Hillaryâ€™s Academy: What’s the point?

July 30, 2007

In a weekend speech to College Democrats, Senator Hillary Clinton discussed her proposal for a West Point for bureaucrats. Not only is it a silly idea on its face, but the fine print contains additional embarrassment.

I’m going to be asking a new generation to serve,” she said. “I think just like our military academies, we need to give a totally all-paid education to young men and women who will serve their country in a public-service position.”

She has introduced legislation (S. 960) to establish a United States Public Service Academy. According to the bill text, such a school is necessary because baby-boom retirements will create a shortage of trained public servants.

That point is debatable. But for the sake of argument, stipulate that the country needs more young people to study government and related fields. Senator Clinton is forgetting institutions that already offer the relevant coursework. We call them “colleges” and “universities.”

I work at such a place. Not only do I teach courses on public policy but I also help my students get internships and full-time jobs in government. And at hundreds of schools all over the country, colleagues are doing the same thing.

Senator Clinton does make one serious point. Some students forgo government work because student loan obligations prompt them to seek higher-paying jobs. But if there is a personnel problem, a better solution would consist of scholarships or other financial incentives.

Launching a new institution of higher education means huge capital expenditures, especially if it is to have a first-rate science program. And when Congress starts any new government entity, it runs the risk of creating a bureaucratic nightmare. Just think of the Department of Homeland Security.

And by the way, guess where Senator Clinton would put the new academy on the government organization chart? Yes — in the Department of Homeland Security. That’s like offering a shipbuilding course on the deck of the Titanic.

Why begin a big, risky new venture when better, cheaper alternatives are at hand? One cynical explanation is that Senator Clinton’s union patrons would not like scholarships because they sound too much like vouchers. Moreover, a new institution provides opportunities for pork and patronage.

But let’s assume idealistic motivations. Perhaps Senator Clinton really hopes that her school will truly be the equivalent of the military service academies. Just like professional military officers, graduates of the academy would thus have a profound sense of mission and vocation.

If so, she is taking the model to preposterous lengths. The military academies forbid admission to people who are married or who have dependents. Following this template, section 7 of her bill does the same.

Think about it: Senator Clinton is proposing to discriminate against people with spouses or children. The service academies can reasonably point to the need for military discipline, but what is the rationale for applying the limitation to a civilian school? How could a champion of children and families suggest such a thing?

When I worked on Capitol Hill, I learned two lessons about legislation. First, staffers do most of the drafting, often with a tin ear for political implications. Second, lawmakers seldom read the bills, even their own. If that’s what happened here, Senator Clinton would be acting in character. She did not read the National Intelligence Estimate before voting for the Iraq war. Perhaps she’s taking to heart a line from the Simpsons movie: that voters want a leader, not a reader.

Source: National Review

Posted by Hillary · Filed Under 2008, Editorials/Opinion, Hillary Clinton, News

Comments

2 Responses to “Hillaryâ€™s Academy: What’s the point?”

University Update - Hillary Clinton - Hillaryâ€™s Academy: Whatâ€™s the point? on July 30th, 2007 8:57 am

[…] Clark Contact the Webmaster Link to Article hillary clinton Hillaryâ€™s Academy: Whatâ€™s the point? » Posted at Against […]
Asch on July 30th, 2007 3:51 pm

Hello,

As one of the co-founders of the Public Service Academy, I appreciate the publicity that you have brought to idea, but I must disagree with your assessment of it. I understand that you may not trust Sen. Clinton, but I urge you to keep an open mind about it until you can learn more.

There is a movement to build the Academy that extends far beyond Sen. Clinton or her campaign. Sen. Clinton has co-sponsored the Senate legislation (and unlike most politicians she actually does her own reading), but we have bipartisan support — folks like Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Rep. Tom Davis, as well as many military leaders (including the last three superintendents of West Point) are also behind the bill. We have worked with military academy leaders and higher education experts to craft a Draft Blueprint that outlines what the proposed Academy would look like (you can download it from our website). Why do we “discriminate” against students with families? Because, like the military academies, the Public Service Academy would be an intensive, year-round program that would demand a 100% time commitment from the students — something that parents logically are unable to commit.

This is not a Democratic idea, nor is it a Republican idea. It is an American idea. It promises to revitalize our public sector by developing stronger leadership. This idea appeals to conservatives (in spite of Sen. Clinton) for a number of reasons:

1) The Academy will make government better, not bigger.

2) The Academy will focus on character, leadership development, and patriotic service.

3) The Academy will challenge American higher education to do more to encourage a sense of duty and civic obligation.

Ironically, our strongest opposition to date generally has come from liberals in higher education who think they already do a fine job of preparing our public leaders. Perhaps you agree with them; after all, you do indeed work in a college. But we think America deserves better.

I encourage you and your readers to find out more about the movement to build the Public Service Academy by visiting:
http://www.uspublicserviceacademy.org.

Thanks,
Chris Myers Asch

Got something to say?

Against Hillary Clinton Where the facts are - Hillary Clinton News

Hillaryâ€™s Academy: What’s the point?

Comments

Angry Clinton Supporter Declares McCain Will Be Next President

Advertisement

Never Forget

Latest Headlines

Categories

Archives

Related Sites

Referrers

Admin