It is easy to take, when you didn’t earn it!

Congress is looking to make significant cuts to the government’s budget. Pretty much everyone in the United States has an opinion on government spending. Here is the issue if the committee that was developed to find ways to cut spending don’t find places to make cuts it may mostly come out of the Defense Departments budget. There could be a cut of up to $1 trillion from Defense spending.

 

These types of cuts would have a huge impact on the military. The ones that will suffer is the personnel. Here is one fact that might surprise the American public. Only 35% of those who try to join the military will qualify. Now that is something to think about. Just over a third of those who try to get into the military actually qualify. If you ask most college kids in America, they would believe anybody could walk off the street and join. To those who think that way, I promise I could make you cry for your mommy in just a few minutes of working with me.

 

Another one who will suffer will be the families of the soldiers. There will be a change in the military education. Schools who depend on funding because of military students will loose funding. Educational opportunities for soldiers and their spouses will be cut. These educational opportunities are a huge benefit for the military. Enlisted soldiers usually join the military right out of high school. They give up their college years to serve their country. They could easily choose to be one of the millions who depend on student loans to survive and party their way through college. I believe soldiers make better students. They have one thing that most college students don’t have, it’s called discipline.

 

Health care will be cut. Are you kidding me! This is perfect time to cut health care. With most of the military doing multiple deployments, it is taking a toll on the troops physically and mentally. It is also having an effect on the families of these service members. It is already hard enough to get treatment for injuries and illnesses in a timely manner. There are long waits for service members to see doctors for combat related issues. For those who are in the military we already know what the rest of America doesn’t know about government health care. It is a challenge to get anything done. There are long waits for appointments. Sometimes red tape slows things down to a crawl. I am not complaining though, it is what it is. I am thankful my family is taken care of even when it takes longer than it should to be seen by a health care professional.

 

The cuts will also be made in personnel. There could be up to 200,000 personnel cut from the Army and the Marine Corp. Think about that number. We are already deploying the military at a pace that has never been done before in our nations history. Afghanistan is the longest war in the history of the United States. A massive cut in personnel will hurt the military, and the gap will have to be filled from somewhere. Who are we going to ask to make the sacrifices that these men and women signed up for? You take a guess who will fill the gap. Will it be the college students that are protesting the establishment around the country right now?

 

The change from the 20 year retirement system to a 401k is just another broken promise from the government. It will be harder to keep highly skilled leadership. Most people I know in the military don’t do it for the pay. There are more lucrative jobs in the civilian world. It isn’t about pay. It is about duty. Changing the system in one massive change is just stupid. If it is to be changed do it for those who have not joined yet. Let those who joined under this plan finish out under the current system.

 

I have read an opinion article in the Washington Post that calls for huge cuts in Department of Defense spending. Here is what I have to say to the writer. You need to spend over 42 months in combat. The writer could never imagine what the military experiences during a deployment. There is no way to experience combat unless you have gone on patrols day after day. Find out how hard it is to gear up and roll out the wire just hours after loosing a friend. Until you know from experience, you will never understand why all of these benefits are so important to the military.

 

It is easy to stand on the outside and say someone has too much. Or that their benefits are overly generous. I challenge those who think this way to join the military for three years, find out what it is really like. Walk in our boots. That is if they can make the cut. Only 35% do.

Our Handout Society

Our society is going in a dangerous direction. We are headed toward an entitlement society. On the news for last few days there has been talk of a movement called “Occupy Wall Street”, and it is disturbing. There is no one person representing the group, and it is hard to figure out what they are truly protesting. I think that they are asking for a society built on handouts.

Some of the demands being made by the protestors are totally ridiculous. One demand is that everyone be paid a “Living Wage” no matter a person’s employment status. The next one I heard was free college for all. The best demand I heard was wipeout all debt in the world and start with a clean slate. The last one I heard was open borders. All of these demands are down right stupid. There is no way around it. These demands are not only stupid, but also dangerous.

The scary part for me is that most of the protestors are college kids. Don’t get me wrong it is great they are getting involved in politics. The thing that worries me is what are the colleges pumping into these kids heads. What they are saying is give me , give me, and give me more. If it was only that easy.

Let’s take a look at their demands. Everyone be paid “Living Wage” no matter of employment status. So, basically no one has to work anymore. I mean if you get “Living Wage” no matter employment status, why be employed? Your going to get money anyway. I know the believers in this are rolling their eyes. First if you roll your eyes at me in my presence I will knock your eyes out the back of your head. The protestor will tell you that everyone should get some of the profits from the big evil, mean corporations. To these nut jobs profits are bad. Profits would be bad to socialist. I am just saying.

Free college for everyone! First of all not everyone needs or deserves to go to college. That is a fact. To me, a diploma is only a piece of paper that says you can follow through to a goal. These dim wits are just trying to serve their own needs. I mean who wants college loans hanging around their neck. There is a way to get through college without loans. It is a highly classified secret that the government doesn’t want you to know. I may share it later, I have the clearance to know the secret.

Wipeout all debt, what a noble idea. I think debt is dumb also, but wipeout all debt? Who is dumb now? There is no way. Only in their dreams. Enough said!

Open all the borders. It would solve immigration problems I will admit that. The problem is all of the other problems we will have. We have immigration laws for a reason. The violence from the drug cartels in Mexico would spill over the border. We would need to implement the “Living Wage” if this happens. There would be flood of workers who will work for cheaper than an American will. Maybe I could move back to the Southwest and carry a six iron on my hip. I could relive the days of the wild, wild west. I may have fun with that.

The protestors are worried that the American Dream is crumbling and unattainable. If there is a group who wants to get the American Dream back they will have to know the secret that the government doesn’t want you to know. It is only two words. Please don’t get offended when I tell you what they are, because they are both four letter words. Here we go………HARD WORK. There I said it. It is the answer to everything. Sorry if you think it is a let down. I know this not the answer everyone wants to hear.

Everyday men and women put in a day of hard work to make our country better. They don’t sit around and want a hand out. These men and women are what our country needs more of. Seriously, if you put out your hand for a freebie it should be smacked. Sorry to tell all of those children down at Occupy Wall Street, they are selfish petty brats. They want someone to take care of them instead of growing up and making their way in the world. So, I say to them go ahead and enjoy the government cheese. I will be dining on steak, because I am not scared to actually get off of the couch and do something with my life.