Bruce Reed on National Service

Today, Bruce Reed wrote a post on national service for "Ideas Primary", the blog of the Democratic Leadership Council. Mr. Reed suggests that service should be a lifelong activity, that is not just the purview of young people. He argues that one way to ensure lifelong participation in service is through legislation in the form of "service leave".

Apart from the notion of service leave, Mr. Reed's post is interesting because it shows that the "New Democrats" are still interested in national service legislation. Between Rep. Rahm Emmanuel, Bruce Reed, and the PPI's Will Marshall, I expect plans for national service to certainly surface in the next election cycle.

I am a master’s student at the LBJ School of Public Affairs in Austin, TX. As part of our study at LBJ, we, as students are meant to engage in the “real world” of policy professionalism from Day One. A substantial part of public affairs is policy research. That is, the examination of an issue in terms of its policy implications.

This blog provides a forum for myself and others to consider a particular issue: compulsory community service. This includes everything from exploring definitions of “service” to reviewing competing political claims to exploring the implications of substantive historical legislation. Thus, specific entries may take various forms, but ultimately I hope to create a clearinghouse of information that will foster discussion and debate… and eventually, maybe policy.