Well, I just learned that the Bush Administration, the purveyors of all that is good and American, has decided that the troops don’t need no stinking raise.
Troops don’t need bigger pay raises, White House budget officials said Wednesday in a statement of administration policy laying out objections to the House version of the 2008 defense authorization bill.
Noooo, because it’s their duty to God and George to enlist and go fight for whatever it is they’re fighting for this week. And dammit, they get paid well enough as it is! At least they have jobs! They should be thankful that they’re allowed to make these kinds of sacrifices!
Bush actually asked to 3% pay raises for our folks in uniform initially. But then someone went against the grain and thought the troops should get more. Feh!
The Bush administration had asked for a 3 percent military raise for Jan. 1, 2008, enough to match last year’s average pay increase in the private sector. The House Armed Services Committee recommends a 3.5 percent pay increase for 2008, and increases in 2009 through 2012 that also are 0.5 percentage point greater than private-sector pay raises.
The slightly bigger military raises are intended to reduce the gap between military and civilian pay that stands at about 3.9 percent today. Under the bill, HR 1585, the pay gap would be reduced to 1.4 percent after the Jan. 1, 2012, pay increase.Bush budget officials said the administration “strongly opposes†both the 3.5 percent raise for 2008 and the follow-on increases, calling extra pay increases “unnecessary.â€[empahsis added]
Why exactly shouldn’t the lowly Army mechanic get as much, if not more, money for his job than the mechanic up the street? Afterall, the Army mechanic isn’t exactly playing beach volleyball over there. He’s giving up his civilian life and liberty to “fight them there so we don’t have to fight them here”, but he’s not worth a couple more dollars a month?
Don’t worry. It gets better.
A death gratuity for federal civilian employees who die in support of military operations, and new benefits for disabled retirees and the survivors of military retirees also drew complaints.
This includes the transfer of the GI Bill benefits program for reservists from the Department of Defense to the Department of Veterans Affairs, a step that GI Bill supporters said is needed to set the stage for increases in reserve benefits that have been kept low by the military because it views the program as a retention incentive rather than a post-service education program.
Refusal by lawmakers to approve Tricare fees for beneficiaries, something administration officials view as an important step in holding down health care cost, also drew opposition, along with a provision imposing price controls on prescription drugs dispensed to Tricare users.[emphasis mine again]
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As I’ve said before, we have to support the troops, because this administration sure as hell won’t. The last remaining neocons are clinging to a pipe dream.
That, plus their shitty health care plan, is truly shameful. Of course we should be treating our military peeps better, and I wouldn’t even object to a raise in taxes if that’s what it would take.
Well, maybe we can stop assuaging our guilty feelings about sending them off to die for no real benefit by putting up statues of the dead ones, and use that money to start treating the living ones like they matter, as well.
I see that President Shitbag was offered concessions on the funding bill that he didn’t deserve, yet still turned them down. Yet, he’ll still say “fund the troops” instead of “fund the war”, when all the facts point to the conclusion that he doesn’t give a fuck about the troops at all.
Of course he turned them down. It’s his way or the highway. He’s like a spoiled child who just wants to throw temper tantrums. No one’s ever taught him that compromise is a good thing.
Now, someone on some rightwing propaganda blog will declare that it’s the Dems’ fault because they didn’t bow down to the king and give him everything he wanted in every way that he wanted. It doesn’t matter that the people have spoke, through the election, that they’re sick and tired of his petty bullshit- he doesn’t pay attention to polls afterall. The people are stupid and led astray and if we just woke up and realized how wonderful GW is then, dammit, the “war” wouldn’t be going so badly for us.
No,he doesn’t care about the troops. No dragonskin vests and no decent pay. Extended tours and fucked up hospitals. Yup, he’s a great fucking man that piece of shit GW.