ADN

April 21, 2009 11:38 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday will call on Americans to service and sign a key legislation bolstering the nation's service programs. The bill is named after Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), who authored the bipartisan measure along with Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT).

Obama is scheduled to speak at the SEED School of Washington, D.C., a school for "underserved students," at 4:00 pm ET, according to the White House. He will sign the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act after his remarks, which will be attended by Kennedy, former President Bill Clinton, former First Lady Rosalyn Carter and Vice President Joe Biden.

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which Congress passed last month, increases the number of annual AmericaCorps volunteers by 175,000 to 250,000. It provides more scholarship opportunities and creates programs to help reduce school dropouts, including a "Summer of Service" program for middle and high school students. The measure was originally called the Serve America Act.

More/Source: http://snipurl.com/gdz1t

While I think more Americans should be inspired to volunteer, I question if Americorps is worth it. I volunteered in Oakland, and eventually became a paid volunteer. I, in turn used that secondary source of income to support causes and non-profits I found to be deserving. Of course, this offset my taxable income, but I was not doing it for that reason.

The real trend we need is to provide significant incentive to private philanthropy. The funds from private philanthropy dwarf significantly every federal effort there is. Besides, Americorp is a engine of mismanagement, and while it is impossible for them to do *some* good - they do not do *enough good* to make it worth it. i know people who would LITERALLY donate millions, if it would be appreciated, well spent, and would not make people hate them for the tens of millions they make a year.

It [Americorps] is Clinton's worst idea besides using FEMA for community retro-fitting, and while it may make people *feel* good - it is not actually *netting* a benefit for America. http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pag ... americorps

The fact is, even with planned expansion and more than 83% of its budget being funded by tax dollars, Americorps will not EVER match the 20.3 billion hours of real committed volunteerism by unpaid volunteers, which is still growing astronomically. And even though Americorps pays, it requires a highschool education, or equivalence, by time your year is up. And it still has more than a 40% drop-out rate. So what exactly is he changing - just the money they get and the budget they have? That being said, I am sure there are some good heartfelt people in Americorps, but since when do people like that have good business sense?

Unpaid, unorganized volunteering of private time is already adding up to 4 hours per American per week. Do we really need to pay for more? Paying people to start local gardens more than it would cost to just get them groceries? Going door to door to make sure people are signed up for govt assistance in drug addled neighborhoods?

That being said, the Americorps program is "assigning" people to attend the Earth Day rally, despite the poor weather here today. That way it looks like the event is supported. This is their "volunteer" work. That is your tax dollars at work.