Subject: Military Paid too much?

[Seattle Sam]

Amazing how many web sites have posted the EXACT stuff you post, Bill - for example,

http://www.veteransforpeace.org/Dish...rge_112603.htm
http://www.dc37.net/news/PEP/2_2004/soldiers.html
http://www.joecitizen.org/bush_myths.html

Two democrat activist organizations, and one labor union.

plus dozens of message boards - all posting the same text, word for word and punctuation mark for punctuation mark.
What do you suppose is the source of it all? Why hasn't all of this been substantiated by any reputable news organization?

All half-truths or outright fictions, designed to help defeat Bush in the last election.

George Soros is behind it, I don't believe there is much if any truth to it all.

I for one agree that our military should be paid better than they are today, but let's be fair about what Bush really stands for:

http://www.factcheck.org/article144.html

I'm off the soapbox now and back to cars...
-Sam
-Sam

[Keith Tedford]

I feel that everyone, when they come out of school, should go into the armed forces for at least one tour of duty in a hot spot. Had all these people, especially politicians, done so, they would have a considerably different outlook. They might actually appreciate what they have instead of taking them for granted. Our son and son-in-law are in the Canadian forces and have been in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. Our family has them on a pretty high pedestal. I wonder how Cindy would handle cleaning up the mess after her buddies got blown up? The troops on the ground are not appreciated half enough and are definitely under paid.

[427TJ]

Thanks Sam, I stand corrected! I'm no bleeding-heart but I do get a little touchy over veteran's benefits and how our military is treated.

I should point out that while I was in the Air Force we lost many services such as the 24-hour emergency room on base. When my wife mis-carried (twice in two years) we had to go in to town (Del Rio, TX) and sit around with numerous illegal aliens at the public hospital, waiting our turn. Then, when my wife was finally seen by a doctor, it was an Air Force doctor from the base! He was moonlighting downtown for the extra money. Those cuts took place on Bill Clinton's watch and our commanders just shrugged and said that's the way it is.

The article you cited on fact-check.org says that while spending for veteran's benefits is down this year (while the number of aging vets signing up for benefits is up), it has increased steadily for over a decade. I guess it's like allowing a temporary tax cut bill to expire and calling that a tax increase. It's all in the interpretation. More (disabled) vets entering the list for needed benefits + reduced spending rate = benefit cuts? Maybe it's just less money available for vets. That's a nicer way to put it.

[Racefan]

Sounds as if our thinking is much more inline than I initially thought. Here is the source of what I alluded to in the difference of compensation between different segments of our society:

Rush Limbaugh (not exactly a neutral source either--but the facts and number check out):

"The vast differences in compensation between victims of the September 11 casualty and those who die serving our country in Uniform are profound. No one is really talking about it either, because you just don't criticize anything having to do with September 11. Well, I can't let the numbers pass by because it says something really disturbing about the entitlement mentality of this country. If you lost a family member in the September 11 attack, you're going to get an average of $1,185,000. The range is a minimum guarantee of $250,000, all the way up to $4.7 million.

If you are a surviving family member of an American soldier killed in action, the first check you get is a $6,000 direct death benefit, half of which is taxable.

Next, you get $1,750 for burial costs. If you are the surviving spouse, you get $833 a month until you remarry. And there's a payment of $211 per month for each child under 18. When the child hits 18, those payments come to a screeching halt.

Keep in mind that some of the people who are getting an average of $1.185 million up to $4.7 million are complaining that it's not enough. Their deaths were tragic, but for most, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Soldiers put themselves in harms way FOR ALL OF US, and they and their families know the dangers.

We also learned over the weekend that some of the victims from the Oklahoma City bombing have started an organization asking for the same deal that the September 11 families are getting. In addition to that, some of the families of those bombed in the embassies are now asking for compensation as well.

You see where this is going, don't you? Folks, this is part and parcel of over 50 years of entitlement politics in this country. It's just really sad. Every time a pay raise comes up for the military, they usually receive next to nothing of a raise. Now the green machine is in combat in the Middle East while their families have to survive on food stamps and live in low-rent housing. Make sense?

However, our own U.S. Congress voted themselves a raise. Many of you don't know that they only have to be in Congress one time to receive a pension that is more than $15,000 per month. And most are now equal to being millionaires plus. They do not receive Social Security on retirement because they didn't have to pay into the system.

If some of the military people stay in for 20 years and get out as an E-7, they may receive a pension of $1,000 per month, and the very people who placed them in harm's way receives a pension of $15,000 per month.

I would like to see our elected officials pick up a weapon and join ranks before they start cutting out benefits and lowering pay for our sons and daughters who are now fighting."

[Seattle Sam]

Bill,
I didn't intend any offense by my previous reply, and I hope we can remain on a friendly basis. After all, how many folks out there truly love the N96?

One thing I neglected to say in my previous post -

THANK YOU for serving our country, for putting your life on the line so fat old guys like me can sit around a keyboard and debate freely!
THANK YOU and all other veterans for defending our precious freedom.

-Sam

[427TJ]

[ QUOTE ]
After all, how many folks out there truly love the N96?

[/ QUOTE ]

Now that's funny!

You didn't offend me at all Sam. I checked the sites you posted and got sucked in to fact-check.org until 11pm last night. I still think that a "reduction in the rate of growth" or a "rollback" sounds a lot like a "cut," it's just how people interpret what's being said.



N96's and black rear panels forever.

[ANDY M]

A wise old accountant told me once that there are three kinds of lies. White lies, Damn lies, and Statistics.
If you think the folks from Arthur Anderson were crooks, (remember Enron? they would sure like to forget it if they were still around), they learned at the feet of the GAO.
Nobody can cook the books like our own government.
If any private enterprise used government accounting practices, they would soon be out of business.
Having said that, just remember this:
1. People in this country can succeed if they work hard enough.
2. Nobody ever said that life was fair.
3. We all row our own boats.
4. We have an all volunteer army.
Just my .02 worth.
Andy