Blind Squirrels and Nuts

In the vein of even a blind squirrel occasionally finding a nut, I offer this anomaly. The government has in one small way appropriately acknowledged those who have defended this land, and the families of those who have never come home.

Since 2012, veterans and Gold Star families have been given free or reduced fee access to our Nation’s great treasure of National Parks. To avail oneself of this benefit, one need only prove they qualify with their, or for Gold Stars, their family member’s service. Oddly, this has been an annual pass requiring reissuance each year as if the fact of your military service, or your service member’s death, could somehow change.

Finally, some common sense has prevailed. A permanent, lifetime pass is now available. It can be obtained free of charge at the gate or entrance to many National Parks, or for $10.00 the lifetime pass can be ordered online. See this Link for details. I think this is the literal very least we can do. Even if you have no plans to visit a National Park, I implore you to avail yourself of this benefit, and sooner rather than later. It is only a matter of time until this anomalously well-planted nut gets washed away in the storm of anti-veteran sentiment brewing on the horizon.

Unlike this one, healthy and life-sustaining morsel, there are a few other nuts being prepared and nurtured by the blind squirrels masquerading as our duly elected representatives. It is my sincere hope the soil in which these other nuggets are being implanted is infertile. I also hope to see, live and in person, a unicorn. I wonder which fantasy will be fulfilled first.

There is one noxious nut that has already taken root and grown, and reminds me of the Bradford Pear. This tree is considered to be an invasive species despite at one time being widely and intentionally cultivated. It grows relatively quickly, providing both shade and decoration with its masses of white flowers in the spring. Despite their short show of pretty flowers, any fruit produced is toxic.

Bradford Pears also don’t live very long without lots of upkeep; they tend to be full of deadwood in the crown causing them to split and fall in high winds. As they were often planted on residential lots, the Bradford Pear’s demise frequently caused destruction to the home, cars, fence, etc., of the property they were intended to beautify. This species of tree is an apt analogy for most government programs, particularly those purported to benefit veterans and their families.

Case in point is the Widow’s Property Tax Exemption. Under this initiative, the widow of a service member who was rated as 100% disabled by the VA may be eligible for a homestead property tax exemption, just as was the deceased veteran. To be clear, these are state- or locally-enacted programs but the VA does control the veteran’s, and thereby, the widow’s eligibility.

For a widow who was living with and presumably caring for a disabled veteran this appears to be a kindness, a recognition of “second-hand service” to the Nation. After the veteran’s passing, losing their home due to an inability to pay property taxes would be terribly sad.

This program was not originally designed to include Gold Star widows. Once that oversight was corrected, the next obvious step was to allow a veteran’s widow to apply for this tax exemption on a property in which the veteran never lived. Afterall, Gold Star widows are not required to reside in the same home as they did when their service member lived, so the same should apply to veteran’s widows. Whether or not that logic follows is irrelevant, it is the argument that won the day.

The most salient part of the above deserves special attention.

This exemption can be claimed by a widow for a property that was purchased after the death of the qualifying veteran.

It may behoove the cardiac-challenged amongst us to sit down and keep the nitro-tabs at hand before reading further.

While some are looking to extend benefits to the tiniest minority of our military and veteran families, the Congressional Budget Office is looking at extinguishing service-connected compensation for veterans. Of course, this is being contemplated in the name of fairness, fiscal responsibility, and accountability, all of which are valuable virtue signals.

The CBO is proposing to accomplish this via a means test as of January, 2024 for all veterans seeking or currently receiving service-connected disability compensation. The dollar amount would be tied to a household income threshold level, and for every $2.00 above that mark, compensation would be reduced by $1.00. The intent would be to eliminate disability payments to veterans who, regardless of their VA rating or the cause of that rating, are capable of earning a decent living in other than the military occupation for which they trained. Again, this is irrespective of the condition, illness or injury which justifies the compensation and is based on the total household income.

Tying this to the household income is ostensibly proof this is not meant to disincentivize veterans from transitioning into other careers post service. This is merely to preserve the limited Federal dollars for those who most need them. There is the added, certainly unintended and un-thought-of cost reduction in VA education benefits as well. If veterans will lose their VA compensation by bettering their lives and earning ability, why would they go to school on their VA benefits?

Looking at this from a cost-benefit perspective, it all makes sense. If a veteran is capable of getting a degree in accounting and earning a decent living post-service, they obviously aren’t all that disabled. Afterall, you don’t need legs to sit at a desk all day, so why should you be compensated? This is at the same time we’re going to spend a little more, but not Federally, on an extension of the widow’s tax exemption on a property in which the veteran never lived.

On the one hand, it is good and right to extend a benefit to those who never directly served. On the other hand, it is good and right to eliminate benefits to those who did. Now, let’s spend a bunch of money on think-tanks, research, opinion polls, and Congressional hearings trying to figure out why enlistment, recruitment and retention are at all-time lows.

Tags: VA Disability Compensation, Widows Tax Exemption

Category: "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Veteran Health Care