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Cato Daily Dispatch for December 31, 2002

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Rangel to Offer Legislation Resuming Draft
New Maryland Law Requires Handgun Trigger Locks
OMB Reduces Iraq War Cost Estimate

Rangel to Offer Legislation Resuming Draft

In an op-ed in today's New York Times, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) says that he will introduce legislation next week in Congress to resume the military draft.

Rangel, a veteran of the Korean War, writes, "I believe that if we are going to send our children to war, the governing principle must be that of shared sacrifice. . . . I believe that if those calling for war knew that their children were likely to be required to serve - and to be placed in harm's way - there would be more caution and a greater willingness to work with the international community in dealing with Iraq. A renewed draft will help bring a greater appreciation of the consequences of decisions to go to war."

Senior Fellow Doug Bandow argues that the all-volunteer military currently in use is superior to one that would have soldiers who were conscripted in "Draft Would Cast a Chill Over the Military."

"The armed services are filled with people who desire to serve, reducing discipline problems," writes Bandow. "Those who are discontented are released. With conscription, the services can ill afford to kick out even the worst performers, since doing so would reward those wanting out. . . . Conscription advocates also criticize a so-called underclass military, even though rigorous educational and test standards mean that few of the underclass ever suit up."

New Maryland Law Requires Handgun Trigger Locks

"The nation's first state law requiring all new handguns to be outfitted with built-in trigger locks will take effect in Maryland tomorrow, a measure gun control advocates predict will save lives but one that has gun dealers fearing for their livelihoods," according to The Washington Post.

"Only six models of handguns and integrated trigger locks now on the market would meet the law's standards, and manufacturers of other models have started cutting back their distribution in Maryland, several dealers said yesterday.

"The trigger-lock provision was part of a raft of gun control measures the Maryland General Assembly passed in 2000 despite bitter opposition from the rural reaches of the state and the National Rifle Association, which enlisted its 50,000 Maryland members to phone lawmakers just before key votes."

In "Gun Control: Myths and Realities," David Lampo, Cato's publications director, debunks some of the myths surrounding gun control. Although many advocates of gun locks claim the devices are needed to curb the number of children killed by guns annually, Lampo argues that gun accidents involving children are actually at a record low.

"In 1997 . . . only 142 children under 15 years of age died in gun accidents, and the total number of gun-related deaths for this age group was 642. More children die each year in accidents involving bikes, space heaters or drownings. The often repeated claim that 12 children per day die from gun violence includes 'children' up to 20 years of age, the great majority of whom are young adult males who die in gang-related violence."

OMB Reduces Iraq War Cost Estimate

"The administration's top budget official estimated yesterday that the cost of a war with Iraq could be in the range of $50 billion to $60 billion, a figure that is well below earlier estimates from White House officials," reports The New York Times.

"In a telephone interview, the official, Mitchell E. Daniels Jr., director of the Office of Management and Budget, also said there was likely to be a deficit in the fiscal 2004 budget, though he declined to specify how large it would be. The administration is scheduled to present its budget to Congress on Feb. 3.

"Daniels would not provide specific costs for either a long or a short military campaign against Saddam Hussein. But he said that the administration was budgeting for both, and that earlier estimates of $100 billion to $200 billion in Iraq war costs by Lawrence B. Lindsey, Bush's former chief economic adviser, were too high."

Earlier this year, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that a war with Iraq could cost up to $9 billion a month.

In "Top Ten Reasons Not To 'Do' Iraq," Ivan Eland, Cato's director of defense policy studies, argues against war with Iraq and suggests that the cost of war would be a huge strain on the economy.

Eland writes, "At a time of economic sluggishness and of red ink for the U.S. government, an invasion and long-term occupation of Iraq could cost billions of dollars, bust the budget and throw the U.S. economy into a tailspin. The Gulf War Cost $80 billion (in 2002 dollars). Because the United States would probably be faced with a long occupation of Iraq to stabilize the country after the invasion, the cost is likely to be higher this time around. And unlike the Gulf War, no financial support from other nations can be expected to defray the costs."

Jonathan Block, editor, jblock@cato.org