Posted on 11/27/2013 7:06:07 AM PST by DJ Taylor
Like many active-duty soldiers and veterans in the area, Mark Erskine goes to the commissaries on Fort Bragg to buy food and basic household supplies.
Erskine, who is commander of American Legion Post 230, cannot imagine not having the stores. Yet the Defense Department has reportedly asked the Defense Commissary Agency for a plan to close all stateside base commissaries.
The stores have long been a subject of scrutiny on Capitol Hill, with the grocery benefit regarded by some lawmakers as an outdated, unnecessary expenditure
(Excerpt) Read more at fayobserver.com ...
Military and veteran families save 30% by shopping at military commissaries, but our commissaries still make just enough profit to pay for their own up keep, so what’s going on here? As usual, when government politicians are involved, just follow the money and it will lead you to the motive. If our military and veterans lose their commissary benefit, they’ll have to shop for groceries at the local off post civilian grocery stores, and that will greatly increase the profits of these civilian grocers.
Civilian grocery chains near military facilities have been lobbying Congress for years to close these Military Commissaries so they could get the business, and it looks like they just might have now bought enough Democrat politicians to eliminate one of the last remaining benefits our military and veterans still have.
Why don’t we just take away all the extra benefits accorded the Military? That is how it is done in Socialist countries. Why should we honor and support those who have pledged their lives to this country? (Heavy sarcasm) This Admin wants our Military to be as weak as everyone else. I hope we can resurrect America after these Socialists depart the halls of power.
Guess where 99 cent stores are going to open?.
I live in a “military” town next to an Army installation in a relatively remote rural area. It is 90 miles to the closest “large” city.
Having military commissaries and exchanges benefits BOTH the military/retired persons living in the area and the pure civilians that cannot shop at the commissary. One may ask why? Well it is simple - competition. The only store in the area is a Wal-Mart. They keep their prices low because they have to compete with the commissary and PX. IF those military stores were to close, then Wal-Mart’s prices would go through the roof because they would have NO competition.
Also, the junior enlisted REALLY need the break they get in commissary prices.
I used to live in a “major” city with a military installation in it. The commissary there didn’t get much business because in that environment the competition was outside of the installation amoung the different stores. In that environment the commissary really wasn’t any cheaper than the civilian stores.
However, it is still necessary for those uneeded stores to operate in order for the “needed” ones (like the ones close to me) to be able to keep their prices low (due to buying in bulk).
What I expect is the store will stay on base but walmart or some other chain will pay $$$$ to the government to be allowed to run them as a regular chain store
I expect the commsary and BX to both go
With the proper kickbacks to whoever
Its all about money and in who’s pocket it winds up in
“According to the Department of Defense, the average commissary shopper saves up to 30 percent compared with prices at nonmilitary grocery stores. But operating the stores is expensive for the government. In order to subsidize 247 commissaries worldwide, Stars and Stripes has reported, the stores receive $1.4 billion in annual taxpayer subsidies.”
Drop in the bucket for a stellar group of people devoting their lives to this country.
Notice the hacks in Washington don’t have any problem doling out billions in food stamps to beat the band.
When I was a little boy, my Daddy was still in the Naval Reserve from World War II and we shopped in these stores when occassion warranted it.
It was mostly buying bulk foods for our large family. They were very well managed and contributed a healthy profit. They also provided a substantial source of employment for military spouses who gave a far better brand of service than your typical kid with a nose jewel clerking at your local Wal-Mart.
The military may be extremely wasteful on a lot of things. But two things they do very well is logistics and buying in bulk.
“And maybe those grocers will then reduce their prices to make them that much more affordable.”
No, they will not. A business will charge as much the market will bear. Closing the commissary will just allow them to continue to charge what they do...or more.
I am NOT saying it is “immoral” to make a profit. That is what free enterprise and business is about. However, military personnel - especially the junior enlisted - need the lower prices provided by commissaries - in many locations.
Then close the House and Senate perks,,Barber Shop, dining rooms, parking privileges, free transport on military Air, franking, Walter Reed hospital coverage etc. Yeah! fat chance the privileged RULING CLASS will dop that.
Well, the GOP still controls the house, all they need to do is to attach a rider to any bill prohibiting this and it is stopped.
Commissary employees are appropriated funds employees. That means their salaries are paid with tax dollars. Not a criticism (I go to the commissary every couple of weeks), but we need to keep the record straight.
The surcharge pays for building upkeep and construction.
See here:
http://www.commissaries.com/documents/contact_deca/faqs/surcharge.cfm
This is a big deal. A lot of my friends who were in the military told me that those place saved their butts while they lived on a pretty meager military salary.
The military may be extremely wasteful on a lot of things. But two things they do very well is logistics and buying in bulk.
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You are correct. The military deals w/ food vendors directly and negotiates the price it will pay for products...and they are tough negotiators. For example, they will go to a cereal vendor and say...we will put you into 250 outlets and we will buy 10,000 cases...what’s our cost? Very little promotional money is tied up for the vendor...so they can afford to lower the price.
The military ‘owns’ the inventory (responsible for) ... but it flows thru various private distribution channels who then ‘sell’ the product (at the negotiated price) to the military. Vendors clamor to get approval to supply the military bases.
The past few years the military has done what private food companies have already done...consolidate decision making/buying on which food items get slotted into the military stores. They’ve become very, very efficient w/ $$ spent.
It would be a shame for the military families to lose the ability to save money on their food purchases. As a country, I believe we CAN and SHOULD support our military families and service members.
So many junior enlisted are married and/or have kids. They’re drawing sep rats & housing allowance & maybe COLA.
They’re not single, living in barracks & eating in the messhall.
Time was, E-4 & below DID NOT marry.
They can just issue SNAP Cards to all the Troops. They love the Foodstamp program...
True, and for a good reason. When I enlisted in the USMC in 1959, my pay was $78 dollars a month, and $25 dollars of that went to laundry. (A Marine had to "break starch" daily back then)
First they modified the lifetime health benefits for retirees, now they want to close Commissaries? Are they going to close the PX too? Do bases still have auto and hobby shops or have those gone away too?
This is absolute BS, members of the military aren’t exactly rolling in money and benefits and they want to take away the last option available to them?
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