Friday, October 18, 2013

The Shutdown Affects Veterans


The video from Funny or Die shows the continuing debt ceiling disagreement between Barack Obama and John Boehner in a lighter sense. On a serious note, this disagreement has caused the government shutdown to continue. The shutdown and the economic issues are causing the military workforce to lose their paychecks and even their jobs.
According to the Department of Veteran Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, millions of returning soldiers and veterans, depending on their checks of compensation and support, will not receive any compensation if the government is still shut down by the end of this month.
                Shinseki stated there are 3.8 million veterans. The compensation these veterans receive takes care of them individually but also their families. Therefore, the government shutdown is affecting approximately 5 million individuals.
                The veterans are at risk of losing death benefits, back pay, incentive pays, reenlistment bonuses, disability benefits and survivor benefits. If a soldier joined the army to have a set financial future, they are now losing all the benefits they expected to acquire for risking their life, for our country. 

The government sends you to wars that are sometimes unnecessary, promises you benefits for your hard work and for risking your life, but then takes those benefits away from you. How would you feel if this scenario affected you?


If you went to war knowing you would have your compensation and benefits taken away from you would you still go to war and fight for your country?


No comments:

Post a Comment