Soldier's pay and 911?

B

Bill Marsh

Joined
Mar 26, 2002
Messages
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I was hesitant to post this because there is a lot of feeling about the tragic deaths 911 I lost some friends there.

But I know there are a lot of soldiers and ex-soldiers on this forum and I think that this should be noted.

June 26 article.

"Love him or loath him, he nailed this one right on the head.............

By Rush Limbaugh:

I think the vast differences in compensation between
victims of the September 11 casualty and those who die
serving the 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 just 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 just voted themselves a
raise, and 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 also 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, you may receive a pension of
$1,000 per month, and the very people who placed you
in harm's way receive 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.

"When do we finally do something about this?" If this
doesn't seem fair to you, it is time to forward this
to as many people as you can.If your interested there
is more.......................

This must be a campaign issue in 2004. Keep it going."
 
Hi Bill. Don't be such a stranger! I thought you had left. How is your new business going? Is your website working yet?

Take care,

Steve
 
Been very busy convering an old warehouse into a new home. Working minimum of 12 hours per day with a crew of 4 to 12 people. Stessful but worth it.

Have not had time for much else. All workers are celebration 4th of July. So I have time for Internet.

Thanks for asking. Hopefully will be done in about 60 days. Very big project.

Bill
 
I agree. I'm not too disappointed with my own pay; I'm 20 years old with a high school education, so my pay is fair. But senior NCOs get screwed. There's not much monetary incentive to stay in after five or six years. They get people to stay in for a variety of reasons, but it usually isn't the pay. Thanks for posting this.
 
It is an outrageous travesty that smacked of a political bandaid. Yes, 9.11 was a tragedy that has changed our way of life forever, but does that mean anyone caught in a terrorist attack has to be compensated? Isn't it prejucdicial against members of the armed services or law enforcement? Do firemen get special death benefits or do workers at Americam Embassies that were attacked? Planes blown up? "Embedded' journalists in harm's way?

I believe that most of us didn't join the service for the pay and that death is part of the work description, but this was horribly mishandled from the gitgo and in many cases compounded the tragedy of the families involved. These people died because they were Americans. Each one of us should be willing to lay down our life for our country and fellow citizens and not think of monetary compensation. What is a life worth if you can't live the way you believe?

Just underlines the axiom that "life ain't fair", nor apparently is death.
 
I agree with John. The payments received by family of victims of 9/11 came out of the $15 billion we gave to the airlines to keep them running. I recall that to get the money, the families had to sign waivers saying they would not sue the airline, the WTC, etc for damages. Some opted not to take the money (last I heard).
NYC had a whole office for people who lost their jobs, apartments, etc because of the 9/11 attacks. That I can see- kind of like the Red Cross does in a disaster. I lost my job in NYC after 9/11 and was told to apply for these benefits, but I did not need them, so I did not apply. Luckily I managed without them.
 
Unfortunately, Congressmen and Business moguls in the WTC, and even senior Pentagon officials, have much, much more clout than the guys in the dirt, which is why we see this inequality. I'm sure that the basis of the 9/11 compensation fund is that a survivor of someone who died could sue someone - the airlines, someone - for negligence and the fund was designed to avoid that. It's sad that when you step forward and voluntarily put your butt on the line to prevent stuff like Sept. 11th, you get less respect than someone who has grounds for a lawsuit.

It will be interesting if any of the WTC cases go to court. Common sense tells me that no one should be held financially responsible, as longs as there's no "smoking gun" lying around - some intelligence that gave sufficient warning of the nature and time of the incident that the terrorists could've been stopped.

YMMV
 
I agree that the pay our service men and women get is a national embarrassment. It's not fair. But then again, what is? Karma I suppose. But fairness and justice have very little to do with most things.
 
America has become a "gimme" society. Rome fell when it because corrupt to the extent that mob rule, led by "bread and circuses", bankrupted it. As long as we are willing to take money from the group to pay off certain parties, we are doomed as a nation.

John
Transition leave Oct 10, baby!
 
RR,
Is Fort Gordon near Augusta? I should be in that area sometime between Oct and mid Dec.

John
 
Just to put a little more truth into the equation, surviving families of soldiers also get the $200,000 SGLI (Serviceman's Group Life Insurance -- GI Insurance), if you did not decline the offer and most don't decline. This changes things a little but Rush's concept still stands.

Bruce Woodbury
Army Retired
 
As Spectre said, the insurance is not free. Granted, it is cheap, $20 a month for $250,000 (the highest paying option), but it isn't free. I got it because I figure if I go, someone might as well make out on the deal. It's dumb to opt out to save yourself a whole $20 a month.

Spectre, you're right, Ft. Gordon is right on the outskirts of Augusta. Let me know when you'll be here, I can show you around a little if you'd like.
 
Been lurking quietly for months. Can't keep my mouth shut on this one.

Funny. If there was a big bonus in benefits, compensation, or recognition for serving in Iraq, I know a lot of people who would have left their jobs, served in Iraq, then try to find a job again (may be even me - as if the military would take me!).

But I don't know anyone who would have signed up (or have a family member sign up) to die in the WTC on 9/11 even if he got a few million dollars.

Just the truth.

:(
 
Life is a risky business, death is a reality we all share in common. Ours is an all volunteer force, so no one in the military has been coerced in any way to serve. The victims of 911 were casualties of a hostile attack on our country. We ought to help their families recover in any way we can. Still, a government subsidized version of "Who wants to be a millionaire", and throwing money at them, ain't going to bring back none of the folks who've been tragically taken from us. No sir, not one of 'em.

Sarge
 
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