Economists Against the Draft
Economists actually played a key role in the Nixon administration’s decision to end the draft in 1973. The draft ended because people hated the Vietnam War, but economists provided the intellectual justification.
.. The basic argument was that the market for soldiers should work like any other labor market. Let the government decide how many people it needs, and let it pay for their labor.
.. A draft lowers the cost for the wealthy “because the people who are important don’t have their children going off and they’re also not paying as much in taxes.”
.. “The military now concedes that women can perform in combat roles, so the rationale for why they shouldn’t be drafted doesn’t apply,” said Tim Bakken, a law professor at the United States Military Academy, adding that a new lawsuit could force a change. “The facts have overtaken the law.”