What are your thoughts on this bumper sticker?

[T Roosevelt]

In a play on the

"My son/daughter and my money goes to (college)"

the one I saw said

"My money stays with me because my son joined the Air Force"

All I can think of is how much it is costing in tax money to support his son while in the Air Force, plus health care, benefits, money after he gets out (if any is left), etc. (note: I do not begrudge any of what his son receives)

My question is this: is it me, or does this person not understand that his son joining the military does cost him (and everybody else) money?

[displacedtexan]

1. stupidity has it rewards...

for republicans, that is! if the sheeple ever figured out how much more $ they would have without repuke policies, they'd be stunned.

[Sequoia]

2. Creepy

as can be. Guess that person doesn't pay taxes, eh? I saw a license plate that read "NIT4ME" on a new SUV. Sick, sick, sick the lot of them.

[cmf]

3. Well, his son is exchanging a service for that money.

So it's not like he's exactly a drain on the system.

I would be more concerned that my son or daughter was giving up his or her life because I didn't want to pay for college. My husband did Navy ROTC because he wanted to be in the military, not just to pay for college - that was a bonus. I would be sick if my child was shipped off to Iraq just because I was too stingy to pay for college.

[bloom]

4. we share in his burden - but the sick thing about it to me is...

like he is bragging because he gets to keep his money - while his son might get killed in the process.


sick, sick , sick

[rogerashton]

5. Does it?

Yes, a larger air force would cost more money. If the Air Force were expanded for the simple purpose of creating more economic opportunity, your comments would be to the point.

Let's just suppose, however, that we have (at most) the Air Force we need to protect us from hostile attack. Then what the taxpayers' money is buying is protection from hostile attack. Any postenlistment economic opportunities that the airman enjoys are surplus.

By contrast, the young person who enlarges her economic activities by going to college is not producing any protection or other "public goods" FOR CURRENT CONSUMPTION as she does so.

Learning by doing in the Air Force is a case of "joint production," and guess what: with joint production there can be a "free lunch.

Authoritative source:

Rosen, Sherwin (1972), “Learning by Experience as Joint Production,” Quarterly Journal of Economics v. 84, no. 3 (Aug.) pp. 366-382.

at your nearby university library.

[T Roosevelt]

7. I would counter with this

First, the military is larger than necessary to perform the objective for which it exists - provide for a national defense. Actions such as Iraq do not count, and are not the mission of the military.

Second, while people going to college do not produce anything for "current consumption", they do (often) work internships for less than degreed people, earning some money (which is spent), gaining experience, and contributing to some product/service. In addition, the tuition paid works its way back into the economy (professor's salaries, graduate programs/projects, etc).

My point is this person does not recognize that his son joining the Air Force costs him nothing, when in fact he is paying for it.

[damnraddem]

6. It shows an awareness of the difference between personal & social goods ..

(whether or not one thinks that the Air Force is a 'good'). Yes, we all pay for the military, public health, law enforcement, and so on -- but these all involve public goods that could not be purchased individually. One may not appreciate the military, but it is still a public good of this type. Yes, the bumpersticker highlights a private good based on the public good -- not having to pay for college because an offspring is in the military, and perhaps not paying later because the offspring's education will be subsidized; but the principle remains.

By the way, what would you say to a sticker that said 'My money stays with me because my son works for the government'?

[ElsewheresDaughter]

8. sigh....

"My money stays with me because my son joined the Air Force"
(and gets to comes home in a box and i get to KEEP MY MONEY!....jays'us with a dads like this id'e probably join the military too...to get the fuck away from him....:nuke:

this man has to be related to the "get a brain moran" clan

[eileen_d]

9. Frankly, both bumper stickers sound stupid to me

My money goes here, my money goes there, my money stays with me... as long as you hang up and drive, I don't care! ;)