If you're paid, then it's not really volunteering...

I saw this blog post on a website I frequent:

A central pillar of the economic stimulus being debated in Congress is a plan to pay unemployed workers more -- about $325 instead of $300 a week -- and extend through 2009 the unemployment benefits that would otherwise expire in March.
Here's a better idea. Pay them to volunteer.
Millions of people are out of work and unable to find new jobs, so make volunteerism synonymous with unemployment. A volunteer-for-benefits program for unemployed workers would:
inject money into the economy;
invest directly in local communities;
support nonprofit organizations;
increase community service; and,
cost taxpayers little beyond what Congress has already committed to spend.

I like the idea, long term, for Mexico. Here is why:
The US would like to decrease illegal immigration and drug trafficking from Mexico
The US would like Mexico to be a safer, cleaner place to visit
The US would NOT like to send Mexico a lot of free money.
So, the US, Canada, and other wealthy nations should pay unemployed mexicans to do community service - cleaning streets, rounding up stray dogs, distributing food and school supplies and clothing to poor people, building light rail lines, etc.
This will keep uneducated desperate poor people from becoming drug dealers or illegally immigrating to the US. And soon, the additional jobs will help to stabilize the economy.
Now, many US "mission groups" like to come to Mexico to clean streets and hand out food and play with ninos etc. This is problematic, bc Americans are paying a lot of money to come down and do jobs that Mexicans might like to have. And their impact is sporatic, at best.