/12/05/obama_issues_call_to_serve_vow.php
http://change.gov/americaserves/

His response was simply:

Thanks, bile. You have found a lot of conflicting language. Let’s see what the actual proposals turn out to be….

Best, Tim
Tim Zimmermann
Director Of Communications
Be the Change, Inc.
cell: 703-850-0735
BTC: http://www.bethechangeinc.org
ServiceNation: http://www.servicenation.org
Blog: http://changewireblog.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/bethechangeinc

No real answers. No real concern of the possiblity of mandatory national service.

According to Gateway Pundit the new site Change.gov said this as of November 7th:

As of today, November 10th, though apparently changed the 8th it says this:

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.

In a December 5th, 2007 post to his website, still available, said:

So when I’m President, I will set a goal for all American middle and high school students to perform 50 hours of service a year, and for all college students to perform 100 hours of service a year. This means that by the time you graduate college, you’ll have done 17 weeks of service. We’ll reach this goal in several ways. At the middle and high school level, we’ll make federal assistance conditional on school districts developing service programs, and give schools resources to offer new service opportunities.

I’ve pointed this out to Tim Zimmermann given he recently said that:

Mandatory service simply does not make any sense. It is not a good idea, there is no infrastructure for it, no public support for it, no leadership support for it, and no money for it. Frankly, it is not something I spend a lot of time worrying about….

I agree it doesn’t make any sense hovever Barack Obama and Rahm Emanuel think otherwise. It’s intelectualy dishonest to make these changes without an official announcement of policy change. It’s also dishonest to act as if this is not effectively mandatory. It’s the same trick used by the federal government to get the drinking age to be 21 and there be state laws for seat belts to be worn while driving. Only one state disobeys the federal government. New Hampshire. And that’s only for the seat belt request. Should a state refuse they will see their income tax dollars go out of the state and not come back in. At least a significant portion of it. It’s even worse in this particular case given the government mandates children attend school, continues to tax those who home school or use private schools, and not only would a school not receive federal funds but you can guarentee the local tax payers would continue to be taxed by the federal government at the same rate. If the locals don’t wish to pay higher local taxes and no reduced income taxes they’d have to comply meaning the children would be unable to graduate without doing the national service. Therefore it’s mandatory. And given the requirements for private and home schools imposed by the State it wouldn’t be surprising if they mandated national service for those children too.

As anyone who follows this site knows I’ve been following the Service Nation organization and Be the Change, Inc.

Due to the recent announcement by president elect that Rahm Emanuel will be his chief of staff and his previous writtings supporting “universal voluntary national service.” I contacted Be the Change, Inc.’s  Tim Zimmermann <tzimmermann@bethechangeinc.org>. The emails went as followed:

bile:

Hello, I’m writing to find out Service Nation / Be The Change, Inc.’s official position on the president elect’s selection of Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff. Would you support an initiative as described in the 2006 co-authored book The Plan? It includes as followed:

——-
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.
——-

If I’ve contacted the wrong person please forward this along or let me know who I should contact. Thank you for your time.

Read More…

http://serfcity.wordpress.com/…

Barack Obama’s disturbing proposal for ”universal voluntary public service” (as Michael Kinsley pointed out, it can either be universal or voluntary, but not both) just got a lot more traction with the selection of Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff.  J.D. Tuccille observes that Emanuel is a long-time proponent of compulsory national service. Emanuel is co-author of the 2006 book The Plan, which includes the following:

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.

Tuccille also notes that Emanuel dismisses the whiners who “will squeal about individual freedom.” (That would be us.) It sounds universal all right, but not exactly voluntary.

You can find my following of Service Nation and the bureaucrats push to make the State the be all end all here.

Not surprising given his support previous of Service Nation and general expansion of national service. I bet he still refers to much of that as voluntarism. Offering young adults money for education for performing an act is not voluntarism.

• Grants for “Youth Engagement Zones”, “not less than $250k and not more than $1m. Eligible partnerships include: a community-based agency, local educational agency, a State Commission or State education agency, local government agency, office of the chief executive officer of a unit of general local government, institution of higher education. Priority given to “eligible partnerships that serve high percentages or numbers of low-income students.” “including partnerships that serve urban, and partnerships that serve rural, communities.” $20m, $30m, $30m, $40m, $40m appropriated for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 respectively. The funds must be used for: ’solve specific community challenges’, ‘improve student engagement, including student attendance and student behavior, and student achievement, graduation rates, and college-going rates in secondary schools’, ‘involve an increasing percentage of secondary school students and out-of-school youth in the community in school-based or community-based service-learning activities each year, with the goal of involving all students in secondary schools served by the local education agency and involving an increasing percentage of the out-of-school youth in service-learning activities over the course of 5 years’, ‘encourage participants to continue to engage in service throughout their lives.’
• Grants for “Campuses of Service”, not more than 30 annually. $10m for each fiscal years 2009 through 2013. For 2 or 4 year, public or private institution of higher education.
• Service-Learning Impact study. 10 year longitudinal study on the impact of the activities carried out. Examining student academic achievement, student engagement, graduation rates, the degree to which the participants in the activities engaged in subsequent national service, volunteering, or other service activities. Allocation “such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013.”
• Sec. 167. Establish the “Commission on Cross-Sector Solutions to America’s Problems.” 21 members. 9 appointed by the President, 3 by Senate majority leader, 3 by Senate minority leader, 3 by Speaker of the House, 3 by the House minority leader. No more than 11 from the same political party. “The Commission shall conduct a thorough study of all matters relating to was in which the Federal Government can work more efficiently and effectively with nonprofit organizations and philanthropic organizations… in achieving better outcomes.” “The Commission may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of services or property.” Terminates after 6 years
• Sec. 167A. “Community Solutions Fund grant program.” Make grants for periods of 5 years, and may renew for 5 years. Not less than $1m not more than $10m. For entities focused on improving measurable outcomes relating to: education for economically disadvantaged students in public schools, child and youth development, reductions in poverty or increases in economic opportunity for economically disadvantaged individuals, health including access to health care and education, resource conservation and local environmental quality, individual or community energy efficiency, civic engagement, reductions in crime. Funds must be matched not less than $1 to $1.
• Sec. 167B. “Innovation Fellowship grants.” “To individuals to pay for the Federal share of carrying out projects in which the individuals establish innovative nonprofit organizations to address national and local challenges.” For periods of 2 years. Not more than $100k. Not more than 25 in a fiscal year.
• To carry out section 167, such sums as necessary. Section 167A: $50m, $60m, $70m, $80m, $100m for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 respectively. For 167B: $3.5 for 2009, $5m each year after.
• 
  
  Read More…