While the choice for volunteers is bad, the state has a much better option - divert some of that money spent on the military and spend it on improving many aspects of society that need it.

I recall a situation from around the early 1990s when there was a proposal to spend about $2 billion on public education. The reaction from lawmakers was like this: Where the heck are we going to get all that money from?

That was just $2 billion! Funding Operation Desert Storm was no big deal.