In a New York Times op-ed on DecemĀber 31, 2002, Representative Charles Rangel (D- NY) claimed, “A disproportionate number of the poor and members of minority groups make up the enlisted ranks of the military, while most privĀileged Americans are underrepresented or absent.” This claim is frequently repeated by antiwar Democratic Party members.
The Heritage Foundation published a study in November 2005 that discussed these claims by liberal antiwar politicians.
Here are a few items from that study on military recruiting:
…We found that recruits tend to come from midĀdle-class areas, with disproportionately fewer from low-income areas. Overall, the income disĀtribution of military enlistees is more similar to than different from the income distribution of the general population.
…the income distribution of recruits is nearly identical to the income distribuĀtion of the general population ages 18-24.
After September 11, 2001, the educational quality of recruits rose slightly:
Click to Enlarge…We found that whites are one of the most proĀportionally represented groups making up 77.4 percent of the population and 75.8 percent of all recruits whereas other racial categories are often represented in noticeably higher and lower proporĀtions than the general population:
Click to Enlarge
The study laid to rest the liberal claims that poor, uneducated, inner city, minority candidates were signing up for the military…
Despite what John Kerry said.
The Brookings Institute has been tracking the US military deaths in Iraq based on race and ethnicity.
Here is a chart created from their most recent numbers from March 19, 2003 to February 2, 2008:
Again, this chart shows if anything, a disproportionate number of caucasion deaths in Iraq compared to the general population if you take into account that there is a separate category for Hispanics.
This may be surprising news for the antiwar crowd as well.
(And, God bless all of the men and women serving our country despite differences in race, education, place of origin, wealth or ethnicity.)