Because this war relies heavily on the use of National Guard units instead of the draft. National Guard units are based on the culture of rural U.S. White guys join the National Guard so they can shoot guns on weekends and make a few extra bucks.
[WS:] You are right on the money, Chuck. It is not the size of the wallet that decides what people do. It is their social networks, expectations, and values.
People with strong social affinity ties to the military, either through their families, or through their communities, or immersion in culture that glorifies military service are more likely to enlist than those who lack those ties.
This holds for other types of social activities as well. Not long ago, Dennis Claxton posted an article to this list arguing that the economic value of work does not deter people from engaging in criminal activities. What does is social ties and networks that either connect them to crime or to mainstream life.
Similar conclusions were reached about analyzing social movement participation. Again, social ties and networks connecting people to movement activities were the best predictor of participation.
The same holds for employment, dating, or leisure. Why would military be different? The 'poverty draft' story is nothing but a sour grapes excuse invented by the left to explain its own unpopularity and insignificance.
Wojtek