The high level of unemployment among young people calls out for government to become the employer of last resort. One way to achieve this goal is to offer young people the opportunity to participate in a new version of the draft. Many of the people who served with me in the Marines were looking for a chance to get out of the neighborhood or off the farm -- and into a job. It just happened that the only jobs open to them were at the recruiting centers.
Under the old draft, eighteen-year-olds registered for the draft and were called to active duty in the military as needed. As a foot soldier in Vietnam, my platoon-mates and I often wondered what jobs we would be qualified for when we left the military. It was true that there wasn't much demand for infantry soldiers. Yet, on returning from the war, many infantrymen were assigned to military police units on Marine Corps bases. There we learned enough about police work so that we were recruited by nearby police departments.
In a new draft, young people should have a choice among different forms of public service in addition to the military. One option would be a construction corps dedicated to repairing out aging infrastructure of roads, bridges, tunnels, and flood controls. Another might be a conservation corps working in federal and state parks. Still others might include a public health corps, assisting in expanding health services in underserved areas; a national education corps of assistants to teachers; and perhaps expanded auxiliaries to police and fire departments.
Members of each corps would work alongside experienced professionals to learn valuable skills. Like members of the military, these service-members would receive training, classroom instruction, room and board, uniforms, compensation and health benefits, and credits toward higher education. I believe many young people would be motivated to finish high school in order to gain admission to a public service corps.
In the meantime, let's put our young people to work!
