The draft Warriors-by-numbers
Feb 13th 2003 | BOSTON >From The Economist print edition An old and much-loathed scheme resurfaces THE last man to be conscripted into America's armed forces was called up on Valentine's Day 30 years ago. But the idea of the draft as a social equaliser lives on. In his recent call to renew it, Charles Rangel, an outspoken black Democratic congressman from Harlem, noted that few of his colleagues have children in the armed forces and that a disproportionate number of soldiers are black. Mr Rangel means mostly to make Americans nervous about war, and his words won't bring back conscription. But the idea that the draft was a useful tool for social engineering endures. Military recruits these days are 20% black, a proportion that has held steady since 1979; in the general population, only 14% of 18-34-year-olds are black. By contrast, Latinos, America's largest minority, account for 11% of new entrants and for 15% of the population at large. Whites, too, are under-represented. United States Wars Congressman Charles Rangel, Charles Moskos and James Fallows (editor of the Atlantic Monthly) advocate renewal of the draft. See also a selection of articles on the draft by Joshua Angrist. The relatively heavy proportion of blacks may be seen as a bad thing: a sign that blacks have fewer opportunities and end up with the most dangerous and gruelling jobs. Yet Colin Powell, for one, thinks their increasing presence both in the ranks and in the officer corps is a strong sign of success. For many decades, blacks were under-represented: a legacy of the segregation of the armed forces, which was not fully ended until 1954 and which excluded black volunteers in favour of white draftees. Few blacks served in Korea or the second world war. And although many remember Vietnam as a war fought disproportionately by blacks, it was not until 1972, near the end of the draft, that the proportion of blacks in the armed forces reached 11%, more or less their share of the population at the time. The draft, in fact, did not do much for social levelling. Even during the peak Vietnam conscription years, far more soldiers were rejected for low test scores than were able to wriggle out of service—as Bill Clinton was accused of doing—through deferments for being at college. Many low-scoring applicants are rejected today (the army is a fighting machine, not a remedial school). But a new draft might further damage the chances of those volunteers with most to gain from military training. The draft may also damage draftees' capacity to earn money afterwards in the civilian world. One comparison between the incomes of men with high lottery numbers (who were likely to be drafted) and those with lower ones showed that the conscripts earned about 15% less than they would otherwise have done, and that the difference persisted in every year they worked after they came home. Whatever his views about Iraq, Mr Rangel's aim looks off. ===== ----------------------------------------------------------------------- John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq: Your enemy is not surrounding your country — your enemy is ruling your country. And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be the day of your liberation." -George W. Bush 1/29/03 __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l