On May 18, 11:06*am, "F.O.A.D." wrote:
On 5/18/13 10:35 AM, iBoaterer wrote:









In article ,
says...

On 5/17/13 1:08 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 17 May 2013 12:45:13 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

I favor two years of universal service. That could be fulfilled in the
military or in other ways deemed important by society.

I agree 100%. In fact it could really just be a year in some programs
but it should be based on a military model of discipline and
responsibility.

If for no other reason, I liked the military because it made me a
better student. I went from being the "do enough to get by" guy I was
in high school to a guy who wanted to be at the top of my class at
everything I did. The military schools make that a thing worth doing,
Maybe this could also encompass an apprenticeship program if the
thrust of your "service" was in patching up our crumbling
infrastructure. (a worthwhile objective)
The problem is, you could never get this by the unions.

It takes more than a year in an apprenticeship program to learn the sort
of skills necessary to do most heavy and highway, aka, infrastructure,
work. Most of the skilled unions offer three to five year
apprenticeships, half classroom and half work on the job under
supervision. Absolute newcomers usually go through a 12-week job corps
center with union instructors so the students can learn proper job
skills, safety procedures and discipline.

Horse****!

Sorry, but that is exactly how the apprenticeship program works in most
of the skilled building trades.

That is, unless you're like my neighbors son who bought his Carpenters
Union card.

He greased the right palm with 'x' amount of bucks and went to work
the next week earning $28, an hr. plus overtime and $90. perdiem