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Posted on 08/17/2011 5:54:02 PM PDT by Robert Drobot
(CBS News)WASHINGTON - The military retirement system has long been considered untouchable - along with Social Security and Medicare. But in these days of soaring deficits, it seems everything is a potential target for budget cutters. A Pentagon-sponsored study says military pensions are no longer untouchable - they're unaffordable.
CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports high-level, closely-held meetings are taking place at the Pentagon regarding a radical proposal to overhaul retirement for the nation's 1.4 million service members - a bedrock guarantee of military service.
The proposal comes from an influential panel of military advisors called the Defense Business Board. Their plan, laid out in a 24-page presentation "Modernizing the Military Retirement System," would eliminate the familiar system under which anyone who serves 20 years is eligible for retirement at half their salary. Instead, they'd get a 401k-style plan with government contributions.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
The dismemberment of the military retirement plan established to provide an incentive to give our military the depth of experience necessary to defend themselves, while responding to life threatening battlefield encounters has been abandoned by the Congress, the presidency, and the Pentagon. The 'best of the best' of our warriors in the military, losing life, limb, sight, speech and other painful and permanent physical and psychological impairments - standing in for us for payment in scraps - will be, as in England, former glory days; relegated to 'once upon a time' story telling.
They're about to gut our first-class military personnel - intentionally and seriously threatening the safety of our nation. They are taking away the single most important financial incentive we can offer our young men and women to shed their bodily fluids for the few nickels and dimes we toss them. How much is love of country worth on the gold scales ? What can love of country buy on Wall Street ?
Under the backstabbing script written by our spineless spendthrift Congress who only know how to approve legislation on which kind of light bulb we must use, or vote on law they've never read, and now blame/applaud the criminal alien for spending every red cent they borrowed from the FED ( with interest ) appropriated to him.
Entering stage left cometh John 'I never saw an aisle or a border I couldn't cross' McCain, who in concert with his brother snakes, erected a faceless group of civilians now doing business with the Pentagon - none of whom spent twenty years in our military - ( See http://dbb.defense.gov/dbbteam.shtml ) to lessen the blow of the first salvo aimed at the backside of our leathernecks.
Their name, 'Defense Business Board' really fits, given they're primary concern lies in the money funnel end of the Pentagon ( military/industrial monster ) payoff.
While our grunts followed the commands of a variety of commanders-in-chiefs having no military background sleeping in his White House, his beloved America went from best to bust.
• Trillions were doled out to every country and international store front fraud our Congress, our president, our thieving Federal Reserve System could find;
• Rigged 'entitlement' programs managed by new federal fiefdoms were created to siphon our wealth;
• The military-industrial complex President Eisenhower warned us about - with every political hack Defense Secretary in tow - turned on the hydrant to pay for the billions upon billions wasted on gimmick research and development, as is being done as you read this sentence.
The hydrant is dry. We owe the shirts on our backs to the greatest enemies of our once revered Constitutional freedoms. The vast military grave sites dotting our country and all parts of the world lie in stark contrast to the amoral state of a country gone bad.
Just as Main Street Mom and Pop, their kids and their grandkids are paying and will be chained to the incredulous debt and squandering of what was the richest nation in the world. Now the puppet masters expect us to watch in silence, while the heart of our pride is squeezed. The focus has turned on the lowly enlisted grunt to pay for the insane multinational greed griping America.
Back in the day, enlisting at 20 years of age one could with a great amount of luck avoid the loss of limb, sight, speech or other physical and or psychological fire-fight struggles for the next 20 years. He could request discharge at age 40. His retirement pay would have been calculated at 50% of his monthly wage during the last three years of his enlistment; that was before the scripted presidential and congressional dirty work decreed by the 'I never saw an enlisted man or woman I couldn't screw' Defense Business Board. According to the script there will no longer be a military retirement after twenty years of service. It will be replaced with a government managed 401K, which will require enlisted personnel contributions from the chump change we pay them. The government says it will co-contribute with some paltry sum. But then we all know only too well a politicians' promise is has the same value as our currency - stolen by the government to dole out 'entitlements' to illegal aliens - not unlike the governments' theft of our Social Security contributions.
The quicksand here is the 401K payout will be held by the government until the retired enlisted personnel reach retirement age - some 30 years after retiring from 20 years in the military. Their military 401K will not be available to them or their families for another 30 years ( presuming the retirement age will, in all likelihood, be raised to age 70 ). Civilian union government employees, having an income greatly exceeding enlisted personnel, do not carry this financial ball and chain.
Upon discharge he will, of necessity, be required to find a source of income for the next 30 years. Because the skill set learned within the military is not applicable to civilian life, our 40 year old discharged example will need to learn a private sector skill set. Presuming the discharged individual has a wife and children, he will - without welfare - need to find and pay for living quarters, food, clothing, travel to and from school, school PTA, re-training, Psych assistance, furniture and like accommodations.
Once a private sector skill is learned he will find himself competing with civilians half his age for the same job. The military will return to conscripted, less capable and experienced personnel, leading to a greater body count and battle defeats. America is now the laughing stock of the world. The Beatles wrote, "....money can't buy you love....". America didn't listen.
How ‘bout a ‘radical overhaul’ of politican and federal employee pensions? I don’t see that happening but it’s a nice thought.
Odd how they wouldn’t start with cutting the pensions and benefits of the politicians...
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Interesting times are a'commin'.
I knew this was going to happen once the ‘RATS allowed the fairies to “openly serve” in the military. The ‘RATS are always out there looking for a way to stick it to the homosexuals.
Could government possibly have thought of anything more harmful, to undermine this country?
It's a total breakdown, where few will escape the great harm caused by government.
A title search came back zero, so I posted, mr.
Nothing like having 15 years in the military and being stationed in Afghanistan, after serving 3 tours in Iraq, and having your superior officers in the Pentagon trying to screw over your retirement.
What a boon to morale.
My advice to young Americans, learn a trade and stay out of the military.The present administration does not appreciate your efforts.
No pension for them anyway—Congressional service is not a career.
And my advice to my fellow young Americans is to learn many different things, to be adaptable, and to be ready to do whatever it takes to provide for their families.
Congress members get a full pay retirement after two terms, I believe. Check it out.
Live by the government, die by the government.
Anyone-anyone-who depends on the government and who is not actively and aggressively engaged in reducing that dependence to zero deserves whatever he or she gets in the end.
The United States, privately and publicly, spent itself into oblivion, supported by both Republicans and Democrats. Now, the piper is coming to collect his dues, and just like in the Grimm fairy tale, the piper will take away America's future generations.
Our country's greatest enemy is the three headed beast called the federal government, led by the State Department communist witch from hell.
” If I posted what I really wanted to say, I wouldn’t blame JimRob for giving me a timeout. “
Same here....
We ought to be in the streets demanding this before any moves are made on the military.
Congressional pay, benefits, pensions and assorted perks should be the first on the chopping block.
Ditto.
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