This time she's claiming that the Serve America Act that recently passed Congress will cost billions of dollars (such a lovely vague number), create 250,000 government employees and ultimately result in re-education camps for young people.
Yes, that's right. Re-education camps for America's youth. This woman is insane. Clearly. Go check out the audio link at Think Progress.
If you look at the legislation, you'll see that it calls for an increase in AmeriCorps volunteers from 75,000 to 250,000. It does not require mandatory participation and mentions absolutely nothing about re-education camps. Just where this idiot came up with that idea I have not a single clue.
AmeriCorps has been portrayed by the Right in recent years as some evil, corrupt organization that is bent on the destruction of American youth. Nothing could be further from the truth. AmeriCorps works with non-profit groups like the Red Cross, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Habitat for Humanity. AmeriCorps members are required to serve for a 10-12 month period at the end of which they receive an AmeriCorps Education Award of up to $4,725 to pay for college. AmeriCorps members tutor and mentor youth, build housing, clean parks and streams and organize community volunteers.
In essence, they do for America what the Peace Corps does overseas. But somehow this idealistic goal of helping people to improve themselves with a college education by getting them to help others first is seen as indoctrination. Yes, there will be an increase in AmeriCorp's budget to fulfill this Act and increase their enrollment to 250,000. If every single person gets the full award (not all of them do), that will cost $1.18 billion dollars. For $1.18 billion a year, we get homes built, children taught to read and given a mentor, a cleaner environment and 250,000 people one step closer to a college degree. Sounds like a bargin to me.
But Ms. Bachmann would like you to think that this is all part of some nefarious scheme to create a nation full of zombies spouting "politically correct" (read leftist) propaganda.
Minnesota, you should be ashamed. Very ashamed.
4 comments:
That woman is an evangelical dittohead. I am embarrassed to say that she is a lawyer. How she ever got through law school, i will never understand.
Michelle Bachmann deserves an annual How Dumb Are You award.
Not to mention that these young people get real world work experience. As an employment/training worker, I see hundreds of aimless young people working at not much more than their next welfare check every week, why not encourage our youth to give a little in order to receive a little. Seriously, $4,725 (if one obtains the full award) isn't going to pay for much college, it's a token award for their good service.
I don't know what planet Bachmann came from but perhaps it's time she left ours...
After she said that all members of Congress needed to be investigated to determine if they were for America, I thought there was no way she would be re-elected, but she was. I still don't get it.
Seriously? She said this? It's freaking AmeriCorps. You don't get much more benign.
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