“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.”Can the editors at the Toilet Paper of Record really be so stupid? Military retirement is social welfare? I think the tittering, bed-wetting liberals wrote that on purpose just to piss off veterans.
Military Retirement is not about Fairness
The editors attempted to lay down some facts about the military retirement system and to discuss proposed changes to it. They ably explained why those who get out before 20 years get nothing, and it all made too much non-controversial sense, so they reached for a liberal’s favorite tool, the “fairness” argument.
“Why should we ask somebody to sustain a system that’s unfair by any other measure in our society?”Because, you moron, it was in the contract the US Government signed with each veteran, that’s why. Why do postal workers and teachers get a better deal than defense contractors or state department employees? Shall we continue throwing apples and oranges at each other?
Military Benefits are Earned, not "Deserved"
Even while trying to ingratiate themselves, they come off grating...
“And having volunteered to put their lives at risk, those people deserve higher-quality benefits, supporters argue.”No. We don’t “deserve” those benefits. We earned them! As a service member, you go where they tell you to go and do what they tell you to do, for as long as they tell you to do it. No punching a clock or deciding you're too tired to go into work today or that you don't want to go to Korea for a year.
The deal is, you work 20 or more years serving your country at a lower average salary than the private sector, and you get a lifetime half-pay pension in return. People who serve give their country the prime of their life. Upon retirement, you are a 40-something newcomer to the job market.
Washington, We have a Fiscal Problem...
I’m not trying to engender sympathy for veterans, we don’t want or need it. We've got to drastically cut back the federal government, and nothing should be held sacrosanct, including the Department of Defense and its benefits program, much of which is still geared for an earlier era.
But as Socrates would say, let’s first define our terms. That’s something the smirking monkeys on the New York Times editorial board are incapable of honestly doing. We need an honest debate on the role of government, and the New York times has over and over again proven itself incapable.
To see the Defense Business Board's proposal for overhauling military veterans benefits, go here: DBB – Modernizing Military Retirement
Washington, We have a Fiscal Problem...
I’m not trying to engender sympathy for veterans, we don’t want or need it. We've got to drastically cut back the federal government, and nothing should be held sacrosanct, including the Department of Defense and its benefits program, much of which is still geared for an earlier era.
But as Socrates would say, let’s first define our terms. That’s something the smirking monkeys on the New York Times editorial board are incapable of honestly doing. We need an honest debate on the role of government, and the New York times has over and over again proven itself incapable.
To see the Defense Business Board's proposal for overhauling military veterans benefits, go here: DBB – Modernizing Military Retirement
