Opinion: The anti-national service candidate
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Being 26 years old, I’ve taken some interest in presidential candidates who would make it Washington’s policy to lure me (and others my age) into quitting my middle-class job to do a few years of government work for low or no pay. Democrats Chris Dodd and John Edwards would do just that and more, forcing every high school student to meet community service requirements to graduate. Indeed, the ever-popular political plank of youth labor has survived this campaign season disturbingly free of the scornful criticism it deserves.
Until now -- and the candidate doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell. Libertarian candidate George Phillies yesterday not only came out against mandatory national service, but also condemned the presidential hopefuls who have the audacity to call for government-mandated youth labor:
Wanting to reinstate the draft is bad enough. Now Democrat John Edwards has made mandatory service for all young people part of his campaign. ‘One of the things we ought to be thinking about is some level of mandatory service to our country,’ said Edwards in a recent interview, ‘so that everybody in America not just the poor kids who get sent to war are serving this country.’ ‘Who does he think he’s kidding?’ said George Phillies, front-running candidate for the Libertarian Presidential nomination. ‘Mandatory service is a euphemism for conscript labor. If America wants more teachers or nurse’s aides or people cleaning local parks, it should try paying them an honest wage. That’s not a minimum wage so small that no one can live one it, either.’
OK, so Phillies’ campaign could use a proof reader (‘That’s not a minimum wage so small that no one can live one it, either’), but at least someone gunning for the White House sees the light on this issue. For the record, Republican Ron Paul has penned essays in the past condemning military conscription and mandatory national service.