Posted on 09/19/2011 3:42:14 AM PDT by SkyPilot
As Washington looks to squeeze savings from once-sacrosanct entitlements like Social Security and Medicare, another big social welfare system is growing as rapidly, but with far less scrutiny: the health and pension benefits of military retirees.
Military pensions and health care for active and retired troops now cost the government about $100 billion a year, representing an expanding portion of both the Pentagon budget — about $700 billion a year, including war costs — and the national debt, which together finance the programs.
Making even incremental reductions to military benefits is typically a doomed political venture, given the public’s broad support for helping troops, the political potency of veterans groups and the fact that significant savings take years to appear.
But the intense push in Congress this year to reduce the debt and the possibility that the Pentagon might have to begin trimming core programs like weapons procurement, research, training and construction have suddenly made retiree benefits vulnerable, military officials and experts say.
And if Congress fails to adopt the deficit-reduction recommendations of a bipartisan joint Congressional committee this fall, the Defense Department will be required under debt ceiling legislation passed in August to find about $900 billion in savings over the coming decade. Cuts that deep will almost certainly entail reducing personnel benefits for active and retired troops, Pentagon officials and analysts say.
“We’ve got to put everything on the table,” Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said recently on PBS, acknowledging that he was looking at proposals to rein in pension costs.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
You are so right. I served for 31 years now my retirement is akin to welfare. WTH.
It is called Survivor benefit plan. Your father paid a monthly insurance on his retirement pay. I currently pay $179 per month so my wife will get 50% of my retirement if I die first. It is not a freebe your Dad planned. Ahead and paid for it.
I think you have a very valid point.
“...another big social welfare system...”
I personally find this statement to be insulting and demeaning.
No chit. They already cut our benefits. No Cost of Living Allowance for the last three years. Reason: The cost of living in the US has not gone up the last three years. I am wondering is there are two United States because the one I live in all the prices has risen ovet the last few years.
I’m sure they have legions of homos waiting to take thier places.
Not to mention the billions or is it trillions we have spent on foreign aid and defending nations that not only hate us but are wealthy. What have we got out of it? loss of lives of our military...now they want to cut them again? look at Kuwait...we saved their asses and when we asked them to invest in our economy they said NO...they are investing in Asia!!!!!!!!!! retirees colas have been frozen and prescriptions have gone up by 2 dollars additional on each one...btw...MEDICAID has a huge amount of fraud and some pop out one baby after another on the taxpayer dole...get foodstamps, wic, etc on top of that...at least medicare is paid into by the recipient. We have tricare and still pay 1300 a yr deductible on medicare..we dont consider it an entitlement...24 yrs and 3 tours in Korea and 2 in Nam...with the lower wages and earned pension
Yes, I’m a military retiree so I have a dawg in this.
I can see them raising the Tricare for life premiums and that saving a lot of money. That’s probably fair. None of us signed up for that benefit. Quite frankly, when I signed up, there wasn’t a monthly payment for healthcare so it was never talked about. However, they shouldn’t mess with the pay!! That was something promised to us. We did our part in fighting this countries wars, now it’s time for them to do their part. I also don’t understand how they want to do this 401k thing in the future how that will save money. When they’ll be paying this out to everyone who signs up, be it for 20 or 3 years. Unless people signing up for 3 or 4 years get practically nothing.
What did anyone collecting SSI before 65, or Medicaid or foodstamps or housing do to deserve their “benefit”? Cut there first!!! Also, if you’re going to ask us to sacrifice, how about raising your own premiums? How about cutting the benefits to the union workers in the government?
No, everything should not be on the table. We can afford it if we implement the right economic policies to spur growth, increase revenue, and cut where we dont need to spend. A poster before me laid it out well.
Especially them.
Check this out - the NY Slimes writers of this garbage piece are doing damage control.
In the comments section of their own article no less. They must have received major flack for calling a military retirement "welfare." The Obama administration, the NY Slimes, and Democrats don't even call Welfare programs "Welfare."
Can you believe this?
Very weak mea culpa indeed. According to their definition...all of congress, the president and fed employees fall under the definition of social welfare.
Or quit paying for illegals.
Larry Korb, quoted in the article, is a perfect example of somebody gaming the system to secure a number of federal pensions without seeing a day of combat. Larry was also one of the primary water carriers for homosexualizing the military. It’s a shame guys like this are heard from so often and yet men like Generals Krulak, Pace and Mixon are never from again.
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