71% of youth do not qualify for military service

When our country had the draft it worked just fine. There are a thousand different jobs in the military, one for all personalities and all skills. And we have always discharged those unfit for military service. And for the malcontents there is the brig.

 

It was a stupid idea then, too. Lots of people are unfit for service, be it physically, mentally or emotionally, drafting them will not change that and you'd be wasting valuable time on people who DO want to be there and actually ARE fit for it.

EDIT: On a closely related and personal note, my time on Earth is far too valuable to be wasted in the military if I don't wanna be there or ain't cut for it.

 

The country needs a military, that means it's citizens must fill the ranks. Many responsible people step-up and serve. On a personal note I don't "wanna" pay taxes, but a country needs tax money, so I pay my fair share.

 

Conservatives resist change with every breath in their body

 

Then fill them with people who actually want to be there and can actually do the job, that's why our military is great. College ain't for everybody, sports ain't for everybody, show business ain't for everybody, why do you think the military is any different?

That's cool chief, but taxes and the military ain't the same. I'm not obligated to serve anyone or anything, nor is anyone else.

 

That's not good news, but the general slacker population doesn't tend to serve in the military anyway:

Here's Why the U.S. Military Is a Family Business
https://time.com/4254696/military-f... recent,than 25% have a parent who has served.

 

Must be hard being them and not ever getting to the conclusion that the world from 100 or even 50 years ago doesn't exist anymore and things have to progress whether you like it or not.

 

Unfortunately, there's a lot of that going around on both sides of the aisle. The Berlin Wall fell 34 years ago and "progressives" still haven't grasped the implications.

 

I agree.

Loss of manufacturing was detrimental to this country.

 

Not so -- Trump made many changes. DeSantis is making many changes. Reagan made many changes.

 

Back to the way things were.

 

Time to take the harmones out of our food and water. And the added sugar as well.


Recommended reading.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34237719-the-hacking-of-the-american-mind

 

Have to disagree with you on this one. Registering for selective service does not mean giving up your constitutional rights which include the right to be fat. And it is not a basis to give up government benefits. This draft business is a joke anyway. The days of the draft are over anyway. Who is going to submit to being drafted when we have elected draft dodgers like Clinton, Trump, Biden, and Dick Cheney? And the days of conscript infantry being effective are over.

Supply and demand need to be addressed by increased compensation. That is how capitalism works.

 

I totally disagree with that. The military isn't a substitute for mommy and daddy. And it is best served by people that WANT TO BE THERE. During Viet Nam we ran short on recruits so the "MacNamara 100,000" was born. Defense Secretary MacNamara lowered the standards for the draft. Getting rid of the poor performers was a nightmare. Ten years later I was talking to a Spec 4 that had been part of the "MacNamara 100,000", He said he would never leave the Army because he'd never be able to get a job on the outside. Meanwhile, we were paying a fantastic Major I knew, $10,000 year as an incentive to get out so the Army could "downsize" after the war.

I Commanded a Basic Training Company in the late 1970's. Due to the recently concluded Viet Nam War, talented recruits were at a premium. We had plenty of "squeaky wheels" though, that drained us of resources to keep their performance at minimum standards. We don't need malcontents that were forced in the military. Not in the 2020's.

 

Well it is kind of stupid to eliminate people because they once smoked pot. That eliminates almost 1/2 of the males right there. You can get drunk on alcohol at 18 and they welcome you with open arms. Back in the late 60s pot smoking did not get you out of the draft!

 

What the heck is "cosplay"?

 

Not just Progressives, a lot of "conservatives" still haven't been able to move on from the cold war.

 

Well we currently have a selective service system; one that is currently mandatory for males to sign up for at age 18. Is that unconstitutional? I don't think it is, but even if you think so, I have the solution for that: Instead of making it mandatory, make it voluntary, for both males and females to sign up for, and again, limit federal student loans to those who sign up. There is no constitutional issue with having volunteers show up for a weigh in once a year to prove they still qualify for federal student loans.

 

Weed is legal in most states (either medical or recreational), but it's still disqualifying.

How many of that 71% aren't qualified because they have smoked marijuana?

 

I get your point, but just more government spending -- with what accomplished since we don't currently have a draft? People are signed up. So what. We should be giving more money to the people serving and actually joining. Not paying people to stay on a list.

If the goal is to end obesity, that will take a Manhattan Project effort. I notice that at social gatherings almost all people I see are so fat it is shocking. Since about 1960 and birth control pill use became common estrogen metabolites have been excreted into our water supply. IMHO, that is partly to blame for obesity. We are now pulling hermorphadite fish out of rivers downstread of sewage treatment plants. Which should be a clue.

 

It's not much government spending; weigh ins once a year for people with student loans? As a percentage of the US population that's not very many. But it gives an incentive and motivation for some people to keep their weight under control. Giving more money to people serving isn't going to help if you can't enlist people because they are obese.

And as far as the list goes...there is already a list so why not use that list?

 

Increased compensation would be to both incentivise enlistment and increase retention. As far as a list, I guess I have a knee jerk sort of reaction to the government having lists. I was on that selective service list once and know how it can be used and abused.

There are plenty of disabled vets to give any available funding to. A lot of the people who served are homeless and/or disabled. So, I can't see funding being used to pay young adults to exercise and eat a decent diet.

 

Costume play. It is or at least was a thing. People dress up in elaborate costumes and have parties.
You see often see a photo of Musk wearing an armor like thing. I believe it was cosplay.

 

I was referring to the ongoing inability of "progressives" to wrap their collectivist noggins around the fact that socialism-communism is a failed, bankrupt and discredited ideology, but to your point a lot of centrists would probably fall into that lot, too. I don't know why, but a lot of Americans seem reluctant to give up the role our nation assumed following WWII and into the Cold War. Last I checked, our allies had pulled themselves out of the rubble of WWII and are now standing on their own two feet, so why aren't more Americans content to go back to the days prior to the Wilson Administration when we weren't spilling ungodly amounts of blood and treasure pulling the Old World's fat out of its fires?

 

You really are missing my point. We're already giving loans. I'm showing how to limit the number of people getting them. However, never mind, just keep the present system and spend spend spend baby!