Gimme Gimme Gimme

Some time ago Rush Limbaugh took a stand on the money grubbing attitudes (Gimme Gimme Gimme)of some Americans post 9/11.

He had this to say:

By Rush Limbaugh:

I think 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.

Now anyone who reads my site will be the first to know how I feel about the tragedy of 9/11. They will also know that I feel deeply for the victims and their families.

However, I have to say old Rush hit the nail on the head with this one. I have been in the service for nearly 10 years now and raises are paltry. During the Clinton years we didn't even see a raise significant enough to cover inflation, so each year we got further and further behind. Keep in mind that prior to Clinton we were already behind despite President Reagan’s efforts to correct the problem. Of course that is how the cycle goes. Democrat gets elected, military benefits suffer and then when a Republican gets elected they have to try and play catch up.

As Rush outlined the survivor benefits for a member of the military are garbage. We can get $250,000.00 worth of life insurance, but then so could anyone who was in the towers when they collapsed.

I agree that we need to seriously reform our legislative system. Consider this, most Airman in their first term won't make $15,000.00 a year, but a professional politician, who in many cases lie and cheat their way into congress will get a life long pension of $15,000.00 just for serving one term. And to think they can go that full term without ever initiating a piece of legislation and in many cases they can skate by and largely miss votes for bills.

I do think that the families of 9/11 and even Oklahoma City suffered a horrible loss, but as Rush said, they were simply "in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Our Airman, Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines go back time and time again into hostile fire zones. Not because they are high school dropouts or warmongers but because they are patriots who love their country.

Maybe, just maybe we need to rethink our legislative processes.

SlagleRock Out!

Posted by SlagleRock at September 27, 2004 07:42 AM