[HPFGU-OTChatter] Off Topic (Important Legislation)

[Heidi Tandy]

On Sun, 12 Sep 2004 1:44pm, Marita Jan wrote:
> I'll go with what may be an unpopular opinion, but I don't think 
> mandatory
military service is a bad idea.  I'd like to see men and women have to
serve 2 years at the age of 18, with deferments for health reasons but 
not
just for college.  Sorry, the military needs educated persons as well.
There's a reason some people in this country feel like wars are fought 
on
the backs of the poor while wealthier kids skip off to the safety of
college, instead. 
I think the Israeli army as a great example of mandatory service that
works. 


Well, Israel allows deferrments for college education. But besides that, 
the myriad of problems with the idea of a compulsory draft for all 18 
year olds are legion, some small, some larger:

1. Health insurers would have to add on two years in which they allow 
parents to insure their sons & daughters; now, that period generally 
ends at 23, but a compulsory service would push college starts to 20 or 
21, so it would only be fair to lengthen this period as well.

2. The education system in the us, on high school and college levels, 
would be impacted. Instead of looking to high school references and test 
scores by 16 and 17 year olds, they'd suddenly switch to 19 and 20, with 
the primary recommendation coming from one's commanding officer. And 
what about kids who graduate high school at 17, like I did? Would they 
be left to twiddle their thumbs for 4, 6 or 9 months until they're 18, 
and can start their army stint? Poor kids born in october or november - 
they'd either have to wait almost a year after finishing service to 
start college or colleges would have to change to allow more people to 
start in january. And school on trimester systems would be totally 
screwed up.

3. We don't have the same socialized social services structure as israel 
does; things like education and health care there are move 
state-involved than they are in the us. Would we move to a similar, more 
socialized structure in the us, or would teens and 20somethings be left 
without services?

4. We can't afford it. In Israel, the government structure, for over 55 
years, has been based around being able to fund the army. If we drafted 
every 18 year old, even the cost of food, hosuing and uniforms through 
basic training would bankrupt the US, especially because all those 
individuals would be pulled off the job market, and pretty much out of 
the taxpaying zone, for two years. And the minute we start back with the 
vietnam process of alowing some to not serve, we end up wiht the have- 
and have-nots situation again.

Just some thoughts on a complex situation.

Heidi