American vets now receive absurdly generous benefits

[d_marsh]

How I feel about theEconomist.com and this article can best be found by holding your middle finger up into the air.

The article basically claims that national debt relief is going to be slowed way down because the gov't is way too generous to vets.

I say suit up the author and toss them into a warzone for a year, then see how they feel.

https://www.economist.com/finance-a...terans-now-receive-absurdly-generous-benefits

 

[Mountain trapper]

Gotta agree with the article.

 

[Alaskajohn]

I don’t know. Maybe we shouldn’t get into so many foreign wars? My guess is the article was written by someone who isn’t permanently disabled due to our foreign misadventures. The article is behind a paywall, so I don’t know what the author is claiming.

I am not stating that there isn’t abuse, but a lot of my brothers and sisters in arms will never be made whole again no matter how much we spend.

 

[Morgan101]

It won't have any effect on the national debt, but I know of one example where it is true. My wife has a cousin who was a short timer in Viet Nam. Spent most of his life in prison, but has always used the VA for health benefits. All of a sudden 50 years after he is discharged he has back problems, and gets an obscene amount of disability pay. His time in the service had nothing to do with any back issues, if he even has them. He gets three times more than my son who is mentally challenged gets.

Everything should be reviewed honestly, on a case by case basis. Sounds like Branden was buying votes, just like they did paying off student loans.

 

[rice paddy daddy]

Make welfare benefits as hard to get as veterans benefits.
THEN the real squealing will begin.

Everything should be reviewed honestly, on a case by case basis. Sounds like Branden was buying votes, just like they did paying off student loans.

VA disability already is. It is not automatically granted by anybody.
If the paperwork is not filled out exactly correct, the claim will be denied.
If there is not supporting documentation that the disability occurred on active duty it will be denied.
In fact, it's almost a given that the initial claim will be denied.
Then starts the appeal process. This used to take two or three years, Trump got it down to 10 months to a year. And if the vet is foolish enough to handle the appeal himself, he (or she) will lose. And get nothing.
Although it is nowhere in writing, most vets agree the system is designed to make them give up and go away.

We all know that the VA motto is: "Deny, deny, deny, until they die."

 

[Mountain trapper]

I think that welfare payments should also be extremely hard to get, even impossible to get for anyone who is capable of working.

 

[old tex]

I didn't read the article, so I'll just make general comments. After WWII the military was VERY generous with medical care for a while. My SF (who served during Korea) still gets taken care of by the VA. Now days (as in after 1972) you have to be "rated" by the VA to go there. Now pay back then was terrible as in not enough to really live on. I was in during those years. But we were promised free medical care for life, voted away by congress some time after 1992, I know that because it was voted away AFTER I retired. But we did get retirement from the military after 20 years (I get that). It wasn't a lot but we get cost of living raises. I didn't get much to start but over the years it's increase my check by 50%. So what that means is they paid you less when you were in & the odds were (if you lived long enough) it evened out. Now days the retirement has changed & I'm not really current on the new facts. I can say that your pay every month, even if your lower ranking, much more percentage wise than I got.

I'll just throw this in. The military is not really like other jobs in that you do things or are ordered to do things that could screw up either your body or mind or both. For instance in my 20 I never knew a single person that had worked on airplanes for even minimal time that didn't have physical problem of some sort. I'd guess that 90% of them, after retirement would receive disability pay of some sort. Other jobs, I don't know about.

And I'll say that I was never rated by the VA so I'm not authorized to go there. My wife, a B-52 crew chief has horrible knees & a bad back. Bad as in she saw one doctor that was surprised that she wasn't in a wheelchair. So you really have to understand the big picture when your talking about the military.

 

[Neb]

I got zero from fed for my service. The commonwealth of PA did chip in some for my degree. Not complaining. Just reporting.

Ben

 

[UserNameTaken]

My BIL gets a full disability, like 3k a month, I think for mental anguish, he was a peacetime MP. I ripped up my knee parachuting and didn't get squat. It bothered me for 20 years. "Suck it up troop." Airborne!

 

[Weedygarden]

I think that welfare payments should also be extremely hard to get, even impossible to get for anyone who is capable of working.

People fake their ability or rather their inability to work. I have known people who receive disability for whom I have no idea why. I have also heard people say they sure wish they could get disability. Me? I am grateful to have the ability to still work.

While I was in college, for a while, I was the only person in my family in college, so I received Veteran's benefits as the child of two deceased people who had served our country. This was also true when we were younger, that we received Veteran's benefits as well as SS benefits. When my dad died when I was 16, each of my siblings and I got $25 as survivors. I bought myself a nice pair of shoes, penny loafers. It was not a lot of money, but it was a nice pair of shoes at the time.

 

[OldSchool]

Gotta agree with the article.

I liked your post, but didn’t read the article.

I’m just saying that anyone who blames national debt on vet benefits needs to rot in Hell.

 

[d_marsh]

I’m just saying that anyone who blames national debt on vet benefits needs to rot in Hell.

I couldn't agree with that comment more.

 

[Pearl]

Make welfare benefits as hard to get as veterans benefits.
THEN the real squealing will begin.


VA disability already is. It is not automatically granted by anybody.
If the paperwork is not filled out exactly correct, the claim will be denied.
If there is not supporting documentation that the disability occurred on active duty it will be denied.
In fact, it's almost a given that the initial claim will be denied.
Then starts the appeal process. This used to take two or three years, Trump got it down to 10 months to a year. And if the vet is foolish enough to handle the appeal himself, he (or she) will lose. And get nothing.
Although it is nowhere in writing, most vets agree the system is designed to make them give up and go away.

We all know that the VA motto is: "Deny, deny, deny, until they die."

Welfare should be HARDER to get!! Mandatory drug testing too!!

 

[Caribou]

When I was in the service I did the same job that my buddy did as a civilian. He got paid five times as much and worked week on week off. Today I get compensated for the loss I received back then.