There has been reflection recently on the achievements of the people who fought in World War II, dubbed by Tom Brokaw as “The Greatest Generation.”

College educations were rare in the pre-war era. The GI Bill allowed those who developed a sense of purpose during the war to become educated and contribute more to society. 

World War II veterans often go out of their way to credit the GI Bill for allowing them to go to college. I've have seen many do it unprompted and it is obvious they have tremendous gratitude that the GI bill was available. 

I went to college in the late 1970's and needed grants, scholarships and loans to make it through school. Most of my classmates did the same. I don't recall anyone praising Pell grants or student loans after they graduated or making much of an issue of it.

 
I think the difference is those who went to college on the GI bill felt like they earned it. The GI bill was a reward for serving our country, but also leaders recognized that America needed an educated work force. 

I was on the television show Comment on Kentucky a few weeks ago and the host Al Smith asked me about the economic impact of budget cuts in education. I answered that it depends on whether you viewed education as an investment or a cost. 

Businesses can make immediate profits by slashing research and development. Those businesses can show short term gains by sacrificing the future. Governments can do the same thing. 

It is easy for governments to slash education budgets and not feel an immediate effect. An educated society is something that is hard to quantify and the payoff is usually years in the future. 

A program that replicates the spirit of the GI Bill is the Americorps program. Young people serve a year or two in jobs that help their communities. They receive nominal pay and a bonus at the end to be used for college tuition. 

Both my daughter and son-in-law spent two years in Americorps and it changed their lives. They got to do meaningful work that helped other people and themselves. They came back to college with a sense of purpose and knowing they had enough money to get through school. They have both been active in their communities and living examples of the of the Americorps ideal. 

There have been some attempts to cut funding for Americorps in recent years and I think the inverse ought to be true. The country should be increasing the Americorps budget and doing its best to let young people know about the program. 

Programs like Americorps are one of the best investments that a government can have. It is a chance to educate and energize young people and they can do valuable work that helps their communities. It gives the participants money for college and service experience that will make them more focused when they return as students. 

I am not sure if Americorps has statistics on how its participants achieve as compared to other college students but I suspect it is at a much higher rate. 

Our country is mourning the loss of President Ronald Reagan this week. I have friends who have never understood why I voted for him in 1984 and thought he was a great president. I did not agree with many of his policies but appreciated his optimistic view of America 's promise and future. 

President Reagan did not serve in the active military but was a part of that group of people who came of age in the World War II era. He was a leader who believed that the "greatest generation" was not his, but a generation still to be born. 

Programs like Americorps allow young people to serve their country. Granting them the opportunity to receive an education and use that education to lift up society is a way we can assure that the greatest generation is one still to come. 

Don McNay is President of McNay Settlement Group and a long time member of the advisory council for Eastern Kentucky University 's Americorp program. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text19175 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and you can read other columns he has written at www.donmcnay.com