One of the objectives of “This Is My Government” is to promote the civic engagement of people in furtherance of the common good.  Expanding national service as part of the economic recovery program would not only yield economic benefits, but would also make a significant contribution to the nation’s broader well-being.

 

 In an Op-Ed piece in the December 28 issue of the Washington Post, Lawrence Summers laid out the framework for the economic recovery plan of the Obama administration.  In his discussion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, he refers to a number of investment categories, including energy, education, infrastructure, and health care.  National service could fit into all of them.

 

In an article in the January 12 issue of Newsweek “Don’t Muffle the Call to Service,” Jonathon Alter makes the argument for the inclusion of national service.  He notes that the AmeriCorps program uses nonprofits to employ 75,000 mostly young Americans to teach kids to read, run after-school programs, build affordable housing, clean parks and streams, and participate in other service projects. Alter makes the point that the use of only 1percent of the approximately $700 billion stimulus package to expand the national service program would allow the administration to create 8 percent of the target 3 million jobs.  These 250,000 service jobs, at about $20,000 each, cost much less than construction jobs.  Given the AmeriCorps program 15-year infrastructure, these jobs could also be created quickly.  Moreover, the 75,000 AmeriCorps jobs have resulted in the engagement of an additional 1.7 million volunteers, further leveraging this investment.

 

During the campaign, Senator Obama managed to inspire and energize the country, and particularly its young people.  He must now create the opportunities to channel that energy for the public benefit.  National service would do that, and it would provide jobs and experience to many people who will otherwise be left without meaningful endeavors.  In addition, it would serve to maintain the engagement of his supporters that will be crucial in carrying out the goals of his administration.

 

There will undoubtedly be many calls for different investments as part of the economic recovery plan.  We favor the inclusion of national service as one of these investments.