The Poverty DRAFT, coming to a small town near you!

[Dems Will Win]

"On the other hand, part of that volunteering is a form of economic conscription," said David R. Segal, director of the Center for Research on Military Organization at the University of Maryland. "They're not being selected by the Selective Service System; they are being selected by the economy."

Thus, in many small towns across America, where unemployment rates run consistently higher than the national average and median household incomes fall below the norm, high school graduates with limited options are pulled in by military economic packages that far outstrip anything that they could earn locally.

The monthly military pay just out of boot camp, for example, averages around $1,300 a month, which includes housing and food. Additionally, there are recruitment incentives, such as $65,000 to pay off current student loans, up to $50,000 for college after service
"Whether it's for money for college or just a way to make a living, they are looking at the money," said Army Staff Sgt. William M. Cox, a recruiter in Van Leuven's hometown of Klamath Falls, explaining why most of his inductees join.


-snip-

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/St.+Louis+City+%2F+County/5A2DF871188030D786256EA3005E456F?OpenDocument&Headline=Small+towns+shoulder+war's+burden

BUSH '04 = DRAFT '05

[forgethell]

1. Historically the military

has been a road out of poverty for many young men (and now, women). What is wrong with that? Of course, it would be better if there was no poverty. but we have to live in the world, as it is, not as we would like it to be. That doesn't mean that we can't work to make it better. But economic choices are not a "draft", which is compulsion by force, or threat of prison.

[Union Thug]

2. What's wrong with that is that they are asked to kill and die...

in order to get basic job skills.

The better way is to institute a program of free, universal access to higher education in this country in which anyone, of any age could get a college/university education, technical education or prep courses to ready them for either of the above without having to kill in the name of the corporations or go into massive debt.

Education should be considered a basic human right, not a privilege. And the military should not be the default option for the disadvantaged.

[forgethell]

4. They're asked

to kill and die to defend their country, as defined by the US government, who could be wrong, of course. This is the purpose of the military. It is not a "basic skills" program, that's called "high school".

I'd like free, universal access to higher education to everyone, also. But that not does seem to be the world that we live in, just right now. When it has changed, you let me know. In the meantime, there are other ways to acquire higher education. Working your way through college worked for me, it worked for my son, and most likely, it will have to work for my daughter in two years.

Furthermore, not everybody is in the military to get basic education, or higher education either. Some consider it as a career, some are patriotic in the RW sense of the word. some like the chance to travel and see new places. Should there be free, universal access to that, also. And for some, it is the best economic choice. Would you take that choice away from them??

[Dems Will Win]

5. It's a DRAFT when the President cuts education, doesn't fight for jobs,

cuts back training programs, fights against raising the minimum wage, allows the Chinese to dump, dump, dump, takes back the steel tariffs, does not keep track of the companies or number of jobs being outsourced, starts unnecessary wars, cuts Pell grants, doesn't provide new tuition assistance, makes secret price deals on oil with the Saudis, lets poverty creep back up, doesn't provide health insurance, etc., etc.

All of this the Republicans tell you is that's the way the world is. But it doesn't have to be that way (see Canada). We're all just sold a line of total bullshit.

You assume this is all by chance I guess. I say it's deliberate by the REpublicans to keep inner cities and rural areas in enough poverty so they get enough cheap labor for corporations and the military.

It is a Poverty DRAFT.

BUSH '04 = DRAFT '05

[JohnOneillsMemory]

3. The NAACP now works tightly with the DoD as a frikkin' JOBS program!

My band is playing the NAACP's 29th annual dinner in tribute to the US military in Wash. DC.

29th annual means that it coincides with the end of the draft.

I refused to do the gig and criticised the NAACP in email for working so tightly with the DoD as an African American jobs program.

Someone told me that my email (I work with celebrity African American performers) was shown to Kweisi Mfume and it pissed him off. I hope so.

Look at naacp.org and check out the link to their military ball with flash promotion of the DoD and special reception by LOCKHEED MARTIN.

Hard to believe the NAACP is paying tribute to the same military that carried out the coup against Haiti.