When I've been unemployed, I've discovered that the most time-consuming and difficult job is trying to get a job. You have to wait by the phone, do interviews with headhunters (why do they need to do this?) and every day, respond to every email, every new opening you see on the web. Having to go to a homeless shelter to dish-out dinner would put me in an awkward place to accept that most-important phone call.

Also, I think the word 'volunteer' implys that you're working for free, because you want to. Clinton sort-of changed this with his Americacorps, but I still think volunteer = free. Organizations that need more people should pay more people. People that work for free are never appreciated. Also, people working for free have no incentive to do a good job, so they often don't.

Social security checks have already been "earned" by the recipients over years of contributing to the system. Requiring them to "volunteer" would more or less amount to slavery.

Hyenuf, technically, the same can be said for unemployment. Actually, both are just Ponzi schemes.

Remember the Depression? This idea is similar to the Works Administration - except with the addition of private businesses being able to sign up for help, too. WhyNot? That said, public works admin is always a good idea - we could rebuild after disasters - no reason why Katrina's devastation should still be so much in evidence in a country like this - especially with so many people out of work. It's time to think like this again.

That said, I have to comment on the comments: 1) hrench: if volunteers did a poor job because they're not paid, organizations like Habitat for Humanity would not work nearly as well as they do. That's mythological thinking. 2) Hyenuf - yes, we earned it - but it does help to keep the skills polished when seeking work again - and you can still add to your resume plus you might find other avenues of using your skills that you had not considered by trying out some other kinds of work. When I was laid off in 1993, I was able to get into a program to go back to school & unemployment funds helped pay for the 3 quarters I had left to finish my degree.(I first went to college during the last major recession in 1981 and Reagan cut all the programs I had counted on to help me get a degree while the economy was tanking in 1982 - I had to work and wound up having to drop out.) Consequently to the education program in 1993, I wound up in a whole different line of work than I had originally considered. The same thing might have happened with a different type of opportunity - such as working for this kind of program. You might find new skills.

One other thing: I am a wheelchair user (childhood disease) who has worked continuously since I was 16, and I am not considered disabled by SSA because my work history is "too good," and I have "too much education." I'm getting older and having a harder time being able to work, but will have to struggle to be able to qualify for SSDI benefits - which I have more than earned over my 30-year work history. It's not that easy to qualify for SSDI or for unemployment and their isn't as much cheating as people seem to think, including the people who work in these government offices. People really do not choose to be struggling to make ends meet or to try to find jobs or to try to find gainful employment as disabled workers. We need to think about how Americans view their fellow humans. We've gotten to the point where it's all about what "me, me, mine" and we're not considering the fact that we all sink or float together. We do not have to be such a nation of self-centered self-important brats who always conclude without thinking that everybody is trying to get something they don't deserve.

"Welfare" - local or state cash assistance - requires that in order to recieve your money you must be submitting a certain number of relevant applications and doing interviews per week.

Social Security is for disability which should be self explanatory as to why that should not require one to put in current work. And as mentioned above - it is a system into which citizens pay with each and every paycheck so it has already been earned. In the case of SSI which is for people who are disabled but have not even been able to be in the workforce yet, usually due to age, the reasons for exemption should also be self evident.

The most disheartening aspect of Social Security and it's financial situation is that huge amounts of money paid into the Social Security system over the years have been used by the federal govt for other projects and expenses. The SURPLUS that the Social Security system has had since it's inception in the 1930s would have been more than enough to sustain the system into the indefinite future but has been spent on a variety of other projects. Restore the "borrowed" money from the Social Security coffers over the years and the system returns to solvency.

Herve Leger Dresses, evening, cocktail, prom dresses, formal gowns from dresses. ... line of short prom dresses which debuted at this year's New York fashion runwayHerve Leger Dresses Herve dresses Fashion GownsCheap Evening DressesParty, Evening and Celebrity dresses – endless selection of styles, colours and the latest celebrity trends – in the Goddiva boutique at fantastic prices