Robust data shows universal healthcare kills military recruitment

As shown in equation (7), the estimated coefficients for all six of the non-trend explanatory variables exhibit the expected signs, with three being significant at the one percent level, and three being significant at the five percent level. Thus, this 2SPLS estimate reveals that the U.S. Army enlistment rate is an increasing function of both the percent of the population classified as veterans and the civilian unemployment rate, while being a decreasing function of personal income per capita, the percent of the population with a Bachelors degree or more, and the fatality rate. Finally, there is yet more strong evidence on behalf of the hypothesis that the greater the percentage of the civilian population that is without health insurance, the greater the incentive at the margin for civilians to enlist in the U.S. Army. 4. Conclusion This study addresses an essentially heretofore-ignored issue, namely, "Does the unavailability of health insurance act as a marginal incentive for persons to enlist in the U.S. Army?" Within a cost-benefit framework, the present study provides insight into this issue. The empirical analysis includes a variety of control variables and takes the form of a state-level panel data study for the years 2003 through 2007, the most recent years to date for which all of the variables in the model are available and dependable. The six PLS and one 2SPLS results demonstrate, among other things, that the greater the percentage of the civilian population without health insurance, the greater the rate of enlistment in the U.S. Army. One logical implication of this finding would be that if universal health care were implemented across the U.S. as a whole, as would be the case under HR 3200 and the variations thereof being considered by Congress, other things held constant, it would have a deleterious impact on the U.S. army enlistment rate and, presumably, on enlistment in all branches of the military. To the extent that this conclusion holds, additional incentives to increase enlistment would be necessitated in order to maintain the desired/required levels of military personnel.