My Short-Term Goal in Winter Break

          During the winter break, I am going to complete the “Citizenship in the Nation” Merit Badge, which is required to become an Eagle Scout. It is a challenging merit badge for my age, but I am determined to get it. I will be completing most of the requirements at Camp Trask on December 27th as planned with other boy scouts. But there is one prerequisite that I have to do in advance. I have to write a letter to one elected officials in my district to share my views on a national issue.

I have many topics to choose from, such as gun control, immigration,  the use of plastic bags,. . . But after discussion with my parents and some research, I decided to pick the topic of unemployment because my  suggestion might be useful to the government. And Judy Chu popped out of the list of elected officials,  a congresswoman of District 27, which Claremont is in. She is making a huge effort to help jobless people. I am going to write the letter to her.

In this letter, I will try to persuade her to encourage those claimants to do some voluntary work in exchange for their unemployment money. I think it might be a good way for them to show their willingness to find new jobs. They can use their expertise to help the community. For example, library skills, computing solutions for local business, city hall, cleaning up parks, helping at school activities, and maybe even help on slurry projects. But they will only fill in spots where there are vacancies, so the regular workers won’t lose their as well and create more problems. We could also keep a database of every unemployed person who volunteers. Then employers can go to their local city hall and ask for the list when they need to hire a new staff. Of course, we should make sure that they are limited to 10-20 hours of volunteering per week if they want their unemployment benefits. That way they still have time to go to interviews for new jobs.

 As I suggest, this proposal will give them the opportunities to show themselves and let employers have incentives to hire someone who is a hard worker or who fits in a role. They might get jobs even faster this way. Besides that, voluntary works will lift up their spirits and keep them in touch with the outside world, by helping them stay physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. It shows responsibility and care for the community and the willingness to look for new jobs (this is one of the requirements for claimants for unemployment money issued by the government). And the local communities also benefit from their services and crimes will be reduced as there are fewer desperate people in the town. The government will be relieved from the budget shortage and at the same time still keep the best services for the residents. I will try to let Judy Chu understand that this idea may be not mature enough, but it can be a win-win deal.

This is my first time to write a letter to a politician to discuss  such a serious topic, which makes me both nervous and excited. I am not sure if  I will be lucky enough to hear back from Judy Chu. But definitely I will send the letter as early as possible, and most of all, I hope I get the “Citizenship in the Nation” Merit Badge!