If you haven’t heard about White House Chief of Staff’ Rahm Emanuel’s proposed Mandatory Civil Service Plan, watch the video below. Some of the comments  irritating. Especially when Emanuel says, “citizenship is not an entitlement program”. Wait, what? Someone should remind Mr. Emanuel that we’re plenty of taxes and his salary. American citizens already do plenty by funding bank bailouts and many other asinine government programs.

The last thing we need is more inefficient, government-managed “mandatory service programs” to drive taxes even higher. A program like this wouldn’t create a big pool of “free labor”, as Emanuel imagines. It will jam a cog in the workings of the free market. Nothing the government does is efficient. Anyway, on to the vid:

Even if you agree with the goals of this program, what happens when another George W. comes into power? The agenda could shift drmatically. Civil service might mean getting sent out to patrol the border, serve at a Church, or even fight overseas. A country with pre-approved access to a large pool of young recruits seems more likely to go to war. This may be a bit extreme, but we should never underestimate the destructive capability of legislation, no matter how well-intentioned it is.

I know I’ve been extremely critical of Obama lately. But what can I say?  He deserves it for surrounding himself with guys like Emanuel, Summers, and Geithner. I voted for and donated to Obama. And I feel ripped off. I will welcome him back with open arms if, and when he starts rethinking his appointments. But when his chief of staff says, “citizenship is not an entitlement program”, I flip out a little bit.