U.S. military spending, traditionally defined, was $730 billion in 2019. 2020 Military Appreciation Month Discounts. The United States is the single biggest military spender in the world. The military has values of patriotism and toughness, both of which the Republicans support. They aren’t expecting pies and cakes from the rest of the population in return (although pies and cakes and care packages in general are kinda nice to get). "I never hear military members carp about the 99.5 percent of the population that does not serve in the military." That amount approaches the size of the entire U.S. discretionary budget. I hear “less than one percent” and feel compelled to bake a pie for some nice Marine. A recent poll showed that majorities of voters support lower levels of military spending, and reallocating money away from the Pentagon and to domestic needs like health care, education and environmental protection. In 2019, the militarized budget totaled $887.8 billion – amounting to 64.5 percent of discretionary spending. Republican. Reservists are likely to have civilian jobs outside their Reserve commitments. When the draft ended in 1973, women represented just 2 percent of the enlisted forces and 8 percent of the officer corps. A Militarized Budget. 55 out of 100 women (or 55%) and 38 out of 100 men (or 38%) have experienced sexual harassment when in the military. In comparison, men who were not veterans were slightly less likely to be Democrats. For example, in fiscal years 2004 and 2018, female enlisted servicemembers' annual attrition rates were 33.1 and 8.6 percent, respectively, and enlisted males' annual attrition rates were 22.7 and 6.1 percent respectively. Twenty-five percent of men and 17.8 percent of women in the military were smokers in 2011. The number of female veterans treated … The New York Times Dec. 5, 2020 California has certified its electors for the 2020 election, officially giving Joseph R. Biden Jr. more than the 270 pledged electors needed to … I think they expect us to be doing our share in the division of national labor — and let them do their share in return. Then again, maybe something in their military experience makes them aware of the benefits that come along with comparative advantage. The military basic pay raise for 2021 will be finalized and approved by December 2020, and go into effect in January 2021. An America where more than 64 percent of our annual discretionary budget is spent on the military, incarceration, immigration and law enforcement may give some Americans pause. ; In 2017 the median age of women Veterans was 51 years, compared to 65 years for their male counterparts. Instead, you are supposed to specialize in the tasks you are relatively better at compared to other tasks. Military Demographics Current as of 1 January 2020 (These statistics are from the current inventory and do not include the Guard, Reserve or Air Force Academy) Race The following percentages, which are self-reported, cover Air Force military members' racial information. But they do not answer the question of why most people are incarcerated, or how we can dramatically — and safely — reduce our use of confinement. This report defines a different, but related, concept: the militarized budget. At a time when Americans are publicly facing the stark realities of police brutality and normalization of state violence in communities, the United States is overdue for a conversation about the militarization of our federal budget. Maybe they are all saints and heroes. ... 2020 Military Appreciation Month Discounts. Women now make up approximately 10 percent of the current veteran population, the fastest-growing demographic. The Veteran Population Projection Model 2018 (VetPop2018) provides the latest official Veteran population projection from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). If you add their figures on veterans to the active personnel numbers mentioned above, 7.3 percent … Military Demographics The following Air Force active duty demographics information is current as of 31 October 2020 . Instead, I think what they expect is that the rest of us ought to be doing the jobs for which we too have a comparative advantage. With more than 200,000 women serving in the active-duty military, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) predicted that by 2020 women veterans will comprise nearly 11 percent of the total veteran population. About 75 percent of America's 17- to 24-year-olds were ineligible for military service due to lack of education, obesity, and other physical problems, or criminal history in 2009, according to a report issued by the Mission: Readiness group. Afterall, 92% of military spouses are women and 80% are 40 years old or younger. Armed Forces Day Quiz: Know Your Military? This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The remaining 11.1 percent were Independents. Facts and Statistics about Women Veterans. December 17, 2020. There are many more male Veterans than there are female Veterans. Nevertheless, the non-traditional segments of the militarized budget added tens of billions in spending. Together, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement accounted for $24 billion – more than the budgets for Head Start, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Environmental Protection Agency. The Air Force had the highest rate, at 14.6 percent, with the Navy at over 12.5 percent. ; As of 2015 women make up nearly 12.3% of OEF/OIF/OND Veterans. President Trump's 2020 reelection campaign on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the state of Michigan, alleging the ballot-handling and -counting process had disenfranchised voters. All rights reserved. This report takes note of that fact, and ties U.S. military spending – which is primarily focused on current and potential conflicts abroad – to its analog here at home: spending on veterans of foreign wars, incarceration, immigration enforcement, and the war on drugs. I don’t bake the pie, but I feel like I should. Northampton Fighting for a U.S. federal budget that prioritizes peace, economic security and shared prosperity. 01060 | (413) 584-9556 | Looked at differently, over one-quarter -- 27% -- of men aged 18 and older say they are veterans or currently serving in the military, compared to just 2% of adult women. This count does not include forms of militarized spending allocated outside the discretionary budget, include mandatory spending related to veterans’ benefits, intelligence agencies, and interest on militarized spending. In FY 2018, 20.55 percent of … At $730 billion in 2019, military spending accounted for more than 53 percent of the federal discretionary budget – the budget that Congress sets each year during its annual appropriations process. The survey audience was 91 percent male and 9 percent female. June 22, 2020. If I understand this right, the economic theory called comparative advantage says that it is not very efficient to take on every task you are capable of doing. I am pretty sure this is why Uncle Sam does not want me — or anyone like me — in the military. The overcriminalization of drug use, the use of private prisons, and low-paid or unpaid prison labor are among the most contentious issues in criminal justice today because they inspire moral outrage. These “citizen soldiers” are generally called to serve after Reservists have been activated. I don’t think they expect us to volunteer in their name, either. Also in 2018, Ukraine adopted a law that gives military women equal rights with men. When Foy and Restifo looked at military service and political affiliation over time, here’s what else they learned: Think you know your military? Test your military knowledge with these quizzes as we commemorate Armed Forces Day and the... Armed Forces Day, traditionally the third Saturday in May, honors all of the U.S. military services. In 2019, the militarized budget amounted to 64.5 percent of discretionary spending. On the non-militarized side, the president’s proposals call for severe cuts to everything from education to health care and housing. The United States has a military budget that is greater than the next ten countries combined: more than rivals like China and Russia, and more than allies like Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and France. 351 Pleasant Street, Suite B #442 Some things have stayed the same: since 1976, the militarized budget has always been larger than the non-militarized budget, though the gap widened substantially during the 1980s. Studies that seek to define a “national security” budget – which includes the military, and also veterans’ affairs, homeland security, and similar expenses – can easily arrive at estimates approaching or exceeding $1 trillion per year. The breakdown: 47.8 percent Democrat, 38.2 percent Republican, 14 percent Independent. Read more. 2 The active-duty force remains largely male-dominated, but women have made inroads in recent decades. Comparative advantage means that although I could probably do what the average military person does (if forced into it by some sergeant major in really cruel boots), I would never be very good at that military job. MA, The prevalence of circumcision is the percentage of males in a given population who have been circumcised.The rates vary widely by country, from virtually 0% in Honduras and Japan, to 6.6% in Spain, to 20.7% in the United Kingdom, to 45% in South Africa, to 75% in the United States, to over 90% in Israel and many Muslim-majority countries. As of 2014, the VA estimates there were 22 million military veterans in the U.S. population. VetPop2018 is a deterministic projection model developed by the office of Predictive Analytics to estimate and project the Veteran Population from Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 to FY2048. © Copyright 2021 Jacey Eckhart. In 2015, 17% of active-duty officers were female – up from their share of 12% in 1990. That puzzles me. Less than 17 percent of the active duty military is made up of women, ... because women are statistically 28 percent more likely than men get out before hitting retirement. During that time, the number of federal prisoners increased by more than seven times, from 26,640 in 1980 to 177,214 in 2019. This statistic shows the distribution of active-duty enlisted women and men in the U.S. Military in FY 2018 by race and ethnicity. The biggest category of militarized spending by far was the Department of Defense, accounting for 77 percent of the total, followed by Veterans Affairs. Because that “less than one percent” number gets trotted out every time someone mentions Joining Forces. However, the gaps between male and female attrition rates have narrowed. There is an inverse relationship between smoking in the military and pay grade; the lowest paid military personnel had a much higher smoking prevalence than the highest paid officers. This report takes note of that fact, and ties U.S. military spending – which is primarily focused on current and potential conflicts abroad – to its analog here at home: spending on veterans of foreign wars, incarceration, immigration enforcement, and the war on drugs. In recognition that the U.S. maintains both the world’s highest military spending, and one of its highest incarceration rates, the militarized budget includes the traditional military budget, as well as spending on veterans’ affairs, homeland security, incarceration, law enforcement, immigration enforcement, and the still-ongoing war on drugs. An October 2016 Military Times poll of active-duty service members showed that 40.5 percent still planned to vote for Trump, with 34.3 percent intending to vote for a … This works for countries, for states, for companies, even for the division of labor in families. Showing Appreciation to the Nation's Wounded Warriors. The respondents identified themselves as 84 percent white, 6 percent Hispanic, 7 percent African American, 2 percent … But I could probably do it. Likewise, emotional responses to sexual and violent offenses often derail important conversations about the social, economic, and moral costs of incarceration and li… For the most recent projections, visit VetPOP. We will add the updated 2021 pay tables … But some things have changed dramatically. The percentage of officers who are women has steadily grown since the 1970s. According to other studies, deployed military members in the U.S. Navy, Marines, Army and Air Force have higher than average divorce rates. However, this is closely linked to the low salary of such positions: men refuse to serve in these conditions when women accept them. The other two branches came in at over 8 percent. In this concentrated modern force, military members know they need the kind of people who have comparative advantage on this military job to do it. The United States and its military are increasingly diverse. Its leadership is not. Women have a larger presence in our military today than ever before. Ninety-one percent of those who have served in the military at some point in their lives are men. Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age, occupation, education, length of congressional service, religious affiliation, gender, ethnicity, foreign birth, and military service. Contractual military service counts for almost 44% of women. National Guard members defend the homeland. Overall, 15% of DOD active-duty military personnel are women, up from 11% in 1990. "Your patriotic actions and your selfless service to protect our way of life are never forgotten and never will be forgotten... Service members and families are being honored during Military Appreciation Month 2020 with a variety of discounts. Federal prison funding has increased since 1976 by more than ten times, from $876 million in 1976 to $9.3 billion in 2019. I sometimes hear them complain about an aging fleet or back-to-back deployments or diminishing benefits or my persistent desire to go out to dinner. Reservists support active duty by being ready and “in reserve” in case active duty troops are stretched thin and more support is needed. These statistics are from the current inventory and does not include the Guard, Reserve or AirForce Academy (approx 4,000 cadets). So why don’t our military folks insist on universal military service? 13 Importantly, this trend is likely to continue as the percentage of Gen Z military spouses rises, suggesting that the military will have to account for the personal expectations of spouses if they wish to recruit and retain top talent going forward. I am such a slacker. For example, in 1975, 5% of commissioned officers were women, and, by 2017, that share had risen to 18%. The budget proposals put forth by President Trump would intensify this distribution of resources. Note: The educational requirement for New York police recruits include holding a high school diploma or GED equivalent, plus 60 college credits with a 2.0 GPA from an accredited college or university OR 2 years of full-time active military service in the United States Armed Forces with an honorable discharge and have a high school diploma or its equivalent. So, even though military sexual trauma is more common in women Veterans, over half of all Veterans with military sexual trauma are men. I know if it were my job to deploy all the time and wear that scratchy uniform and occasionally meet people who might shoot at me, I would be adamant about spreading that experience to the rest of the population. ... 2020. This article was originally published in SpouseBUZZ. Why is that? Yet I never hear people in the military wish that everyone else would serve. The militarized budget includes discretionary spending on the traditional military budget, as well as veterans’ affairs, homeland security, and law enforcement and incarceration. By temperament alone, I know I personally would crash a lot of planes and cry all the time and whine as if my soul were escaping from a very small opening. President Trump’s proposals include increases in military spending, as well as new spending on border control (including a wall), deportation and removal of undocumented immigrants, and smaller increases for the FBI, drug enforcement, and prison activation and “modernization.”. ; The middle age group (45-64 years old) represents … I never hear military members carp about the 99.5 percent of the population that does not serve in the military. The current projected percentage of U.S. Veterans who are women is 10%. The United States is the single biggest military spender in the world. Most of the time, the military shows these values, but depending on the season and department, they may not. Federal spending on immigration and border control has skyrocketed, too, more than 11 times as much from $2.1 billion in 1976 to $24.2 billion in 2019. For decades, the majority white male U.S. military has been largely Republican — but the 2020 vote is a lot less predictable, election experts, former officers and military advocacy groups said. 71% White 15% Black or African American 4.2% Asian Active duty service members commit to the military full time often as a career. I hear “less than one percent” and feel guilty about dodging the recruiter at the mall. National Guard units operate on a state level. [email protected], A project of the Institute for Policy Studies, Social Insurance, Earned Benefits, & Safety Net, Police Violence Is Enabled by Massive Spending, The U.S. Spends More on Its Military Than the Next 10 Countries Combined, Trump's 2021 budget cuts all federal agencies—except militarized ones.