Posted on 12/14/2013 3:25:15 AM PST by SkyPilot
Edited on 12/14/2013 4:31:16 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
So how many homes did you have to buy and sell or moves did you have to make during your military career?
There was someone out here who made the statement that the military were made offers of pension benefits just as you have done. This is a legitimate statement. But if you make this kind of statement, you have to be consistent. The same statement applies to federal workers as well as pensioners in Detroit. Just because they "don't offer their lives on the line" is no reason the law should work any differently. (Try arguing that to a school teacher these days.)
People do not deserve to have their pensions cut any more than the military. Pensions are NOT entitlements but are benefits, rightfully or wrongfully, promised by the government for services render. People make decisions based upon salary and/or benefits a job offerer makes. Sure, arguments could be made that many of these pensions were too generous or given because of special interest groups. But that could be said for just about any group-including the military. In my mind pensions promised shouldn't be touched. They are compensation for service performed. And that includes pensions in private industry for which they should set aside funds they can't touch. Pension guanantees are not the same thing as say, disability payments, farm subsidies, food stamps, etc.
All this being said, one look at the budget should tell us that entitlements and benefits need to be cut. We have to drastically cut welfare, food stamps, etc. And there isn't anything wrong with cutting FUTURE federal worker/military pensions. Just as there is nothing wrong with telling FUTURE state workers they are going to have their benefits cut. A person going into the military has a right to make a decision whether they are willing to make this sacrifice. There isn't a forced draft any longer. It called supply and demand. If people think they can make more and save more by being an investment banker verses a military planner then go for it.
I'm totally against Paul Ryan's budget deal. It cuts promises made by this government while not touching entitlements. There is nothing in this budget deal that even keeps the status quo. He caved.
We either cut now or the cuts later will be much harder. That is the plain and simple truth.
Too many moves and too many tears.
I hear you ..... but they are not cutting Entitlements. At all. To the contrary, they are exploding.
This is political cowardice at its worst. They are punishing the people who have fought, bled, and suffered for this nation the most - especially in the last 12 years.
That is going to change.
I am retired military, so I hear you and agree with most of your statement. But, in defense of Federal civilians, some of them do deploy into harms way. When I was flying Air Force cargo aircraft, I brought in plenty of FBI and DoD civilians into some very dangerous areas and situations. Let's face it - some agencies are depots for overweight do-nothings (Dept of Education is a prime example). Other agencies earn their bread and I respect those people.
What is a double stab in the back is that this guy.....a supposed "hero" to Conservatives, and our former VP candidate, led the charge to mow down veterans and current military. I am getting e-mails from wives of deployed military. They are in tears at this betrayal.
Shame on Ryan and the rest of these jackasses.
I hope he pays a dear political price for this.
My best time was as an enlisted although I didn’t know it at the time. The military is the last institution the liberals are trying to crack but they’re making in rows. I’ve had more than one Colonel tell me they’re a die-hard liberal. They see themselves more as a peacekeeping force than a deterrent (which means they harbor no regrets of spying on US citizens all in the interest of peace).
I agree. I have said since last year that if Medicaid, Social Security, and other entitlements agreed to accept Chained CPI, then it would be to the fiscal benefit to the nation.
That is not what this betrayal is at all. This singles veterans out, it exempts the Entitlements that are the REAL causes of debt and deficits, and it is worse than Chained CPI. This is going to cost veterans 20% of their retirement, or worse. And Paul Ryan and Boehner are minimizing it, saying it is nothing. They are lying.
Agreed. I’m shocked and ashamed of these despicable, morally challenged politicians.
Absolutely...I’m so mad at the Republicans for caving (and that is exactly what they did). That’s what make this whole thing so odious.
I’ll only vote Republican because I will not vote for a Democrat.
I’ll vote for a (legitimate) Tea Party candidate over a Republican even if it splits the vote.
And I would love to hear any FReepers complain to me about vote spliting. The Republicans are worthless and underminding our cause.
They are betraying our veterans for less than cost of one day's Federal spending.
Think about that.
I am done with supporting the Republican party as a monolith.
I may support an individual candidate or two, but that is it. I am done.
They have proven themselves to be an enemy of veterans and the military. The days of Ronald Reagan might as well have been 1,000 years ago.
What is so outrageous about the Ryan-Murray "deal" is that future Federal employees have to contribute more to the pensions, but for military, they reached back to veterans who retired years ago. This is nothing but a 20% tax on those Americans who have given the most to this nation.
Exactly.
..and he is now pushing amnesty..,He’s toast, as far as I’m concerned.
There are not that many veterans or military to compete with the Takers.
Less than 1% of current Americans serve, and less than 3% of living Americans have ever served.
Meanwhile, there are 49 Million Takers alone who have SNAP cards.
Our cowardly politicians have done the political math.
Are you telling us that you’re a combat veteran and now you think we’re paid too much/should be first in line for reductions?
Agreed.
I read a statement by a retired Air Force 3-star who was a Pentagon Comptroller director in the 1980s. He said personnel costs, adjusted for inflation, were about 28% of DoD spending back in the Reagan era, and today they are 29.4%. The rhetoric out of Chuck Hagel's and Gen Dempsy's offices that it is the people serving who are the disease is a load of garbage.
They are simply throwing their own people into the shredder. That is the cold, hard truth.
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