Regarding our government's response to the unemployment crisis, I have a fundamental question about the billions we're giving out.
I'm a former history teacher who's wondering why we're giving out more and more benefits to unemployed people without asking them to give anything back to society. Our current crisis gets compared to the Great Depression a lot, and President Obama certainly gets compared to FDR, yet FDR signed many bills creating temporary work and training programs - some derided as "make work" and others (like the Civilian Conservation Corps) which I believe were genuinely useful.
I don't suggest we create a massive new government program or compete with people who already employed, but couldn't we ask unemployed people to give some of their time to local schools, charities and other nonpartisan nonprofit groups which are surely struggling along with everyone else in this downturn? Wouldn't that give people a needed financial lift and also a sense of greater purpose and connection to community institutions which desperately need help now more than ever?
