This is a shortage I can get behind.
People are realizing they’re just dieing for some other pricks profit?
In the run up to WW2, the US government made a very big deal of socially incentivizing military enlistment. The GI Bill offered education and housing benefits. Military work was competitive with the private sector and you had lots of off-ramps into the civilian side of the government. Military families enjoyed local prestige, particularly in the officer’s corps, so it was a good stepping stone up the socio-economic ladder. And the military operated as a strong network for business advancement, both as a military contractor and as a civilian with a tight-knit social circle of ex-military friends and neighbors.
All of that has been dissolving since the Vietnam Era. Soldiering isn’t considered a particularly noble profession. The pay is shit. The benefits have been cut back enormously. Enlisted pay is worse than service sector work and military families often live in poverty. There’s no real path to career advancement and enormous liabilities that come with 5+ years working around dangerous military equipment.
40 years ago, you could make a litany of arguments for why military service was personally advantageous. Today? The only reason to join is because you’ve got a shot at some brass, and even then you’d be way better off angling for a high paying civilian role.
I can’t speak to everyone’s experience, but I did my 4 and got out in 2020 due to a physical injury. While I was in it wasn’t great, but my wife and I collectively made about 100k/year with her as a teacher, we lived pretty well.
Since I got out, I attend school for free, receive a housing stipend, don’t pay property taxes, receive free healthcare, and I’ll receive about $50k this year in tax free disability. My kids and wife will have tuition if they decide to go (back) to school and they all receive free health insurance.
I don’t think there’s a lack of incentives at all, but simply people don’t know of the benefits they can receive. No one sits down with them and explains it all and we end up with vets with PTSD on the streets because of it
Correct me if I am wrong, but it sounds like some (a lot) of your benefits are from your injury/disability?
Are you saying everyone should get disabled coming out of the military in order to collect benefits?
What are you on about?
I was in 2011-2016 (enlisted) and it was a great start to my career.
When I was in we made plenty to live on and save up. I got into a job that translated well to the civilian side and I now make over 250k a year without a degree. Not that I couldn’t pay for it, because that would also not cost me anything if I chose to do it.
Try recommending this to people complaining about their lack of options on Lemmy and you’ll get crucified because they don’t like the military.
Not the ultra patriots, they think other people’s kids are dieing to keep us safe from … Communism? Socialism? Something like that?
Almost like we’re sick of killing each other for the gains of the wealthy and powerful.
Wars are getting more common and militaries are building up. There’s just one thing missing.
Yeah I don’t think so. Or at least, the wealthy and powerful don’t give a shit what we think
Good.
They won’t stop then they’re out, they’ll just draft people who didn’t sign up for this shit and force them to fight to the death.
Meh. They may not want someone around who willingly goes against orders. Didn’t sign up for it, won’t put up with it for long, that’s for damn sure. One way or another.
Conscription is the only option many governments have (including possibly, one a draft-dodging Trump-led presidency is considering). The rest of the world is not like Finland. If conscription becomes the norm, anti-establishment actions will become more commonplace.
As an American, I’m all for forced conscription.
Only because it forces people who otherwise try to be “not political, teehee” and pretend our corrupt, captured, failing nation is fine to wake the fuck up and revolt.
For the record, in normal times, I think there should be mandatory national service for a year, but I don’t agree a year of service has to be or even should be military. There should be a strong peace core that builds housing for the homeless, provides community services, etc.
I think it would give the US what it most needs and lacks almost entirely: empathy. Especially for our worst off, most suffering citizens.
There should be a strong peace core that builds housing for the homeless, provides community services, etc.
I wonder if you could work out a system where you could work it off in hospitals cleaning bed pans, helping nurses/doctors/patients with things that don’t require the doctors and nurses (like bringing blankets and stuff;); and in return getting 2 years free towards becoming a doctor/nurse.
Do the same with lawschool and helping public defenders with… stuff. or other fields that benefit society, too. If none of that really interests you… then building housing, cleaning parks, and, er, other stuff.
reward: two years tuition.
Just change that to goes to help out on the farms and it’s literal Mao Zedong
This is kinda how I feel when liberals keep arguing for Biden. What I hear them saying is “Vote for Biden because at least he’s only making THEIR life miserable… Trump will make MY life miserable! (And I might actually have to start caring!)”
It sucks that people only care about the world’s misery when they are personally threatened, but since that seems to be the way it is, maybe letting Trump make everyone miserable will speed things along a bit/get more people to wake up and fight back?
(Mostly playing devil’s advocate here… I do think we should be trying to stop Trump… Just wish the DNC was trying too)
Conscription? You’ll need more than that. You’d have to press-gang those kids into service, and then hope they don’t revolt.
Other alternatives: 1) Becoming the enemy - telling them their families’ lives are forfeit if they don’t pass muster. 2) Some really top-notch propaganda.
I can think of at least one country that would do both of these, but would deny the first one.
