Anti-war activists claim that this war is being fought by poorer, lest-educated minorities for the benefit of the white monied elite. Interestingly enough, the demographics of today's military shows something very different.

According to a comprehensive study of all enlistees for the years 1998-99 and 2003 that The Heritage Foundation just released, the typical recruit in the all-volunteer force is wealthier, more educated and more rural than the average 18- to 24-year-old citizen is. Indeed, for every two recruits coming from the poorest neighborhoods, there are three recruits coming from the richest neighborhoods.

Consider these statistics on education and socio-economic status.

If, for example, we consider the education of every recruit, 98% joined with high-school diplomas or better. By comparison, 75% of the general population meets that standard. Among all three-digit ZIP code areas in the USA in 2003 (one can study larger areas by isolating just the first three digits of ZIP codes), not one had a higher graduation rate among civilians than among its recruits.

In fact, since the 9/11 attacks, more volunteers have emerged from the middle and upper classes and fewer from the lowest-income groups. In 1999, both the highest fifth of the nation in income and the lowest fifth were slightly underrepresented among military volunteers. Since 2001, enlistments have increased in the top two-fifths of income levels but have decreased among the lowest fifth.

Oh, and about the breakdown between black and white -- the differnce between those serving in the military and the public at large is not significant. Whites constitutes 75.8% of the military, and 77.4% of the public at large. Blacks are 14.1% of the military, and 14.6% of the entire population. In neither case is the gap at significant variance from the nation as a whole.

Who wants to bet that the facts don't get int the way of the rhetoric of those who want to attack the president, the war, and the American military?

Posted by: Greg at 11:37 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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