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Obama passes Serve America Act, spends $5.8 billion

by scottie_vox | April 21, 2009 at 05:44 pm

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President Barack Hussein Obama signed the Edward Kennedy Serve America Act on Tuesday, a law which the Whitehouse claims will "open tremendous new avenues of opportunity for Americans to help their country get back on the right track in those many areas where government cannot do it all".

The law will cost the American Taxpayers $5.8 billion and will triple the size of the AmeriCorp in a year when President Obama's administration has already spent $12.8 Trillion (yes, trillion) bailing out the greedy bankers, and is heading toward a record budget deficit in the coming year.

The Serve America act spells out a number of goals, including bulking up the AmeriCorp from 70,000 members to 250,000 strong. NationalService.gov also claims that this law enables millions of working Americans to serve by establishing a nationwide Call to Service Campaign and a September 11 national day of service, and investing in the nonprofit sector’s capacity to recruit and manage volunteers.

Of course volunteering is good and part of our national heritage, but does the government need to spend $5.8 billion of hard earned taxpayer dollars so that kids can paint walls in homeless shelters? Of course not. This bill is about grabbing billions and dollars and pumping it into groups like ACORN and other activist groups that charade as mercy groups.

My first objection to this law is the fact that it will cost billions now, and many more billions in coming years as the bureaucracy of this program gains power and begins to claim an entitlement to tax dollars. And I believe that the government has absolutely no business tripling the size of any of its programs, especially in the current economic environment. While Americans are spending less and cinching up their belts, the government parasite is biting down and sucking yet more lifeblood out of the people.

Barack Obama has an agenda to federalize everything in our lives. From the takeover of GM to the shoving of stimulus dollars down the states that refused, the federal government wants to suck in dollars and redistribute them as they see fit. And in the case of the Serve America Act, they want to be able to control which not for profit groups get aid, and which don't. Even worse, they will teach young Americans to serve their national government rather than serving their local communities.

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Amy Judd

at 18:28 on April 21st, 2009

I think I have to agree with you here; it's a very nice idea, but I think it's a bit ill-timed and seems a bit out of place.

Dan Hostetler (not verified)

at 02:28 on April 22nd, 2009

Wow. I guess I haven't read such a slanted piece of journalism since I wrote for my college newspaper back in 1969. By your reasoning and the selected pieces of data that you present as your platform, Barack HUSSEIN Obama is really ruining the country in a very public and embarassing manner. Wow. From your article, there does not appear to be a legitimate shred of logic that supports this horrible idea of wasting all our money whhich is in direct contrast to the former administrations. He's Muslim too, right? And he pals around with terrorists planning future bombings, right? I

scottie_vox

at 07:15 on April 22nd, 2009

Dan,

My piece is opinion, and I *thought* I marked the piece as such. I'll check to make sure it is marked correctly. I enjoy the debate about whether bulking up the budget another 6 billion dollars and is good for our country, and welcome you opinion of the Serve America Act.

I feel, however, that you have attacked me unfairly. The word "Muslim" does not appear in my piece, nor do I refer to anything about terrorism. I also made no references to the previous administration, so I'm not sure why you brought that up. The previous administration is completely irrelevant to this story.

Albert Milliron

at 14:20 on April 22nd, 2009

Service, giving, and Volunteering are all part of the American Fiber. There is no need to legislate what is already part of the core of Americanism.

No one had to pass a law to have the Kids in Fargo, ND get out and save their city. No one needs a law to give aid to a family who has been burned out. No one needs a law to go on a local mission trip to New Orleans. No one needs a law to raise a barn in Penn. Americans GIVE the most money and help those in need more then any other country in the world. My opinion is this legislation is a way to focus attention on what the Govenment wants folks to GIVE to... not the Job of government. Helping one another is a personal decision and comes from within ones own value system. Thanks for this very well done article

Casey Leopardi (not verified)

at 16:02 on April 22nd, 2009

While I do understand that we are in the middle of an economic downturn, I can't think of a better time to turn Americans' attention to the understanding that we need to rebuild this crumbling economy by working together, by building communities, by erasing discrimination and by opening minds. AmeriCorps does ALL of these things. In a time when record numbers of people are out of work, unable to afford school and struggling to call one another neighbor, we should absolutely focus on getting people into positions where they can work in communities they might not otherwise visit, receive basic healthcare, a living stipend and an education award. AmeriCorps is a job you can get without a college degree and can make a productive citizen out of someone who may have gone another route without this chance. As an AmeriCorps alum, I KNOW these programs change lives; not only for the people who are serving but for the people and communities that are served. I am not the same person I was before I completed my term of service, and less than a year out, I am already utilizing my ed award to go BACK to school and work in communities similar to the one I served in. Maybe, with enough participation, we can change mandatory military registration to mandatory AmeriCorps enrollment, and not for ONLY men, but both men and women!

This is smart politics people, progressive and looking into the future. We can heal the country. It will take time, but this is a start!