A nation on the dole

This is why the R party is at war with itself. Government didn't get this big by D or Obama largesse alone. There are a lot of supposedly fiscally conservative Rs that went along with this.

Time for all of us to take our medicine.
 
Let's see GWB added 14.7 million to the food stamp rolls in 8 years and the current occupant of the WH (BHO) has added 14.2 million in THREE years! What a fine, fine job he is doing, adding democrat voters in record numbers.

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Michtex, if you've been following the news, there are changes being proposed to the military retirement system. TRICARE fees have increased, and there is a proposal for an annual enrollment fee for TRICARE-for-Life (the reduced TRICARE benefits we get as retirees after we reach Medicare age).

So DoD is bellying up to the bar on the necessary belt-tightening - when will the various entitlement and giveaway programs join them?

HHD
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I’d like to see a chart showing where this entitlement spending is going. My guess would be food stamps aren’t the killer here. Baby boomers are now retiring. They started off in the 50s having the best education in the world and now they have the best free health care and free prescription drugs. Taking care of old people isn’t cheap. Large chunk or our entire economy is focused on keeping them alive for as long as possible.
 
Ok, Mitch I will get out of the military, I hit pension age this year in July, if you go risk your life in my place. I am not just saying this either to be disrespectful, I have had a SA-7 shot at my aircraft and the crew and passengers on board while I was in Iraq. Not to mention all the ground troops that are in harms way each day while over there. If there is ever a pension that is surely deserved, it is the Armed Forces and municple works, i.e. cops, firefighters, etc.

I totally disagree with what you said in regards to military retirement. I have earned it.
 
Mil Horn,
I've done the I-rack thing and I'm in BAF now so I'm part of the in-crowd too. BUT, I also think that the mil pension system is structured wrong. receiving benies before you even hit 40yrs. IMO that is too generous.

There is something to be said for the fact that soldier/airmen/sailors/marines do not only a job that is dangerous but also limits their ability to develop a civilian career profile that would be commensurate with 20 yrs of tenure. but I still think it is too generous.

There is also something to be said for the fact that only 1%of our populace choose to do this. There is also something to be said for the fact that there aren't throngs of people standing outside the mil recruiters office ready to sign up for this incredibly generous system.

I'm sure the retirement system for mil/cop/fire was given out of the goodness of the hearts, rather than an example of an enticement to do a job that not many people want to do. I'm sure that if you take away a solid retirement system we will still get just as many people to stick out the hardships for 20+ yrs . And we don't really need experience in our military, police or fire. We could just go with an army of 25yr olds and let them go right after the war is over. Wait, they call that a draft. Anyone ready for that????
 
Folks, the Veterans Affairs' budget is only about $127 billion per year. That's chump change in a $3.6 trillion budget. I'm willing to ask veterans to sacrifice if it would truly make a difference in balancing the budget. However, even if we got rid of every veteran's pension, dropped his health care, and made him fend for himself, we wouldn't even make a dent in our deficit.

Considering that veterans benefits go to those who most deserve them and considering that they're a drop in the bucket, veterans' benefits would be the last place in the budget I'd look to cut.
 
I believe we certainly need to undo much of the federal spending that has been built into our system.

1. Lifetime limit on welfare- total cummulation no more than 30 months on the dole
2. Means testing SS
3. do away with medicare. I support CHIPS for kids.... but for adults, you sleep in the bed you made. if you don't have insurance, you made the choices to get you there.
4. Get Health insurance decoupled from employment. If Health insurance weren't an obligation of the government for gov employees, we could save a tremendous amount just on that. to include, lifetime TriCare for military retirees.
5. There is obviously fraud/waste/abuse in every government program.
6. lifetime limit on unemployment benefits.

If you are out of work or destitute for more than 2 years of your adult life, it is probably due to choices you made as an adult.
 
MilitaryHorn
this is the same thing I thought when I read michigan's post
" Mitch I will get out of the military, I hit pension age this year in July, if you go risk your life in my place"

of course people like Mich will say they don't think there is a need for a military anyway, That America shouldn't put itself in the position of fighting wars

So a 17 y o goes into the marines( and most marines are combat troops. not in highly skilled kobs) or any of the army combat codes . He is sent and for last 8 years was likely in combat getting shot at or avoiding IEDs

and people like Mich think he doesn't deserve a pension.

people who have never been shot at while in defense of our country or been a fireman rushing into a burning building that normal people are running out of or cops who never know when the next person they stop will shoot at them or want to die ' suicide by cop" really shouldn't make fools of themselves on this issue
 
This should help - LINK

Yes Clinton's reform included a 5-year limit but allowed state's the option to reduce further. HOWEVER, like with all government 1,000 page bills there were fine print exceptions and loop holes.

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pharm
'President Obama has not created the need for people to be on food stamps or to be hungry"
Really ?? Really?
then why is BO offering big money to states to increase the number of people on SNAP?
 
On Military Retirement…
I am a Nuclear Navy Submarine Chief (E7 at 8 years) and can guarantee you that if the military retirement went away or significantly changed you would not have any nuclear sailors stay in the Navy, and thus our precious 12 Aircraft Carriers and 60+ Submarines would not be able to go to sea.
At first glance this doesn’t make sense as Navy Nukes already get paid more than any other job in the Enlisted Navy. In addition to Base Pay, we get Submarine pay (~$300/month), Nuclear Operator Pay (~$400/month), and Sea Pay (~$300/month). Not to mention reenlistment bonuses of $60,000-$90,000 for adding as little as 4 years to our contract. Back in 2005 I was an E4 when I reenlisted for 4 years with a $60,000 bonus (half up front).
I will not however do this job past my current enlistment because of three reasons-
1. The job sucks- 80 hour work weeks and deployments are hard on my family
2. I can get paid more and work less at a civilian nuclear plant
3. Will military retirement be there for me in 2022? I certainly will not put the strain on my body and my family to ‘wait and see.’

So if you want to destroy our country's ability to project power, then yeah, take away retirement. I'm sure you will have no shortage of grunts to 'run around with guns' (have tons of respect for them), but you won't be able to keep those with technical skills happy.
 
Wow BJCard E7 in 8 years! I am pinning on E7 this year at my 19 year mark. Wish I could make it that quick in the Air Force. I think the fastest I can make it would be like 9 years if all the cards fell in place. Rare to see that in the AF.

What is unique about my job is that I not only put my life on the line in wartime but I fly in an aircraft, so I put it on the line every time I fly but unlike my Navy friend I only get an extra $350 a month for that. Retirement isn't based on all my pay just my base pay. So if I retire at my current pay then that equates to about $2200 a month before taxes. This is a modest amount compared to civilians who retire with 40 years or more. As someone mentioned earlier you are only talking about 1% of the US population that is in the military and not all of them go the full 20 years. I also saw something a few years ago that said the average age of a retired military person is 58. That would mean most are only receiving their benefit for 20 years or so.
 
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