Progressive Wednesday

The Nitty-Gritty from the Twin Cities: More than Mowing

April 10th, 2007 by Jon Slock

I am not a rich man. I have an okay job with an okay income. I live in an okay house in an okay part of an okay city. I do not pay people to help with everyday home upkeep. I vacuum my carpets, do my laundry, shovel my show, and mow my lawn.

However, if some kid came by and said “I’ll mow your lawn for $5, Mister Tall Guy,” I’d pull out a sweet Lincoln for little Jimmy and down an ice-cold Rolling Rock while he sweats away. That $5 would be an absurd bargain for me.

Ladies and gentleman, I present to you AmeriCorps. A program where, each year, thousands of young men and women dedicate a year of their lives to service – doing all sorts of difficult and often-thankless tasks. What do they get for that year? A stipend of not even $10,000, health insurance, and an educational scholarship of $4725 (barely a semester of school at most public colleges nowadays).

Think about that. Even if you count the scholarship as money in hand, that’s $7.50 per hour over the course of a year. And those AmeriCorps members aren’t schlepping coffee or wiping down tables at Chipotle. They’re building houses, tutoring children, feeding the poor, cleaning up polluted sites, and so on and so forth.

Some conservatives will mutter, “You shouldn’t have to pay volunteers.” Well, the military is all-volunteer, isn’t it? No one would ever dare suggest not paying the military. There are many ways to serve America selflessly, and our government should encourage that in whatever way possible.

I can appreciate the libertarian view of limiting government as much as possible. However, the practical, real-world, value-oriented part of me sees AmeriCorps as one of the most absurdly great bargains out there for my tax dollars. Now, if I can only find a kid to mow my lawn for $5.