Invest in National Service

Between 1965 and 1975, more than two-thirds of the members of Congress had served their country in uniform. The important legislative achievements of those years were shaped by leaders who shared a bond with society more important than their connection to politics or party. Today, fewer than 20% of our legislators have had that kind of experience.

The military doesn’t have a monopoly on service. Since the founding of the Peace Corps in 1961, a quarter of a million of its volunteers have served in 142 countries.

The benefits—fiscal and social—of national service programs far outweigh their cost. Programs like Teach for America, YouthBuild, and the National Guard Youth Challenge give young adults an opportunity to serve their fellow Americans alongside their peers. The latter two especially focus on offering vocational opportunities for non-college-bound youth, an area in which we lag far behind other developed countries. We should invest in and expand these offerings and explore a mandatory service obligation.

Public service generates the empathy so deeply needed in our hyperpartisan climate. And there is demand—the Peace Corps receives three times as many applications as it has spots.

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Annual Cost vs. Benefit to Taxpayers From National Youth Service Programs

Sources: Clive Belfield Center for Benefit-Cost Studies in Education, Teachers College, Columbia University.