Off Topic (Important Legislation)

[naamagatus]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Heidi Tandy <lists at h...> 
wrote:
>. 
> Well, Israel allows deferrments for college education. 

Not exactly. Generally, there is no deferrement. There is a special 
program (several, actually) where you go to university before your 
military service, and the army pays for it. However, you have to sign 
on to serve for a much longer time afterwards. 


> 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.

That is not the case in Israel. You are accepted to university based 
on your high school matriculation test scores and, most importantly, 
psychometric test results (similar, I think, to American SATs). Army 
evaluations have absolutely *no* influence on admittance.

> 
> 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?

I'm not sure it's true of Israel anymore. Within the last 30 years, 
Israel has gone from begin the most egalitarian western country, to 
being only second to the US in social inequality.

> 
> 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. 

That's true. Sad, but true. A huge problem when you try to 
demilitarise a country - like all organizations, the army tends to 
swallow more and more resources, regardless of realistic needs. 
Although I think that most of the resources go towards technology, 
rather than payrols. 



Naama, Israeli