Countries like Brazil, Austria and Nigeria require every citizen to enter non-military “public service” programs.

The idea is to provide relatively low-cost support for vexing social problems like homelessness… and also build pride in the country and respect for other cultures.

Could mandatory service be an answer to find needed human resources to help with everything from homeless programs to cleaning up rivers? The idea could be yet another third political party innovation that separates it from the no-new-ideas UniParty of the GOP and Dems.

The U.S. has a long history of building civic pride in similar programs. Most military vets reflect with pride what their service meant to them. Many roads, public buildings, national parks and hospitals we still enjoy today were created through the WPA and CCC programs focused on helping the unemployed coming out of the Great Depression. The volunteer Peace Corp and AmeriCorp programs provide huge benefits at fraction of the cost.So why not make a one-year public service mandatory to create low-cost solutions to solve some of our most pressing issues like chronic homelessness?

Check out the latest Coalition Purple episode. John and Bill tackle the idea!

Use existing space to relieve unaffordable housing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOElvicXMfECountries with mandatory public service:

https://news.sky.com/story/which-countries-have-national-service-and-how-does-it-work-elsewhere-13143261https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/10/31/us-democracy-mandatory-public-service-program-political-divides/

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