From: Wayne Harris (papercu@hotmail.com)
Date: Fri Nov 21 2003 - 22:17:35 PST
The following editorial was in this week local paper "The Baxley News
Banner" and it is worth passing on. Wayne
A valid point
Rush Limbaugh has been in the news a lot lately, with his prescription drug
problem and his bad back. Whether you like him or not, you will find the
following by him worth reading:
I think the vast difference in compensation between the 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 because it says something really
disturbing about the entitlement mentality of this country.
If you lost a family member in the 911 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 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,
these 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 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 fifty years of entitlement services
in this country. It's just really sad.
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 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 DO something about this?
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