The Iowa Statesman
A panel created by Congress has decided it knows how to deal with the rising cost of veterans’ health benefits and military retirees’ pensions and health care. The panel’s proposal is likely to anger a lot of Americans, including those who haven’t worn the uniform.
According to Stars & Stripes, the panel has recommended a number of changes meant to trim about $12 billion from the federal defense budget. Many of the recommendations have been framed as suggestions from current active-duty military and retirees.
The tough-to-swallow part may actually be the “visuals” of the situation. While military benefits, like all government employee benefits, have ballooned to unsustainable levels over the last quarter century, the average member of the military isn’t paid anywhere near what a G-scale government employee makes.
We’re mere days into the highly successful run of “American Sniper” in cinemas across the U.S. That film goes to great lengths to paint an accurate picture of the very difficult job our military members perform on a daily basis. The “ironclad” benefits for the military was meant to be continued compensation for a debt our nation can never fully repay.
Efforts like this seem, on first glance, to be more like a spit in the eye rather than a pat on the back.
Follow Us