To address the main issue raised in Krugman's op-ed piece in the NYTimes, one must understand why the GOP wants to make it tougher for people to declare bankruptcy and thus, have a fresh start. The rationale is quite simple. Actually, it is so simple I am surprised that Professor Krugman did not see it - it's right in front of him.
If people are forced into a treadmill of poverty from generation to generation, it will make people face some serious hard choices: stay poor or do something to make their lives better. The only way they can pull themselves out of poverty is to join the armed forces and try to scrape by and survive (literally).
It is no surprise that the US Armed Forces is way behind in their recruiting drives. As many people see how much blood has been shed in Iraq, future soldiers are walking away from a live of military service. The only action the US government can take is to make it so hard for the poor to live. Once the poor find life so impossible to live they will have to turn to the government for help. And the only way the government will help is to offer them a career in the armed forces.
Now, don't get me wrong - I think the US government is onto a great idea. If a world government does not value human life, it is better to put people to work by proteching the motherland/fatherland/homeland and derive some sense of 'personal self worth' and 'nationalism'.
Since the US does not want to bring back the military draft, the easiest way it can maintain a standing army is to draft people through the backdoor: poverty. It is so simple. Force people to join the army, navy and marines.
The US government is presently the world's only superpower and global policeman. With that responsibility, the US needs to double, if not - triple, its current level of deployable troops. (Leave out the National Guard numbers.) As long as no other country is willing to help shoulder the global responsibility of peace, the US will face that task at an enormous cost to itself and its citizens.
So, Professor Krugman, please rewrite your op-ed to consider what I have just written.
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