Posted on 01/06/2014 4:32:25 PM PST by SkyPilot
Led by Paul Ryan and Patty Murray but abetted by Barack Obama, Congress recently gambled with our nation’s future for an extremely modest short-term gain.
In doing so, it was given aid and comfort by knowledge-starved pundits, axe-grinding editorial boards, and self-anointed armchair analysts everywhere, as it left the military and veteran community standing with their jaws on the ground in despairing disbelief. Exploiting pressure to strike a budget compromise, Ryan and Murray entered into an unholy alliance to reduce veteran pensions – including those already vested under previous covenants – by an average of $84,000 to $120,000.
They obscured this act, as often happens when attempting to mislead, by employing complex-sounding budget doublespeak to minimize the magnitude of the associated moral breach as well as the consequences to veterans and families. In a way, this debacle can be seen as part of our nation’s continual inability to comprehend and bear the costs of being a global superpower with quasi-imperial interests secured by less than one-half of one percent of its population. But the particulars in this case suggest something more disturbing lurking behind the standard wallet-grabbing Congressional milieu: a startling absence of strategic deliberation. When such a deficit impairs elected leaders responsible for national security, potentially grave consequences attend.
Good strategists always ask of any potential course of action two key questions. First, what will this do for us? And second, what will this do to us? Given the dearth of statesmanly impulse at the national level in modern America, it is perhaps unsurprising that in crafting the recent budget, Paul Ryan and Patty Murray asked only the former question, leaving the latter for others to worry about.
The provision at issue retroactively renegotiated the deferred compensation of more than two million military veterans...
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Amen, friend. They sure didn’t mind the payments when folks were deploying to Afghanistan and Iraq again and again and again...or even when I was spending half of every year in Saudi Arabia patrolling the No-Fly zone.
Kipling was right.
But when it comes to fightin’, Lord! they’ll shove me in the stalls!
For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, wait outside”;
But it’s “Special train for Atkins” when the trooper’s on the tide...
“Levin initially told reporters Tuesday that he would back Ayotte’s bill, providing a big boost to the effort to reverse the military retiree cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) reduction included in the last month’s budget deal.
But a Levin aide said that the Armed Services chairman endorsed Ayotte’s bill before realizing that it restored the cuts by preventing illegal immigrants from claiming a child tax credit.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3109428/posts
“So enlighten us then. Do you work for free?”
Ah, so I said military should work for free now, did I?
The poster said he’d stayed in for the retirement. Retirement in his 40’s, maybe even late 30’s.
A multi-million dollar retirement that we cannot afford to pay.
We can’t afford to pay million-dollar retirement packages for every federal, military, civilian and municipal retiree.
That’s just the way it is.
Taxpayers don’t have the money. Right now we borrow the difference, but that will inevitably end.
Then what do we do?
“No, we are not.”
Yes we are. We’re still spending, but we’re more broke every day.
“A man who doesn’t look at what happens to his family is a man who isn’t worth squat. “
Explain that to your grandchildren when you hand them the bill.
Now, if you are worth a multi-million dollar retirement package, just say so.
I’m one of the guys paying for it. There aren’t enough of me to pay all of the folks like you everything you want to get.
So what do we do?
If you are trying to justify your check because someone else also gets a check I’m not sure what your objective is.
We don’t have the money, not for all the Federal, military, state and municipal retirees to get million dollar pensions.
We don’t have money for illegals or obamaphones either.
We can’t pay for any of it.
So what do we do?
REMEMBER CONGRESSTHING DEBBIE WHATSHERNAME SCHULTZ ASKING FOR DONATIONS FOR HER POOR STAFF? WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE? WIZ ON THAT HUH? LET'S GO AFTER NCO JONES PENSION AND BENIFITS INSTEAD.
In case you are just awakening from a long Coma a war has been declared against our military by our government. It seems to be pointed at destroying it by demoralizing it. Open gays in uniform. persecuting troops in combat with liberal JAGS, or cutting retirement they are doing it however they can do it.
“I’m one of the guys paying for it. There aren’t enough of me to pay all of the folks like you everything you want to get.”
You are one of the guys who promised to pay the bonds that the retirement pension fund consists of...so are you a liar?
It was pre-paid, and the US has not yet defaulted on our debt. The only sense in which you pay anything currently is in honoring the bonds sold to the trust fund.
“Explain that to your grandchildren when you hand them the bill.”
My kids were in the military. And my grandkids will grow up knowing how to pay their bills and keep their promises. It is a pity you do not know how.
“We don’t have the money, not for all the Federal, military, state and municipal retirees to get million dollar pensions.”
The military pension is the only one mentioned that has been fully funded all along. That was one of the reasons I trusted it - because it was prepaid, and backed with the full faith and credit of the United States of America.
Now you want me to feel sorry for you because you need to honor the bonds you issued. Well, I think you must be a pathetic weasel to complain about paying back the money you borrowed from military veterans.
And you STILL refuse to say what good things Congress will do with the “savings”. You also fail to explain why only the military needs to “save” the money.
I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take a 20% cut in my retirement, when the folks on SS, welfare, and all federal employees also take a 20% cut. When it is across the board, and goes to cut the debt, we’ve got a deal. Until then, you and your Democrat friends are simply attacking their betters out of hatred and envy so you can shovel the money to people you like better.
Which will it be - tax refunds to illegals who don’t pay taxes ($4,200 million each year) or the military retirement system ($600 million each year)? It seems you prefer the illegals...and you are a FREEPER!
Good Lord, but our country has gone to hell! Even Freepers want to punish the military and reward illegals!
“I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take a 20% cut in my retirement, when the folks on SS, welfare, and all federal employees also take a 20% cut. “
You very likely won’t have to take even this reduction in increase (known as a “cut” amongst government check recipients of all kinds). Nobody will get even a small haircut. It’ll just keep rolling along.
Until it stops.
Then what do we do?
Eddie Munster’s gotta go.
” a war has been declared against our military by our government.”
A bit of a drama queen, aren’t you?
No, but perhaps you can give the people who sacrificed for your freedom a break from pension cuts.
“No, but perhaps you can give the people who sacrificed for your freedom a break from pension cuts.”
Nobody is going to get cut. Not even this “reduction in increase” will go through.
Nobody will get anything but more.
Except for folks paying for it all.
Not in the least. Not even Carter damaged the military to the extent and organized efforts being seen in today's politicians both DEM & GOP.
Now answer the question. Why not first cut non essential non constitutional agencies first? Defense is a Constitutional function of government including providing for the troops. Why do you think our retired troops should be cut first before any of the others? What did the others risk? A paper cut?
The government is not waging war on the military. Like all government bureaucracies the military is wasteful and unaccountable.
The government is pillaging the private sector through taxes, regulation, and spending. The private sector will not be able to pay for all of this.
No government check recipient will ever have to do with less, nor will they have to do with “less more”
How in your twisted mind do you get that somehow the government by funding the military to the tune of $500B+ is somehow at “war” with it?
“Defense is a Constitutional function of government including providing for the troops.”
Oh you want to go there? You think that somehow we won’t have a defense if something less than $500B+ is spent - and that will somehow violate the Constitution if the Military budget is reduced?
THe Constitution does not guarantee multi-million dollar pensions for federal and military retirees.
The Constitution doesn’t guarantee the NSA (US Military) the right to violate the Constitution?
Nevermind.....you’ll never understand if you don’t understand the basic math of our insolvency.
We’ll see. If we’ve learned anything about the Republican Party over the last twelve months it’s that there’s nothing they won’t do to collapse and cave.
And as another guy who is ‘paying for it all’, I can say that in this particular case, the case of the veteran and especially the disabled veteran, living up to the nation’s promise is something I’m proud to help do.
“And as another guy who is ‘paying for it all’, I can say that in this particular case, the case of the veteran and especially the disabled veteran, living up to the nation’s promise is something I’m proud to help do.”
It will be up to citizens to make sure disabled vets are taken care of before it’s all over.
This has NOTHING to do with reducing our debt. This is democrats and the GOP uniting to keep giving $4,200 million each year to illegals by taking $600 million away from people they despise: the folks who have served in the military and whom they ‘loved’ when we were fighting in foreign lands.
And you support them...
I don't disagree. Believe me, I'm with you on the rest, but I'd much prefer to see cuts made to the freebies and handouts given to people who either haven't earned them or don't deserve them in the same measure as the veteran. Call me a dinosaur or whatever you want, but that relationship should be sacrosanct.
“The poster said he’d stayed in for the retirement. Retirement in his 40’s, maybe even late 30’s.”
Actually, I pointed out that I retired at 50, after doing a combat tour at 49.
“We can’t afford to pay million-dollar retirement packages for every federal, military, civilian and municipal retiree.”
We’ve ALREADY PAID for the military retirement system - unlike any of the others you mentioned. And we sure as hell can pay to keep the guys with 16-30 years of experience in as they continuously deploy to keep America safe. The last Brigade Commander I worked under in Afghanistan was on his 4th year long tour in 5 years. Maybe that doesn’t impress an RFEngineer, but it impresses me!
However, I think I had the distinction of being the only guy in bifocals on the FOB...
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