Simpson: vets are causing the deficit
Alan Simpson, the co-chair of the President’s deficit commission, blamed veterans for the ballooning deficit;
“The irony (is) that the veterans who saved this country are now, in a way, not helping us to save the country in this fiscal mess,” said Simpson, an Army veteran who was once chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
So basically, Simpson is saying that, now that veterans have given their all, youth, limbs and organs, to the country, we should just chalk that up to the cost of doing business and sacrifice YET AGAIN? As I’ve been telling you since before the 2008 election, the government always turn to veterans to give up their benefits which they earned for their service before they turn to the millions of leeches whose idea of sacrifice is giving up an afternoon of Oprah to apply for more benefits.
Thanks to Tman for the link.
Category: Veteran Health Care
Well, I suppose we could just give more money to some welfare momma that just shit out her 6th kid with no baby daddy in sight, instead of to people who EARNED it; right?
Sorry if my response seems a little rough around the edges, but this subject just pisses me off and I’m a little cranky from allergies today.
Nah OT, you were a gentleman compared to the shit storm this nitwit should generate.
He also said: “It’s the kind of thing that’s just driving us to this $1 trillion, $400 billion deficit this year,” Simpson said. “It’s not that I’m an uncaring person, but common sense is the most uncommon thing in Washington.”
Common sense my dainty ass…
BOHICA!
A-holes like this think its easier to appeal to our sense of duty than to mess with a welfare persons sense of entitlement……
Wow, I can’t believe that someone is so far detached from reality….. Let’s see… the welfare system, handouts to the banks, handouts to foreign countries, stimulus programs that provided jobs for illegal aliens and really accomplished nothing, the President’s luxurious lifestyle…. I could go on and on, but really, Veterans causing the deficit?? Maybe John Cusack could wish a Satanic death on this moron??
You talk o’ better food for us, an’ schools, an’ fires, an’ all:
We’ll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don’t mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow’s Uniform is not the soldier-man’s disgrace.
For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!”
But it’s “Saviour of ‘is country” when the guns begin to shoot;
An’ it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ anything you please;
An’ Tommy ain’t a bloomin’ fool — you bet that Tommy sees!
You would expect a commie cocks*cker in Obongo’s admin to say stuff like that, and of course the ‘death panels’ in the health care bill would see that no money was wasted on prolonging life for our parents… money that COULD be better spent on White Hosue parties and golf outings.
But it seems to me that if we wanted to cut the spending at the root, we might consider a purge of all the big spenders in the current regime. If they were all removed, with whatever degree of prejudice necessary, the socialist spending machine would grind to a halt quickly.
You would expect a commie cocks*cker in Obongo’s admin to say stuff like that, and of course the ‘death panels’ in the health care bill would see that no money was wasted on prolonging life for our parents… money that COULD be better spent on White House parties, golf outings and the occasional male whore for Barney Fwank..
But it seems to me that if we wanted to cut the spending at the root, we might consider a purge of all the big spenders in the current regime. If they were all removed, with whatever degree of prejudice necessary, the socialist spending machine would grind to a halt quickly.
Simpson–isn’t he like 140 years old? One day he goes from SS is a cow with 300 million teats to this.
Fade away, Alan. Just fade away. BTW–have you given up YOUR retirement yet? Seems to me that bloated Congressional salaries, benefits, and retirements aren’t exactly helping the deficit either.
When the VA added a new round of ailments connected to Agent Orange; the amount of money that was going to be paid out retroactively, along with the increase in disability percentages and payouts to those that have, and will be, diagnosed with service connected ailments from Agent Orange exposure, the cost was naturally going to go up. Add to that the increased intensity in A-stan and other things and you are bound to have an increase in costs to Vets. However, as I said; they fucking earned it.
Do we forget about all that and just give more money to someone to buy a new car and traded in their perfectly good used car, only to have that perfectly good used car crushed because it didn’t meet an arbitrary mpg number, or give them a check because they bought a fricken hybrid? How about give more money for research into the mating habits of desert turtles or why baboons have a red ass? He wants to talk common sense, I think he needs to look elsewhere, first, before coming after Vets.
Simpson is a long time part of the professional political establishment that has profited very well from their position as a representative. From the state of the country we can see how good a job these professional politicians do for the country. Their solution is to lay blame for their failure on people with honor and achievement, the military for instance, business leaders and the boy scouts. It is obvious Simpson is suffering from the stress of wanting to be in the political game and its driving him crazy.
Hey, his statement about a milk cow with 310 million tits is just restating the conservative mantra. I mean if normal Americans, some of them old and defensless, some of them heros in their own right, deserve to have the rug pulled out from under them, why not military men and women? Or do you guys have rock solid conservative values right up to the point where it affects your wallet and no further? Let’s be consistent here….
I will not give up my benefits lightly. Before I ever do, Congress needs to set the example. House them all at Ft. Meyer in barracks, make them ride a shuttle bus to work, and strictly adhere to term limits as a way to root out corruption, oh and make their retirement a pittance, and then I will consider it.
And OT, I feel old, I am submitting my VA Claim this morning for six injuries over two tours. 🙁 Is it bad when an Army Doc tells you you are an old man at 25?
Lucky; lol!! I was told that when I was 22 by an Army Doc at Ft. Stewart. Yeah, we feel older than we are, that’s for sure.
Hey, his statement about a milk cow with 310 million tits is just restating the conservative mantra.
What are you talking about? SS is money people paid into their whole life, the problems conservatives have with it is that it is such a shitty deal…
arby
That was the 1st thing I thought of when I read this post…
@ Old Trooper: Its still freaking scary to me, I am 26 now, and not wanting to be old already! Hahaha
@ Lucky and OldTrooper
By the time I got out at 24 my knees were feeling the effect of all those years of climbing all over tanks. Thankfully it was early enough that my knees are fine know. Now I’m doing triathlons and playing hockey and that’s no where near as hard on the body!!!
know=now…
Joey, Joey, you’re saying that military veterans aren’t “normal Americans”? Cuz that’s sure what your post in #11 reads like. So, thanks for making your feelings known to all of us that served.
Now, why don’t you go see if you can’t fall off a mountain somewhere?
Well UpNorth,
I could have used a better choice of words, although after frequenting this post, “normal” is not the word that comes to mind. Also, frankly, some posters here seem to have that entitlement mentality that they excoriate in other people. I think the Vets all deserve a more than fair shake, but I think other hard-working Americans do too. Sometimes I get the feeling that some of the posters here think thier service places them above normal, hard-working people people.
Okay, Joe–we’ll bite. Which ones?
@Old Tanker and Old Trooper: Well, I am 26 now, just sent in my VA Claim for all six medical issues, and am transferring to Psyop, so I can 1) Jump and 2) Get paid to win friends and influence people….. Hahahahahaha
@Lucky Get paid to win friends and influence people
Then you can transition to Corporate sales when you retire!
some posters here seem to have that entitlement mentality
There is an ever so slight difference between an entitlement and an earned benefit wouldn’t you say? Social Security is a benefit that most people PAY for and politicians play political football with. Same with military retirement…it was promised if a commitment was fulfilled. Now I didn’t do 20 and I was able to ETS with no physical limitations due to my service so I receive NO benefits and I am not “entitled” to them. I also don’t believe any one here wants “more than their fair shake” as you said, they simply want what was promised, no more, no less.
Now an entitlement is a handout. My son had some friends over for his birthday. One had to charge up his “Obama phone” You see, they were phones given for free to low income people as part of the stimulus. The idea of course that it would help them get a job because a prospective employer could contact them. His mother had a job and could afford a cell phone because she actually owned one already. But she had to get her Obama phone because she was “entitled” to it whether she needed it or not. She gave the Obama phone to her son because every 8 year old needs one see. It’s this kind of crap that drives me crazy and it’s not just an isolated incident. I could write volumes of these stories…
Oy. Democrats certainly do not let facts get in the way of their b#llsh!t, do they…
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Iraq: The War That Broke Us — Not
So the following are facts, based on the government’s own figures.
* Obama’s stimulus, passed in his first month in office, will cost more than the entire Iraq War — more than $100 billion (15%) more.
* Just the first two years of Obama’s stimulus cost more than the entire cost of the Iraq War under President Bush, or six years of that war.
* Iraq War spending accounted for just 3.2% of all federal spending while it lasted.
* Iraq War spending was not even one quarter of what we spent on Medicare in the same time frame.
* Iraq War spending was not even 15% of the total deficit spending in that time frame. The cumulative deficit, 2003-2010, would have been four-point-something trillion dollars with or without the Iraq War.
* The Iraq War accounts for less than 8% of the federal debt held by the public at the end of 2010 ($9.031 trillion).
* During Bush’s Iraq years, 2003-2008, the federal government spent more on education that it did on the Iraq War. (State and local governments spent about ten times more.)
I’ve written elsewhere that the Iraq War was totally justified and even executed reasonably well. But even if you believe otherwise, there is no reasonable case that can be made to say it caused grave economic woes then or now.
Not only do the critics of the Iraq War make 300% errors in their numbers, but they also contradict themselves with abandon. When Obama was pushing he stimulus, he said,
Then you get the argument, “well this is not a stimulus bill, this is a spending bill.” Whaddya think a stimulus is? (Laughter.) That’s the whole point. No, seriously. (Laughter.) That’s the point. (Applause.)
So spending $572B in two years stimulates an economy, but spending $554B over six years ruins one?
Yeah, OldTanker, the abuses are exasperating. The devil is in the details, and a lot of the details are screwed up by the whole legislative process. Nonetheless, I feel that the government of a civilized nation has a greater responsibility than just protecting our borders, I feel it has the duty of helping out the least fortunate among us. The details of how it does that could spark a lively debate.
Michael in MI,
$100 billion?!? You’ve got to be kidding me! Try $3 trillion by the time we pay all the bills, including giving injured veterans the care they so well deserve.
@ Joe. We should take care of people that have no ability to take care of themselves, examples would be the handicapped or incapacitated (sorry about spelling).
People too lazy or stupid to bust there butts and fend for themselves are not my responsablity nor concern. I have a wife, three kids and no college education. I have busted my rear in both the military and the civilian world with no handouts or help because I realize I am my own responsability. I take pride in my ablity to feed my family, provide a house and have money for entertainment. I see no reason why I should have to pay for parisites.
To quote the movie Caddie Shack….”The world needs ditch-diggers too”
@Old Tanker, Never! Lol, I hate cubicle living, I did that after my first tour, for a part time gig while I was in college, never again! Although, it did familiarize me with the way that the VA does business.
Wow… “veterans… are not helping us to save the country in this fiscal mess…” Audacious. Right up there with soldiers are not heroes.
Joey? Quoting James Carville, really? $3T? When the CBO says the cost of the Iraq war was $709 Billion? If you want to be taken seriously, try doing a little research, Joey.
Just for you, a link: http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/08/iraq_the_war_that_broke_us_not.html
Check the graph on deficits and the source.
Also, Joey, how much did the stimulus cost us? You know, the one that would keep unemployment from exceeding 8%? Here’s just a hint, $814 Billion. So, which cost us more, Joey?
@Lucky
Cubicle? not in sales, you have to “win friends and influence people” You’ve done that before, haven’t you?? 😉
We have sacrificed our bodies and placed them in in front of the citizens of our country and others between “Wars Desolation” Yet Mr. Simpson has the gall (with his congressional pension) saying we veterans cost to much!
I’ve sacrificed and I had troopers sacrifice, their time bodies and spirits. Cause that’s what they do. Dang I loved the Army and I stayed in until they kicked me out on a medical discharge. But I am glad I’m out now, I survived Clinton I don’t think I could survive Obama.
@Old Tanker: At present, I am Civil Affairs, its a living…. I am wandering into a LE career, lol
Yeah, OldTanker, the abuses are exasperating. The devil is in the details, and a lot of the details are screwed up by the whole legislative process.
And who do you think threw that little gem in there (phones)? Was it (D) or (R)? Hell, it’s not really even that important what party it was in as much as those examples are slowly becoming the norm…not the exception. This is the crux of the matter…entitlement creep. Some people EARN benefits and others simply expect them…so who do we tell no? Wanna run for office now?
@Lucky
You’ve “done the dew”, put that talent and those lessons to use and it’s all good!
“$100 billion?!? You’ve got to be kidding me! Try $3 trillion by the time we pay all the bills, including giving injured veterans the care they so well deserve.”
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JOE — You might want to try actually reading AND comprehending what I posted from the link I provided:
Obama’s stimulus, passed in his first month in office, will cost more than the entire Iraq War — more than $100 billion (15%) more.
That was “$100 billion more”, as in the Obama Stimulus cost $100 billion more than the entire Iraq War spending.
And, as UpNorth reiterated, those numbers are taken from the CBO. Your “$3 Trillion” lie is addressed in the article as well. As UpNorth suggested, try doing some research. And as I suggested, try actually reading AND *comprehending* the research.
There’s a growing movement in California, who advocate for public employee pension reform. Unfortunately, they have lumped veterans into the same category.
If they can greatly reduce or take away pensions from public employees in California, they are poised to take on the rest of the U.S.
This isn’t to say that there hasn’t been incredible abuse of the system by a variety of unions attached to public employees. There has. But to them, a pension is a pension. They seem to lack a filter that discerns between a city librarian, a cop, or a veteran. Their rhetoric includes what this guy has said, and it’s more political in tone than it is based on an understanding of nuances.
I think the burden on us relies on telling them why retired veterans are different from police and firemen. I hate to separate it out –especially since so many veterans are also policemen, firemen, etc. But I think in order to save the little guy at the bottom of the scale, we might have to do this. We have watched veterans benefits cut again and again. Politicians like to use veterans as campaign props, but then also listen to guys like Simpson to get sound bites in order come up with “tax saving” rhetoric.
I’m not sure…just exactly what is Simpson’s Veteran status? The Kipling poem TOMMY was so appropriate. Thanks Arby! Where was Simpson and his generation when I came back from a war I volunteered to go to when everyone told me not to? It was he and the rest of the “Greatest Generation” that sent us to Vietnam to rot and die. They changed the GI Bill on us from what the WWII and Korean War vets got. $175 dollars a month to pay for your education. My father got $80 a month, tuition, books, and R&B. They denied us disability benefits or low-balled them so much that frustrated veterans quit trying to get them. Sen. Webb blocked the new AO legislation saying it would cost too much. How much did all this stimulus, GM, Chrysler, and billions in welfare to people who’ve never earned shit. How much is all that costing? No, these bastards are all the same. They talk about the cost of war but never the aftermath. When it’s over, screw you, we’ve spent too much on crap so you guys just go ahead and sacrifice some more. Veterans groups normally then plead more sacrifice for their members not wanting to look unpatriotic. NOT THIS TIME! If they screw us again it’s time for a Veterans March on DC. I’m not one to go to protests or involve myself with fringe groups but this is the last straw. We’re bankrupting this country?????? My God, these people have lost their minds. They sure weren’t spending enough at Walter Reed. It reminds me of something said on MASH: “Nothings too good for the men. Yep, that’s why they get so much of it.” I truly hate all these bastards in DC.
Honor and Courage
Well said AirCav, well said.
Old Trooper, your response in #1 is absolutely RIGHT ON. I am so cranked up about this kind of shit that sometimes I think they are trying to purposely give us heart attacks to get rid of us. I can hardly watch the news anymore. Deb has to leave the room when I start screaming at the tv. I had about 200 more examples of the waste of OUR money to site but all of y’all know them by heart.
Honor and Courage
Yeah, 1AirCav69, Ronald Reagan’s ficticious Cadillac drivin’ welfare queen is alive and well, in your mind anyway. Oddly, no one seems too concerned about the sixth kid that she “just shit out”, I guess he can starve for all you care.
Are you SERIOUSLY comparing a veterans benefits with the benefits given to welfare mamas?
You’re kidding, right?
Michael in Mi, that wooshing sound wasn’t an F-16 going over, that was Joey boy completely ignoring facts which don’t support his liberal, welfare state agenda. They just flew past him at mach 1.
Pinto,
Of course he’s comparing Veterans benefits to welfare…. No matter how neatly we separate the 2.
And yes, the Cadillac queen is alive and well, there’s nothing ficticious about things you can see with your own eyes…
Meet Sharon Jasper who protested New Orleans decision to tear down some Government housing and placing people in other subsidized housing.
She said “I’m tired of the slum landlords, and I’m tired of the slum houses.”
Nice TV though…..
Actually Joe, nobody is starving in this country. Just look around and you’ll see a large population of obese people on food stamps. As far as the 6th kid goes….not my problem. If you chose to have children it’s your responsibility to see they get fed, not mine, so to answer your question, no, I don’t give a shit if the kid lives or dies. Now, if you want to venture into the neighborhood to save that 6th child, do so. This is America and because of the men and women on this site you have the right to do that. Also go get a BS in Social Work, then get your Masters in Social Work, and make a difference. If not, quit hawking your crap at me. You see, I made a difference by getting those degrees and spent 30 years helping people. Put YOUR money where you mouth is punk.
Honor and Courage
AirCav,
Social Worker eh? My wife is a Social Worker and loves helping those who need it but boy if they’re trying to scam the system, look out!
OT…spent all those years with the VA/DOD helping people that really wanted to help themselves. Having a long life history after Vietnam I know that there are those that run into trouble in life and need assistance. That’s what the Safety Net of welfare was created for orignally. It’s morphed into a lifestye that Joey doesn’t understand. I believe it is good to help people through a rough time. Hell, I’d love to have half the money I spent on bus tickets sending vets to Mountain Home Tenn. for the Domicillary and Substance Abuse treatment when I worked in the Vet Center. People like Joey talk a big talk but have never walked the walk. Here’s to people like your wife!
Honor and Courage
1AirCav69,
About your protest march on Washington D.C.,thee last time that was tried was in 1932, when the ww1 Vets with their familys (called the bonus Army) marched to demand their war bonuses promised to them.
On orders of President Hubert Hoover,and led by Douglas Mcarther, George Patton, and Dewight Eisenhower, their camps
were attacked by the army with fixed bayonetes, and chemical weapons. They burned the camps to the ground, along with all their possesions, killing four Vets, and dozens of women and
children. Just remember that history always repeats itself.