Senate GOP fails in final bid to block military pension cuts in budget bill

TDawgRex
reply to post by Snarl

 

I see a benefit as something that is earned.

Whereas welfare is not.

I've been on both sides of the fence several times. In truth, I take no pride in my military service. Some consider it a badge of honor, and I get that, but really it's a bottom-of-the-barrel job you get because you were ill-prepared for the real world.

Every dollar I've collected in government employment was welfare. I'll let everyone define that for themselves ... but for me, it's a simple truth. I 'got' people's tax dollars and it was beyond their choice. That's 'redistribution' and whether it was for good or bad wasn't up for discussion.

Benefits - Entitlements - Welfare are all kind'a mushy words ... and by that, I mean that on face-value they mean different things to different people. "Welfare" has a more negative connotation ... but when you get down to the jiggy, they all come out the same color in the wash.

Paul Ryan is a political sociopath. He's attacked the status quo on things that are unsustainable, but the interests he's doing it in are unbelievable. I'd like to ask him if he's willing to give up his 'entitlement' ... which ... if I'm not mistaken, is about 180,000 dollars-a-year for the rest of his life. With all the under-the-table corporate payola he's certain to collect, why would we paying him after he's off-the-clock?

Serious question: Is there a political party out there with such a mindset?

reply to post by Snarl


I still see where you are coming from. Life hasn't been easy for me either. I actually feel, not really guilty about my retirement, but rather uneasy. But it is all I have now, and without it, I will not only be disabled and homeless, but probably dead within a year or two. I still have plans.

When I originally retired, I thought I had it made and I was happy to be out of that mess. Then reality smacked me upside the face. Two years out and my back took a flop. No second career for me.

I'm a man of my word and when I can't follow through with that, I feel bad beyond belief and do everything I can to make it right. I know that it's niave to think that Congress has morals.

I know of plenty of former soldiers (small "S" as they don't deserve the title) who are currently scamming the system. I've even reported them and was told to basically pound salt if I wasn't a Doc.

I guess I'm just frustrated with it all.

reply to post by TDawgRex

As a E-7, my BAH did pay my rent (No base nearby, I was active Reserve) and had a little left over, though not much. The E-5's and below though really had problems. Of course I was single and didn't have extra mouths to feed or cloth and all the other trivails that a family brings into the equation. If I had a family...I probably would have had problems as well.

Living like a rock star? Not really, but I didn't have it all that bad either. Of course, hindsight is 20/20.

As a retiree, with a bad back now and no second job...I'm pretty much stuck. Though I will admit that life was good for at least two years of my retirement. This cut is going to hurt me.

I had to jump to this thread to reply.lol

I wasn't referring to the enlisted as rock stars hell I was e-5 I know better. I only through the base pay between E-9 and O-9 up so people would see the difference. However the O-8 plus were practically rock stars as far as pay went. Hell my wife didn't get a clothing allowance I am sure yours didn't either as you know ours didn't even cover us most of the time. I was so mad when they changed the class A's and I had to buy new ones.

reply to post by Grimpachi


Yep, people don't realize that life in the military mirrors the real world quite often.

Thankfully I was such a non-PC Soldier (think Arly Ermy, but much more crass) that I was given a out on all Dining ins or out. People were actually jealous. LOL Never wore a set of Dress Blues in my entire career.

Just the fact that this loophole for illegals tax returns is being discussed and not stopped no matter what is done to the vets says volumes as to how corrupt this government has become.

reply to post by Battleline


I think the fact that not one single politician has suggested a decrease in pay or benefits for themselves to be just unbelievable.
I'd love to see the whole shebang in Washington be put on an hourly wage, punch a time clock ,and only get paid for time actually spent working.
The only retirement they should be able to reduce is their own.What a befuddled mess the national budget has become!

TDawgRex

buster2010
Why didn't the Republicans put it into the bill before sending it up to the Senate? After after all they control the house.

There are Repubs and Dems who are fighting to overturn this. It's not quite set in stone as of yet. 2014 looks like it will be a exciting year come election time. But will people be willing to braek with their party? I wouldn't bet on that, but we'll see.

The fact remains the GOP wrote this then passed it and now they want to cry about it. This bill should have never made it to the Senate. And if they are more worried about sticking with their party instead of doing what is right then they don't belong in office.

reply to post by buster2010

Gets down to choice though, doesn't it. A pick between the lesser of two evils ... because good is NEVER represented.

And that goes double for both parties.

reply to post by Snarl


Our retirement checks are part of our compensation that we earned while serving. It was deferred income is all. Not for one minute is a military retirement check a form of welfare. I signed up, fought for my country because I could earn a retirement as part of my compensation package. I would not have offered my services otherwise. Just like you agree to a wage where you work I agreed to join the military for pay and benefits.

Snarl
On the subject of 'illegal' aliens: There are a lot of jobs that wouldn't get done otherwise.

This just isn't true. When I was a kid. I was paid 9 dollars an hour to hoe weeds from a peanut field. Tax free. I made more money then anyone in town. I was 14 years old. Those jobs no one wants only exist because the employers know they can pay illegals almost nothing to do them. If they were forced to compete the wages would rise and the job would still get done.

Was a boring job and I got stung by ground bees but I made more then even my first job when I turned 18, I pumped gas for minimum wage which was 6.15 an hour. People absolutely can do those jobs. If they don't then get everyone on welfare or SNAP and make them work the jobs. Oklahoma recently re-enacted it's program where you are required to work to receive SNAP.

Every person who hires an illegal should be required to show up at the SNAP office and hire whoever needs a job. They don't want to because they can make more money by paying an illegal next to nothing. I will never be for supporting criminals. If you commit a crime as your first act in my country you need to be exported. End of story.

reply to post by TDawgRex


Important governmental expenses are always subject to cost cutting whereas there's always plenty of money for welfare.

Strange but true !

reply to post by Pimpintology

You know I love you like a brother, but your reply (I put the first star on it) has some serious flaws in thought process.

I think you got paid 9/hr hoeing weeds just because. You obviously had a respectable work ethic. Most 'illegals' do as well. You weren't paying taxes ... you were breaking the law and so was your employer. See what I mean? It's pretty obvious to me we've worn the same shoes ... if not the same combat boots.

BTW, ever run a background check on folks drawing welfare or SNAP? The staggering percentage of what comes back indicating career criminal status is mind-boggling to truly disenchanting. Personally, I'd rather hire a truckload of Mexicans for menial labor, than a hardened down-on-his-luck American criminal, any day of the week. Let alone the fact that once they've qualified for 'benefits' the only place you'll find them is on their couch watching TV, on a street corner selling dope, or down at Walmart waiting for a loot.

The possibility of deportation for a Mexican work crew keeps 'em honest and working hard. Paying fairly, throwing down for meals, enforcing break times while providing something cold to drink other than water, all earn some semblance of loyalty and repeated performance. You can't get that from a guy gone soft taking welfare, let alone an entire work crew. America's got a long way to go before we can come back from that.

One thing we entirely agree on ... ground bees suck (Mexicans think so too).

We know that Bush passed the Patriot Act 2, Obama promised he would be more transparent and be less intrusive, so he re-upped the Patriot Act 2 by Bush (because they are from opposing sides and disagree...OK) anyway, in Obama's attempt to be more transparent, he created the NDAA....yet another one of the most draconian bills to date. Mr. "cannot do any wrong because he is a trend breaker and lest we forget "black". History has now been cracked and a black man can certainly do no wrong because he has so much to prove. The black people everywhere thought he could walk on water. Many whites and blacks still think he can because he is such a good orator. But they only listen to his words (which are lies) and go about their day arguing with those who are actually smart, and who have done their homework, bout how great Obama is...SIMPLY because what they hear on the MSM..nothing more. So, we have our nation that is obviously hijacked and is being eaten from the inside like a cancer in its fourth stage. What can we do about this without technology....which they have conditioned us to "need". Who can be held accountable when Hillary, Bush and Obama are nothing but bishops or knights in a chess game against America, by the elites and even they are expendable. How can we stop this, when technology can be tracked, traced and all those wanting to help the American people will be and are already being called terrorists? The only way they succeeded in 1776, is because of he LACK OF technology. It seems that Technology is a trap set for our enslavement that we will never be able to defeat, because we are all too dependant upon it...and everyone else will save the day except we who have children...EVERYONE HAS CHILDREN SO NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO STAND UP FOR AMERICA! How can we get America back being so trained and conditioned?..We all are zombies now, relying on someone else to save America. Unfortunately, everyone in America, for the most part, is thinking the same thing.

In the other thread the OP asked why we would cut military benefits but pay welfare for illegals. Simple...VOTES. Obama and his kind hate the military and anyone else with balls. I guess not having them, themselves makes them angry.