A combat payroll tax combined with compulsory service would bring home the sacrifices and costs of war in defense of our nation's vital interests.

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Time Magazine Cover by Time, Inc.

The cover article in Time Magazine asserts that there is a growing cultural divide between the GIs returning from deployments in combat zones and the civilians they protect. In fact the gap represents a fundamental difference in life experience between veterans and non-veterans. The article suggests that many American civilians are both unaware of and uninterested in the wars which these men and women have been fighting.  Though over 6,000 have died, and many more have suffered debilitating physical and mental wounds, Iraq and Afghanistan are not at the forefront of civilian's lives or concerns.  The personal sacrifices of the civilian population is practically nil.  Our government has borrowed the money to pay for the combat, and there has been no rationing of consumer goods, no call for civilian participation, no war tax burdens.

The man in the street has not been even slightly inconvenienced. But the GI has been placed in harms way, given impossible missions, and in addition has patriotically accepted the personal loss of freedom that comes with military service. Gis live where they are told to, wear the clothes they are issued, and work whatever hours the mission requires. They don't get to quit or even complain - at least no publicly. The share a high standard of integrity and self discipline that is trained into them.  

We could go a long way to fixing the growing military-civilian social gap by instituting two policies: a combat surtax, and compulsory national service. The combat surtax policy would require that all combat funding be financed with an automatic surtax on all civilian income. This would be a separate deduction that you'd see along with unemployment insurance, social security, and other taxes.  We'd all feel the bite and the hardship. The compulsory national service would demand that everyone be enrolled in some form of military service: National Guard, reserves, ROTC, or active duty.  Certain alternative service that involves some degree of sacrifice could be considered: Peace Corps, Teach America, and perhaps careers as first responders or police. The point would be for absolutely EVERYONE to, in some significant way, serve and share the burden of protecting and nurturing our nation's vital interests.

Authors Website: http://rbshreve.com

Authors Bio:

Richmond Shreve is a retired business executive whose careers began in electronics (USN) and broadcasting in the 1960s. Over the years he has maintained a hobby interest in amateur radio, and the audio-visual arts while working in sales and marketing. For the last thirty years he was co-owner and CEO of the Middlebrook Crossroads business park (Edmar Corporation) in Bridgewater, NJ. He holds a lifetime FCC Second Class Commercial license, and an amateur radio General Class license (W2EMU). In 2012 Richmond retired from instructing sports car owners in high performance driving techniques at major tracks including NJ Motorsports Park, Watkins Glen, and Summit Point. He is the author and publisher of the Instructor Candidate Manual used by BMWCCA and other car clubs to train their on-track instructors.

Prior to moving to Newtown,PA, he volunteered as chief engineer of WCFA the Cape May, NJ community radio station as well as working as a gaffer on the Cape May Film Festival technical crew, a driver/engineer in the Cape May Point Volunteer Fire Company, served as its Treasurer and as Treasurer of its Firemen's Relief Association. He edited and printed the Cape May Point Taxpayer's Association Newsletter.

As a computer power user, graphic artist, photographer, and website designer he helps nonprofits build and maintain web sites. He is a fromer Vestry member of the Episcopal Church of the Advent.
Richmond is a citizen journalist and former Senior Editor at OpEdNews.com, a progressive news and opinion site on the internet.

Richmond lives with his wife Marguerite Chandler in Newtown, PA wher he continues to write essays ad short fiction. They travel extensively with their fifth wheel RV.

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Books:
Lost River Anthology (Amazon.com)
Instructor Candidate Manual (LuLu.com)