The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, January 23, 1997            TAG: 9701230003
SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A12  EDITION: FINAL 
                                            LENGTH:   29 lines

23 MINUTES OF WORK ISN'T UNREASONABLE

When will recipients of public assistance realize that this assistance is not a right but a gift financed by taxpayers? I am incensed by the ingratitude expressed by Norfolk public-housing residents (news, Jan. 15) to a ``volunteerism'' proposal requiring that able-bodied, unemployed residents perform 20 hours per year (about 23 minutes per week) of community service.

The responses of the Diggs Town residents were unbelievable: ``It's like we're in jail''; ``Why should I have to go out and do something because they tell me to? It's against my constitutional rights.'' Perhaps their attitude would change if public-housing assistance was eliminated.

My child is required to perform weekly chores (certainly more than 23 minutes per week) as a condition of receiving an allowance. A response from her that the chores were ``against her constitutional rights'' would immediately halt future allowances.

Do we taxpayers foster irresponsibility and ingratitude by constantly providing public-assistance recipients with something for nothing? Shame on the housing authority for saying that there is ``no penalty for noncompliance.'' Twenty-four minutes a week of community service for an able-bodied, unemployed person is certainly not an unreasonable request. It takes most of us taxpayers that long just to drive to work each day!

BARBARA RYAN

Virginia Beach, Jan. 16, 1997


by CNB