As a matter of principle, can we agree that a year of voluntary public service can and should be a rite of passage between high school and college, that such service must provide a valuable benefit to society, and that volunteers must receive an equally valuable benefit?
Policy also requires the establishment of priorities. McCain always starts off talking about military service, and Obama usually talks about community organizing, before getting to military service; however, there has to be a consensus on priorities before we can define policy.
Can we agree as a matter of priority that the education of our children is just as important as national defense for the survival of our nation, our freedoms, and our way of life?
If we come to value public education as much as national defense, shouldn’t we establish a National Education Academy along the lines of the military service academies? With a mission to establish the highest achievable standards for professional education administration, graduates would become officers in a National Education Service. The academy would prepare a cadre of professional managers to inspire and improve the operation of public schools in every school district across the country, now and for future generations.
Those appointed to the Education Academy would agree to serve the same obligatory period following graduation as military officers and would receive the same salaries and benefits as military cadets and junior officers. Graduates should be required to spend at least four years teaching and counseling in low-income public school classrooms following graduation.
The Education Academy should also offer advanced degrees in education management and other related subjects for qualified applicants following an appropriate period of service.
Senator Obama has proposed that middle and high school students voluntarily perform 50 hours of public service each year, and he would require college students to perform 100 hours of service each year to quality for an American Opportunity Tax Credit. Assuming that a student has a sufficient taxable income, the “refundable credit” would “ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free ... and “will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university.”
A student would have to earn $30,000 a year and incur an income tax liability of $4,000 (under the current tax code) to receive the full benefit of the Obama tax credit. Given that many students only earn the minimum wage of $6.55 per hour, their full-time annual income of $13,624 per year carries a tax liability of $1,642.
Therefore, a student (assuming he or she has time to go to school) who is working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks out of the year, has to find time to “volunteer” two-and-a-half weeks of free labor each year in order to receive a $16.64 an hour benefit. Granted the pay is an improvement over the minimum wage, however, the student will still have to come up with the balance of $4,358 toward the average $6,000 annual college tuition.
Most students are probably bright enough to calculate the true value of a “tax credit” to them personally, no matter how generous it first appears. However, the value of the incentive cuts both ways. What are students going to be actually doing to earn the $16.64 to $40 per hour tax credit? If we are trying to solve serious education, health care, energy, or national security problems, wouldn’t it be wiser to use the same money to employ trained experts who are out of work? Or, if students are performing less skilled jobs, won’t we be overpaying them?
Wouldn’t we be better off in the long run if we simply provide a free four-year college education for all young volunteers who successfully complete a year of valuable unpaid public service at age 18, when they become adults? Students who want to participate in the public service program could voluntarily register with the Education Service at age 16 to begin planning their public service to ensure it provides the maximum value to our society and to the student.
The benefit of public service could be greatly enhanced if college graduates volunteer to contribute a second full year of valuable unpaid public service before entering the full-time work force. Having shared the benefit of their education and specialized knowledge, shouldn’t they be entitled to receive free public education through a master’s degree?
A valuable National Youth Service Educational Program would be a great leveler, providing disadvantaged young people with the opportunity to receive the education they need to compete in the job market and to improve the standard of living for themselves and their families.
College is not the answer for all students. Some may choose to earn an immediate salary instead of volunteering for a year; however, given the complexities of the modern world we live in (and the large number of unemployed young people), shouldn’t we also agree, as a matter of priority, that the standard free public education should be expanded nationally to include a two-year academic or vocational college degree for all students?
The public service rendered by young people who volunteer for the military should receive equal recognition for its value to society. They too should earn the opportunity to obtain a college degree in return for their dedication and sacrifice.
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