Prometheus 6

In response to such points made in public comments, the administration shrank even further from an ethic of reciprocity. Caring for the vulnerable, it explained, "does not provide a direct benefit to the community."

That REALLY explains a lot.

A War on Community Service
By Noah Zatz
Saturday, April 12, 2008; A15

One of the latest victims of the Bush administration's continuing assault on ordinary language is the term "community service." You might have thought that community service was about serving others, but apparently what it's really about is serving oneself.

That's the message from the Department of Health and Human Services, delivered in new regulations governing work requirements in a program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF. TANF provides cash and services to families that are temporarily unable to make ends meet.

The work requirements of the program were sold to the public as a "social contract" when President Bill Clinton and a Republican Congress created TANF. The community supports people in their hour of need and people receiving assistance give back to the community. That's why Congress wrote "community service" into the law as one way to satisfy work requirements.

But that high-minded talk about "reciprocity" has gone out the window. According to the new regulations, community service is just another job-training program.