How will they design a mil. draft to exempt the privileged classes?

[bluestateguy]

There seems to be a consensus here at DU and elsewhere that once the military draft is brought back it will be a virtual certainty that the well to do and well-connected will find ways to avoid conscription. Even if a new draft law is designed to close such loopholes from the past, new loopholes can and will be found. I'd like to start more discussion here about just what kind of loopholes you think will be found and used by the privileged classes to avoid having to dirty their hands with war.

[JailBush]

1. Here are some possibilities:

You don't have to serve if...

1. You earn more than $50,000 a year.

2. You work in a management position and are therefore a valuable economic asset.

3. You flunked your high-stakes test in public school. (Exlusive private schools can play all sorts of games with test scores.)

[JailBush]

2. Correction...

You HAVE TO SERVE if you flunked your high-stakes test.

[CityZen-X]

27. Son Of A Bitch

eat the rich!

[Old and In the Way]

3. Start a database of every Republican Congressman and

major donor and make sure we track their contribution vis-a-vis a draft. Honestly, this is the test of conviction. If they believe the cause is just enough to send our kids to die, they best offer up their own.

[radfringe]

4. essential "services" deferrment

if you work for a company or organization considered essential to the bush fundraising or re-Selection campaign

[JailBush]

5. Another Possibility:

The could draft the privileged classes into privileged privatized assignments.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

13. that's what is likely

like Pat Robertson, there will be a whole bunch of rich, trust-funded "liquor officers" in charge of the drinks and hookers for the brass.

[KansDem]

22. Aren't those referred to as "morale officers?"

A whole different way of "serving your country." :party:

[Bridget Burke]

15. During WWII

Back when everybody was supposedly doing their part, my mother worked at Ellington Field, near Houston. It was a big training base for air cadets.

She said that several sons of prominent Houston families were stationed there. Especially before so many service functions were "privatized", there was nothing shameful in serving in a position that wouldn't get you shot at. But, to be stationed so close to home that you don't even suffer any "inconvenience" really looks like there's some favoritism going on.

I'm sure in any future draft, steps could be taken to ensure that the right people don't "get their hair mussed".

[bluestateguy]

6. kick

:donut:

Good Morning

[Don_G]

7. It's Been Going On Since The Civil War

The only thing that will change anything is massive publicity and public derision of Chickenhawks.

[mrgorth]

14. Publicity?

You mean like if a WH official outted a CIA operative? You can't be serious. If shrub wins and they do the draft they will do it in a way that anyone in the media that questions it will be a traitor. Beating them in '04 is our only chance.

[morgan2]

8. I sure hope they do

I don't wanna be drafted.

[KharmaTrain]

9. The Draft Will Be The Doom Of The GOOP

Be assured that the re-institution of the draft will be greeted with such negative reaction (especially for this illegal invasion) that the backlash against the Repugnicans by young people and within the military will be total.

Thus, part of me welcomes a draft as it will shut up and scare the crap out of those right wing campus morons who deserve to be suited up and sent.

The rich always will find a way out. A phone call to a Congressman will land one's son (does anyone think women will be called??) in a cozy unit in Germany or Japan. Those with "skills" (translation: private school or college education) will get desk jobs, if called at all, and the bulk of the suffering and dying will be the poor.

The damn shame is that the Repugs really don't care since those who are and will be doing the dying aren't "their people"...either they're too black or hispanic or hick. These people deserve to be called up in the Hague for what they're doing to this country and Iraq.

[Killarney]

10. Maybe... anyone enrolled in college is exempt

So, those who can afford college would be able to get out of it. Those who cannot afford college... off to war.

This would also work for those who have already graduated college. They could all of a sudden decide to enroll in graduate school or get another degree and therefore avoid the draft.

[truthspeaker]

20. that's how it worked in Vietnam, and it caused a LOT of resentment

(and also kept my dad out of Vietnam)

I suspect they won't try it again. Also, many college-educated people vote Dem.

[goddess40]

24. College deferment

College is no longer a reason for deferment. The new rule is one would be allowed to finish their current college semester before being drafted. If you are a college senior you would be allowed to complete the year. But I agree, the rich will find a way out.

[Paranoid_Portlander]

25. Getting a second degree...

... did not work for me in 1965. My draft board responded by refusing to renew my student deferment. Student deferments were fairly easy to get then, but the screws were tightening and were either difficult or impossible to maintain a few years later.

[ET Awful]

11. They'll just do it the way they did in the Civil War. . .

The price will go up no doubt, but during the Civil War you could buy your way out of the draft for $300.

Now they'll probably say $300,000 cash to buy your way out.

The wealthy will become exempt from the draft.

[bluestateguy]

12. perhaps

They'll say you can buy a $300,000 "war bond" and because that will constitue "serving" your country these folks will be exampted.

[lostnfound]

26. That's right; it's the free-market approach n/t

[radwriter0555]

16. COLLEGE.

They'll use college as the out.

Poor folks can't afford college.

[OhioStateProgressive]

17. i will renounce my citizenship if there is a draft, and you should too(nt)

[INTELBYTES]

18. Maybe they could do like they did in the "War for Southern Independence".

During the Un-Civil war, Lincoln allowed a $300.00 opt out of the war. Of course that was big bucks back then. In essence it paid someone to go fight in your stead.

[truthspeaker]

19. appoint wealthy, privileged people to the draft boards

They'll look out for their own.

[SheilaT]

21. The real privilege class

will be those of us savvy enough to keep our sons out of the clutches of the military. Our daughters won't be at risk, trust me on that. But anyone old enough will recall that a large number of young men did everything possible to make sure they wouldn't be drafted.

A lot of good young men did serve, and too many of them died.

The government will not take either of my draft age sons and send them off to fight an illegal, immoral war.

[SoCalDem]

23. Essential services and college.. It worked before...it can work again

People making less money have a harder time going to college..

The real problem here is time.. With the new weapons, the learning curve is longer, and they will need a massive influx of soldiers in a hurry..

I could actually see them "permanently" activating the reservists and guard and then replacing their functions with the "new" ones..

That is going to aggravate a BUNCH of middle aged people who are reservists & guardsmen.

Bush will stall til after the Nov election, no matter what

[KharmaTrain]

28. A Couple More Thoughts

The technology gap is going to be real bad as those who know how to guide those pilotless planes or program the Laser-Guiding goggles opt for a less stressful career as a shock therapist.

Dragging in the reserves to Iraq for such long stretches has to be sending chills across all ranks for the "lifers" and others who used their military connections to hide from the real world in the past and now need to get to the real world in a hurry.

Now if we run out of these skilled people...what do we do? Impress them? Buy foreigners?

[velocity]

29. That's why Dems must push for a "Birthday Lottery" no

exceptions other than medical.

[Curious Dave]

30. Now everyone can hate me and call me a Nazi

But to my way of thinking if you really truely believe in peace, you would also believe in a draft. Here is my logic...

The all volunteer military has horribly disassociated the military from the mainstream of America. And it has given politicians of every stripe a license to to whatever the hell they want to concerning using the military.

I'm a vet and if I've it once, I heard it a million times, "but they're all volunteers so they go into the military understanding the risk" Read between the lines just a little and this translates to "If they get killed its no one's fault but their own".

I fully understand that not everyone feels that way, but I'm talking about the average guy on the street, not the more compassionate and open minded people represented here in DU.

I could be wrong, but I sincerely believe that if we had even a small number of draftees in today's military we would have never done Grenada, Panama, Gulf War I, Bosina, Kosovo, or Gulf War II. Why do I believe this? Because as apathetic as the average American seems to be toward how the all-volunteer military is used, I don't think they'd stand for a minute seeing non-volunteers killed for things that can't be defended as truly being in the national interest.

Why did millions turn out to protest Vietnam, compared to the relative handfuls that have turned out to protest subsequent actions? Someone a lot smater than me once said "the only way you can get people's attention is to draft them or tax them"!

As a side note, I think the draft would do a world of good in politically balancing the military. The military is overwhelmingly conservative. Out of the hundreds (if not thousands) of people I knew in the military, I could name 3 that I know of who would admit to voting for Democratic candidates. To have an organization as important to the country as its military be so completely under the sway of one party worries me for so many different reasons I won't take up even more space by going into them here.

Now please feel free to beat the hell out of me for thinking outside the box on this issue. :)

[mrsteve]

31. Thanks Curious Dave - interesting viewpoints

And welcome to DU!

Don't think you'll get flamed - your ideas aren't that out of the box, and your final paragraph is quite compelling.

Plus, to really get flamed, you have to use one of the code words: Dean, Clark, Kucinich, Edwards, Kerry, Braun, Sharpton, Israel, Palestine, Nader, or Greens. :evilgrin:

[PaDUer]

32. draft good? ...

no way...take a look at freepsville regarding the draft..they're not taking it smiling..what's that tell you from the gang that supports * and is so gunho? Ah..let them walk the walk.