When Barack Obama was running for president he urged young people to consider community service when making post graduation plans. An article in USA Today shows that many college graduates (myself included) have taken him up on that advice.

With a combination of a poor job market and a desire to do something good for the country, college graduates are turning to programs such as AmeriCorps, Peace Corps and Teach for America rather than scoping out the job listings in Craig's List.

According to the USA Today article, online applications are coming in three times faster than a year ago at AmeriCorps and Peace Corps applications have gone up by 16%. And why not? The stimulus package includes $200 million to support these government-funded service programs in hopes of expanding the scope that these programs offer to Americans in need.

I was recently accepted into City Year, which is an AmeriCorps program that focuses on tutoring and mentoring children in schools. Myself and 40 other young people from all across the country will relocate to San Jose, California without knowing anybody or having a place to live (we really need to work on that one...) to take a year and make a difference as the City Year motto says.

But it's not just young people getting into the spirit of service. There is legislation in the works that may offer incentives to Americans for rolling up their sleeves and helping out others.The Kennedy-Hatch Serve America Act hopes to increase the amount of community service performed by both youth and adults by offering benefits such as tax incentives for employers who allow workers to take time off to partake in community service and to help fund volunteer drives for non-profits.

"As our nation confronts the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression, an enhanced commitment to local and community service is needed now more than ever," White House budget director Peter Orszag wrote to Kennedy on March 6, encouraging the committee he heads to approve the legislation.

While the bill is definitely for a good cause (and as a future AmeriCorps member, of course I think these programs deserve more funding) do we really have the money to throw at these programs? It seems every time we turn around another sector (including the porn industry) is asking for millions of dollars. So what I'm asking you is, where will it end?