Fw'd to me in an e-mail:

Subject: Fw: Read This......What's a Military Family Worth?



Please circulate this guys, this is something to think about

SFC JACKSON, KENNETH L
DIVARTY TASKINGS NCO
THE TASKMASTER
910 432-8884/1705

What's a Military Family Worth?
by Rush Limbaugh, March 11, 2002

I think the vast differences in compensation between the victims of the
September 11th 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 11th. 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 11th 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 that are getting an average of $1.185 million up to $4.7
million are complaining that it's not enough.

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 11th 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 fifty years of entitlement politics in this country. It's just
really sad.

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the
tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime."-Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.

Every time when 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.

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 be
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 harms 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.

Geez,

That really sucks if those numbers are right. However, the WTC money was all donated (I believe), whereas military benefits are tax supported. I don't see a solution here.

-legrue

Life isn't fair.  People donated a ton of money for that cause.  The military personnal are priceless in my opinion, but we can't give every family that loses a parent 1.6 million or whatever.

What about the guy Beekeeper1 brought up last week that was killed by a drunk driver?  His family doesn't get jack either unless he had paid for his own insurance.

I brought this up when it first came out (I haven't a clue what to search to find the old thread).  

I thought it sucked too.

In my fairy tale world we'd have ordinary citizens donating to funds to help the families of killed or disabled service men and women.  But, then reality hits and I realize most people don't feel as I do toward our people in uniform.

Kent

Saw this before. Pissed me off then, too.

Still...

* As legrue points out, much of the WTC money is largely donated so I can't have a real problem with that. And the survivors did suffer a horrible loss.
* As somebody who served in the Army, nobody twisted my arm or told me that I was going to be out of harm's way when they told me about my survivors' benefits or potential retirement benefits.
* I believe (although I have yet to have it verified) that Limbaugh's numbers are skewed because it includes insurance settlements for the [b]companies[/b] tenanted at the WTC.

BUT...

* Limbaugh is correct in saying that our country is mired in socialistic entitlement mentality.
* Our government does a crappy job of spending our tax money -- while nickel and diming the very people who keep are country free, they argue over pork-barrel politics and increase Congressional benefits.

I always thought that our [b]representatives[/b] were supposed to have real jobs and receive a mere stipend for serving in Congress... I guess I'm too old-fashioned. I don't think any serviceman (or -woman) expects to get rich by serving. But neither should they get poor doing it.

Found the old thread by searching my name.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?id=111290

I still don't know how to make it active.

I don't beleive the article is arguing FOR making the relatives of KIA soldiers into millionaires.

I think its arguing AGAINST the US gov't guaranteesing $250K to each relative of the people killed on Sept. 11.

And I don;t beleive the article is arguing against free will donations by concerned citizens - ONLY gov't largesse by politicians wanting to get re-elected, funded by the MOST discriminated against person in teh UYS today - the taxpayer.

That's my reading of it anyway.

And for what its worth, that doesn't sound like Limbaughs writing. Too pedestrian.

I do.  Good for me!  [rolleyes]

Basically.  He talked about it at great length on the radio.  He hates the notion that a new entitlement has been created with the attack.  People are crawling out of the woodwork demanding compensation for every little disaster.  People are so focused on getting their cool million, that many would have sacrificed more for a bigger share.  Absolutely sickening!

That money was freely given through charities, and folks complain that it isn't enough?  Gimme a break!