I was under the impression the army had more lower-income recruits

[Broletariat]

That and more minorities.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2008/08/who-serves-in-the-us-military-the-demographics-of-enlisted-troops-and-officers

This seems to contradict that.

If someone would like to add something or clarify or anything it would be appreciated thanks.

[khad]

Let's be clear what a volunteer professional (as opposed to a draftee) army does: it creates a labor aristocracy. This keeps the troops invested in the military as an institution through financial incentives. Sure, there is the whole thing about war and the possibility of getting killed, but the reality is that in the domestic economy soldiers and ex-soldiers are mostly better off and given preferential treatment for employment, loans, etc compared to the actual proletariat.

[The Douche]

Seems like this is totally accurate to me, most soldiers come from working class backgrounds.:confused:

[La Comédie Noire]

Firstly the article is from the conservative Heritage foundation and is dripping with patriotic sentiment.


A soldier's demographic characteristics are of little importance in the military, which values honor, leadership, self-sacrifice, courage, and integrity-qualities that cannot be quantified.

Those who argue that American soldiers risk their lives because they have no other opportunities belittle the personal sacrifices of those who serve out of love for their country.However, with that in mind I can't find anything wrong with their methodology that is too disconcerting.


Individual or family income data on enlistees do not exist. The Defense Department does not maintain records on the household income of recruits or officers. Examining the earnings of most recruits before they joined the military is not possible because, for most of them, their first full-time job is in the military.

Why is that?


Instead, we approximated the recruits' household incomes by assigning each recruit the median household income of the census tract in which they lived. This approximates their parents' economic status. For example, 10 recruits in 2006 came from census tract 013306 in San Diego. Accordingly, we assigned to each of these 10 recruits a median household income of $57,380 per year (in 2008 dollars), the median income of that tract in the 2000 Census.

This assumes that they would make the same amount as their parents or that it would give them an advantage when going to college.



Members of America's volunteer Army are not enlisting because they have no other economic opportunities. Most recruits come from relatively affluent families and would likely earn above-average wages if they did not join the military.

This is a giant assumption.

I think with the rising cost of secondary education people have no option , but to join the military if they plan on going to college, unless they want to bury themselves in mountains of debt. The truth is even if you are living in a household that is raking in $54,000 it's not enough to pay for college.

Why the lower ranking income percentiles are underrepresented could be explained by the military's tough stance on crime. I've heard if you've ever been convicted of a drug related or violent crime you cannot join the military. (Can someone verify or expand this?) These crimes are over represented in the lower percentiles. Also, people in the lower percentiles may not be planning to attend college anyways and therefore do not see the sense in risking themselves for the "cause".

It seems military service is a gateway to better paying jobs almost like the mandatory service of the Roman Empire.

Now the question is would you take the blood money?

[Timthemarxist]

I was in the military for four and a half years. Some of the people were from higher classes but a majority were from the working classes. I joined as many did because there were few ways that I could ensure myself a college education. The officers are usually people from higher up on the economic ladder who had the money to go to good schools. I think it is sad that the poor in America have to join the military to get a leg up on education.