Excerpts
from World Service Corps Act - Two Year
Volunteering. Submitted for
co-sponsorship to Congressional Representatives. Needs your support. 6/2/05
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.
It is the purpose of this
Act to enhance prospects for world peace by promoting understanding, addressing
human, resource, and development needs, and responding to disasters by building
a World Service Corps that annually deploys a million peaceful, productive Americans at home and abroad. Americans consistently prove themselves in
serving their country, addressing world needs, and helping neighbors near and
far grow and prosper. The U. S. World
Service Corps will provide Americans the opportunity to improve conditions in
……
The work of the World Service Corps will reduce
pressure on our all-volunteer army. Most
of the life and limb risking areas into which our military is placed exist
because those areas lack education, economic opportunities, and the hope and
understanding of how to change those conditions.
The work of the World
Service Corps will reduce pressure on our all-volunteer army. Most of the life and limb risking areas into
which our military is placed exist because those areas lack education, economic
opportunities, and the hope and understanding of how to change those
conditions.
The core public and private
organizations that World Service Corps members (WSC) will serve through
include: Peace Corps, AmeriCorps,
Habitat for Humanity, HeadStart, Doctors Sans Borders, and the Red Cross. The work of these organizations gives
Americans the opportunity to serve at home or abroad. These organizations do exemplary work and
thereby offer Americans a variety of opportunities to employ and develop a
variety of skill sets. Others that
measure up to such peaceful, productive standards could be added.
…..
3) Financial
inducements. – Two years of service will be
required of volunteers in order for those volunteers to qualify for the federal
government financing two years of community college or equivalent vocational
training; and a third and fourth year of state college, or equivalent
vocational or graduate school financial aid equivalent for the corps
member. Total education aid equals approximately $15,000 using 2004 statistics.
(Community college two-year
public tuition and fees in 2004 averaged $2,076 per year. Source
American Association of Community Colleges.
Four-year state college public tuition and fees in 2004 averaged $5132
per year. Source The
College Board).
Those who have moved beyond the need for tuition payments may use the
post-service tuition scholarship amount for:
a.
IRA
contribution
b.
Medical
Health Savings account
c.
Transferring
tuition scholarship to younger family relatives, scholarship funds at
educational institutions of their choice, or those in need of tuition
assistance that they choose.
…
5) Recruitment & Selection. – Based on the 2000 Census, over 170 million Americans
are between 20 and 65. Strong, visionary
leadership could easily inspire 6/10th
of 1% of Americans to volunteer for the peaceful productive
service provided by a one million strong WSC.
With such Executive leadership, there would be no need to revert to the
proposed companion World Service Corps Bill that calls for one year of required
national service for 18-26 years old.
If, however, our leadership lacked the
vision and charisma to inspire .60% (.006) of
…
(6) COST. -- The cost of
operation of the United States WSC will be funded through:
(A) Traditional budgetary appropriations.
(B)
Donations by
the richest 10% of taxpayers. -- Over the last 30+ years, the wealth of
(C)
Donations by
certain low tax paying corporations. --
A large number of corporations whose revenues exceeds $1 million and who in the
present or previous three + tax years paid little or no taxes should welcome
sharing in the burden of reducing the need to continue funding the heavy cost
of warfare that is increasingly shifted to the middle class.
(D)
Web based
information sharing. -- The budgeted and donated revenues to fund this program
will be listed on the WSC website, indicating those individuals and
corporations who have donated. The site
will also list how much is funded through the budgetary process. Those corporations who have paid little or no
taxes over the present and previous three years, along with their revenue
flows, will also be listed at the funding link on the WSC web site.
(E)
Funding
rationale. -- The rational for this
unique funding mechanism is this: Wealth
is becoming increasing concentrated in
(F)
Private
answers. --- Private donations and participation are increasing
heralded as the answer to pressing social needs. Therefore, listing the contributions made by
private sources should be just another logical and acceptable means to recognize
and support this thesis while supporting this public/private World Service
Corps effort. Therefore, donations by wealthy people will be listed at the WSC
funding web site.
(G) Cost comparison. -- In 2004, our observable
military budget indicates American taxpayers maintained each of our military
personnel for approximately $360,000 annually.
That cost has escalated dramatically with our recent increased military
involvement in
As a rough
barometer of what the WSC may cost, the cost per Peace Corps volunteer is about
$40,000 annually, Annual costs of
those who serve in most or all of the other five organization is even less.
(H)
Long Run Cost
effectiveness. – As a long run policy, a WSC is the most
cost and resource effective option to efficiently using limited dollars to
improve our long-term security and economic health, while dramatically reducing
the loss of American lives. No one
should argue the historic effectiveness that committed, insightful Americans
bring to changing difficult situations into empowering opportunities. The
costly waging of war diverts and destroys needed investments for education and
our economic infrastructure, thereby weakening our nation. Cost effectively waging peace through the
World Service Corps economically and morally strengthens our nation.