Instead of using the bully pulpit to rally support for a culture of service and volunteerism, President Obama is using the stick of government to bring about this "change." His budget includes $1.13 billion for AmeriCorps, a government-run "volunteer" program that was born during the Clinton years. The GIVE Act (Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education) carries out the President's wish to expand the "volunteer" force from 75,000 to 250,000. President Obama's new tax regulations, however, will have the opposite effect of "invigorating volunteerism."

Many of the causes that AmeriCorps "volunteers" engage in are noble and worthwhile; others are divisive. "Volunteers" are placed in different organizations around the country and paid a stipend, housing allowance, and provided with health care and an education credit of $4,725 (which will be increased under the GIVE Act). Some of the organizations that benefit from these "volunteers" include Planned Parenthood, OK for Equality (which seeks special rights for lesbian, "gay," bisexual, and transgender individuals (LGBT)), LGBT resource centers and climate change initiatives. "Volunteers" at these organizations should not be subsidized by taxpayers.

This initiative represents a shift in thinking about charity, service and sacrifice. These "volunteer" positions are more like paid internships which are subsidized by taxpayers and used to carry out a left-leaning agenda in the community. One of the new programs under the GIVE Act is the Clean Energy Corps. While it is perfectly acceptable for private grassroots organizations to gin up support for environmental causes, it is inappropriate (and a little scary) for the government to pay a force of "volunteers" to do their business. This sounds eerily similar to the National Civilian Corps candidate Obama called for last summer.

The President's budget proposal, "A New Era of Responsibility," increases funding for government-run volunteer programs while attacking private ones. At the same time (and in the very same document) President Obama is calling for an increase in volunteerism, service, and charity for those less fortunate, he is stripping the wealthy of tax deductions for their charitable contributions.¹

According to the Center for Philanthropy at Indiana University, households making over $200,000 contributed $142.75 billion to charities in 2005.² This accounted for 56.5 percent of charitable contributions in the United States. Households making over $200,000, however, account for only 3.1 percent of the population.³ This means that just over three percent of American households gave over half of all non-corporate charitable donations in 2005. This generous three percent is going to be discouraged from making contributions, thereby disabling many charitable non-profit organizations and services.

There are thousands of wonderful service-oriented organizations and millions of Americans willing to work with or volunteer for the beautiful work they are doing. The President would be more effective in encouraging participation rather than taking $1.13 billion from taxpayers for a government-run "volunteer" organization. He would do better to use his bully pulpit to speak positively about volunteerism and then show it in his actions by not penalizing the charitable wealthy.