Of wasteful spending and stimuli

On facebook, one of the many people that signed up to be "friends" with me because el esposo refuses to succumb to facebook . . .
(both of which are fine, by the way -- 1) there's a very good reason to stay away from facebook: the like i need more ways to waste time online argument, AND 2) people I don't really know might want to someday see pictures of our future progeny to satisfy their curiousity and whatever that's probably ok as long as el esposo knows that you are not a psycho). . .
anyway, this guy, posted this article about what's wrong with the stimulus bill currently under debate.

I don't doubt that there may be some things wrong with the stimulus bill, but I do think that we should take time to get past the semantics that make something seem bad (let's face it; anything can be made to seem bad or good) and understand the programs we are talking about before getting all smug and sneery about the horrible wasteful spending or anything for that matter. It's called critical reading, my friends. I'm sure YOU all understand that anyway, but I don't think everyone does. And politicians often count on the fact that we aren't critical readers and prefer sound-bytes for rallying around. Have I ever fallen for this? Almost definitely.

For example, on their list of offenders is this beauty: $160 million for "paid volunteers" at the Corporation for National and Community Service.

I cringe to hear the term "paid volunteers." Isn't that an oxymoron? How can this be? And look how they put it in quotes! The ultimate shame.

But wait, I've actually been a "paid volunteer" before, haven't I? In a program that fell under the Corporation for National and Community Service, and Americorps, called the Student Conservation Association (which gets a lot of their donations from individuals and some of their donations through Americorps). I made a cool $42 per "paycheck" (every two weeks) so that I could buy dirt cheap groceries for myself. I also received an education award at the end of my three-month stint for $1000.

In return I was a park ranger and led student groups on tours and educational activities, sometimes taking kids that had lived their whole lives inside the city on a hike in the mountains, and teaching all ages about the world around them. The experience really changed my life and I like to think I helped change the lives of some of the children, who got to learn in a different environment for once, and maybe become interested in biology in a way they never had before. Most of the SCA volunteers I have known, though, are workhorses, while I in comparison was a bit of a wuss. They are doing hard labor maintaining and updating trails all over the country. And of course Americorps sponsors all kinds of volunteerism, from conservation activities to community development to youth programs. Last I checked, a year-long volunteer in Americorps programs got a teeny-tiny stipend like mine and an education award of around $5000. These kind of programs serve mainly college-age young adults, but it varies, and they provide the opportunity to do something good for someone else on a full-time basis and not have to get an extra job on the side to afford it.

So that's a "paid volunteer." Just in case you were wondering.

The rub is that I'm pretty lazy about this stuff. Am I "MJ the soon-to-be-business-owner Writer" taxpayer generica going to examine the whole stinkin' stimulus bill? Nah. I just hope they don't screw up too bad and that they include some smart energy technology stuff. And okay the $7500 tax credit for homebuyers would really sweeten our deal. But truth be told, I'm not so sure that's a good idea to not make us pay that back. I mean we are going to need to create some revenue at some point, right? Or is that the job of my unborn progeny?

The only real point I have is that not everything is as it seems.