Milton Friedman on The draft and the volunteer army
Enforced service by a conscript is a tax imposed on him no less than the check you send to Internal Revenue is a tax imposed on you. The size of his tax is the difference between the sum of money for which he would have served voluntarily and the pay he actually receives. Currently, this tax amounts to about 50 per cent of the potential civilian income of draftees. So unfair a tax imposed on so small a minority would never be passed explicitly by Congress. It persists only because it is hidden.
The End of the Draft?
Column, 1970, Newsweek (1970); reprinted in full in the Congressional Record, Extensions of Remarks, March 20, 1970, p. 8443, introduced by Representative William A. Steiger as one of “two recent articles on the volunteer army which were published in Newsweek.” The bracketed header “[From Newsweek, Mar. 23, 1970]” stands above the Stewart Alsop column printed first; this column carries no date of its own in the reprint, Congressional Record, March 20, 1970, p. 8443
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Whatever the extra amount, we are now paying a larger sum in concealed form. Conscription is a tax in kind—forced labor exacted from the men who serve involuntarily. The amount of the tax is the difference between the sum for which they would voluntarily serve and the sum we now pay them—if Joe Namath were drafted, his tax might well run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A Volunteer ArmyColumn, 1966, Newsweek (December 19, 1966); reprinted in the Congressional Record, Senate, January 22, 1969, p. 1438, under the heading “From Newsweek magazine, Dec. 19, 1966”. Later collected in An Economist’s Protest (1972)., Congressional Record, January 22, 1969, p. 1438Checked against the sourceRead the originalThe tax is not only unfair, it is also inefficient. Every tax involves costs in addition to the amount of the tax itself. For conscription, these indirect costs are the heavy burdens imposed on actual and potential draftees, their families, universities, employers—and most important, on all of us through the weakening of the political fabric of society.
The End of the Draft?Column, 1970, Newsweek (1970); reprinted in full in the Congressional Record, Extensions of Remarks, March 20, 1970, p. 8443, introduced by Representative William A. Steiger as one of “two recent articles on the volunteer army which were published in Newsweek.” The bracketed header “[From Newsweek, Mar. 23, 1970]” stands above the Stewart Alsop column printed first; this column carries no date of its own in the reprint, Congressional Record, March 20, 1970, p. 8443Checked against the sourceRead the originalThe elementary fact is that ‘business’ does not and cannot pay taxes. Only people can pay taxes. Corporate officials may sign the check, but the money that they forward to Internal Revenue comes from the corporation’s employees, customers, or stockholders.
An Economist's Protest: Columns in Political EconomyBook, 1966, p. 86Not yet checked
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