They fly a plane full of cash to Iran, but demand payment for their screw up from soldiers who many served and paid the ultimate price in their foreign wars.
This is a government which has "plenty" of money for causes it favors (welfare, bailouts, "green tech", and such) but is in a sudden budget crunch when people who pay into a system for ~40 years look to get some little bit of it back ('Social' 'Security', yeah right).
Are we really surprised?