The Antoniak Citizen Service System

Preface:  There is talk of reinstitution of the draft in the United States.  This paper does not address the merits of that possibility.  It does address what I think is a fairer draft policy.

Citizen Service (Antoniak) System

  1. Everyone, both men and women, will be subject to the Citizen Service System.
  2. There will be no deferments or age limits, but each candidate must still qualify for the position served.
  3. There will be a wide diversity of positions, many of which would not be military, such as the Peace Corps.
  4. An allotment of positions will be distributed to the States based on population.  States may distribute them to counties and cities if they want.  As an example, a county may decide that four years on a Grand Jury, or as an unpaid County Supervisor could constitute Citizen Service.
  5. Citizens will be able to decide when, where and in what position to serve, they may even wait until retirement.
  6. In order to prevent life deferments, there will be a surcharge[10 – 25%] on income tax and possibly a similar reduction in SSI.
  7. There may be other laws in connection with Citizenship Service as appropriate such as a requiring Citizen Service before running for public office.

The Antoniak system does away with draft boards and the inequities of deferments.  If you are in school, for instance, you probably are not paying much, if any, taxes.  So school deferments are therefore not necessary.  If you have a disability, but are still able to earn an income, there probably will be a job for you in Citizen Service.  If you are not able to make a living, then you are probably not paying taxes anyway.  So a surcharge will not apply.  The Military can still reject you if you are not qualified or have a bad attitude. Conscientious Objectors will not have to do their service in the military because there will be many other options.

The tax surcharge could be revenue neutral and could be phased in over multiple years.  Some people may choose to never serve, but they will therefore pay more taxes over their lifetime, both wealthy and poor alike.  The emphasis will be on getting citizens to invest themselves in their country and in so doing, learn to value it more. If someone is a highly paid professional like a doctor, all the more reason to serve and reduce their tax burden. Those who have already served will be grandfathered in.

  As a possible adjunct to the system, a person may be reimbursed a portion of the tax surcharge paid, if he or she waits until retirement to serve.