[USA] Veterans Benefits $'s vs Military $'s on balance sheet

[someotherguy]

How come whenVeterans Benefits $'s and Military/National Defense $'s are listed as separate, in both comics:

And actual websites: http://www.whitehouse.gov/2011-taxreceipt
"National Defense 24.9%"
"Veterans Benefits 4.5%"

When people are recruited into military (National Defense), they are promised benefits (Veteran's Benefits), or am I wrong? Don't they go hand-and-hand?
I just see it as some kind of an accounting trick, but I don't get it. Is it just to make the number look smaller? National Defense is anyway the highest % that we pay for anything (according to the government website I linked).

Why wouldn't those 24.9% and 4.5% just get reported as 29.4%?
Or are those really two different things? (I guess veterans are no longer serving, but seems like budget for military should include the benefits promised for retirement)

[foofymoonkin]

Why wouldn't those 24.9% and 4.5% just get reported as 29.4%?
Or are those really two different things? (I guess veterans are no longer serving, but seems like budget for military should include the benefits promised for retirement)

The sad thing is, even when promised benefits, they don't always get them. The government lives off the fact that some people just don't have the urge to put up with a 5+ year long battle to get them.

I was discharged -Due to Medical- for -For Medical- so I don't get shit. My buddy, while on active duty injured his spine. Hes still fighting about getting benefits.

[Vutar]

If you are actually wanting to combine something it should be Medicare & Health with Veterans Benefits. The largest percentage of those benefits would go to the service related injury/illness.

[semaphore]

Why wouldn't those 24.9% and 4.5% just get reported as 29.4%?

The commitment to veterans is kind of different to the costs of maintaining/expanding/upgrading the active military.

Also it's not much of an accounting trick when its all out in the open for anyone with a calculator to put together, personally I'm inclined to want a more detailed breakdown of where the tax money goes.

[Begottenson]

How come whenVeterans Benefits $'s and Military/National Defense $'s are listed as separate, in both comics:

And actual websites: http://www.whitehouse.gov/2011-taxreceipt
"National Defense 24.9%"
"Veterans Benefits 4.5%"

When people are recruited into military (National Defense), they are promised benefits (Veteran's Benefits), or am I wrong? Don't they go hand-and-hand?
I just see it as some kind of an accounting trick, but I don't get it. Is it just to make the number look smaller? National Defense is anyway the highest % that we pay for anything (according to the government website I linked).

Why wouldn't those 24.9% and 4.5% just get reported as 29.4%?
Or are those really two different things? (I guess veterans are no longer serving, but seems like budget for military should include the benefits promised for retirement)

Because National Defense is separate from Veterans Benefits. National Defense is for an assortment of things from R&D to acquisitions and current pay for current military personnel. Overall it's easier to track when it's separate and giving them a separate budget/break down also gives them a limit on how much they can pay out.
Truth be told though, not a lot of veterans seek benefits. There are millions if not billions of dollars sitting and not being used on educational benefits. Soldiers with PTSD often go undiagnosed or just don't seek help.

If going by your philosophy then Military,Veterans Benefits and Government would be all grouped into one segment. The rest would be grouped up in another segment and then the only thing that would be by itself would be interest.
As others have stated, I would like a bigger more in-depth breakdown on a lot of the funding going on, some of it can be found, but a majority of it is undisclosed. This is far from a trick however since it is posted up. It's sickening though that unemployment&ssi get triple the amount (granted there is a smaller percentage of veterans)

[Surgam]

Because National Defense is separate from Veterans Benefits. National Defense is for an assortment of things from R&D to acquisitions and current pay for current military personnel. Overall it's easier to track when it's separate and giving them a separate budget/break down also gives them a limit on how much they can pay out.
Truth be told though, not a lot of veterans seek benefits. There are millions if not billions of dollars sitting and not being used on educational benefits. Soldiers with PTSD often go undiagnosed or just don't seek help.

If going by your philosophy then Military,Veterans Benefits and Government would be all grouped into one segment. The rest would be grouped up in another segment and then the only thing that would be by itself would be interest.
As others have stated, I would like a bigger more in-depth breakdown on a lot of the funding going on, some of it can be found, but a majority of it is undisclosed. This is far from a trick however since it is posted up. It's sickening though that unemployment&ssi get triple the amount (granted there is a smaller percentage of veterans)

I had my knee cap blown off when in Afghanistan and I'm not entitled to benefits. Simply because I do not have enough Active Duty time to receive the treatment required for my injury, no granted they did give me a knee replacement surgery, but I still need rehab for it and I've received very little and I'm currently paying out of pocket to get my treatment.

[jbombard]

I would love to see the breakdown on pork-barrel spending attached to bills that they have absolutely nothing to do with.

[Auguine]

I had my knee cap blown off when in Afghanistan and I'm not entitled to benefits. Simply because I do not have enough Active Duty time to receive the treatment required for my injury, no granted they did give me a knee replacement surgery, but I still need rehab for it and I've received very little and I'm currently paying out of pocket to get my treatment.

Absolutely sickening. My mother works in a va clinic and I hear stories like that all the time, its sad.

[Maneo]

Truth be told though, not a lot of veterans seek benefits. There are millions if not billions of dollars sitting and not being used on educational benefits. Soldiers with PTSD often go undiagnosed or just don't seek help.

As far as the educational benefits, its a odd situation.

Most people who enlist opt to use the GI Bill (paying X amount to get X amount back to further your education). However most at least in the USAF will have a Bachelors degree (don't remember the name of the program my wife took advantage of it) by the time they get out of the military and so no point or reason to put more time into education.

So the money just sits, last time I checked though certain branches have been making GI Bill benefits available to dependents but that is not all services inclusive.

It makes me sad to hear the stories of people not getting the benefits they deserve when they get out of the armed services, but I always wonder what they did wrong. I think often time once people get out of the service they don't want to bother with more paper work, and more jumping through hoops. Problem is that if you don't you will not get the benefits you should, and if you don't do it right when you get out it creates more paperwork and more hoops.

My wife was denied her re enlistment due to medical reasons (so she wasn't medically retired), with in 9 months after completing all the paperwork and jumping through hoops (bureaucracy) she was covered completely for medical by the VA, and began to receive disability payments once a month.

[Deleted]

Its sad to hear you guys in the US military are getting screwed over, veterans have it pretty easy in the UK.

[tyco782]

I had my knee cap blown off when in Afghanistan and I'm not entitled to benefits. Simply because I do not have enough Active Duty time to receive the treatment required for my injury, no granted they did give me a knee replacement surgery, but I still need rehab for it and I've received very little and I'm currently paying out of pocket to get my treatment.

Contact your local federal congressional representative. Many representatives in congress can help their constituents if they are having problems with the VA like you are.

[Deleted]

My guess is, that this graph tries to relativize the amount of money war and military costs the U.S. citizen.
"Only" 27% instead of more than 30%.

[Gouky]

None of those deserve any tax money.

[Begottenson]

As far as the educational benefits, its a odd situation.

Most people who enlist opt to use the GI Bill (paying X amount to get X amount back to further your education). However most at least in the USAF will have a Bachelors degree (don't remember the name of the program my wife took advantage of it) by the time they get out of the military and so no point or reason to put more time into education.

So the money just sits, last time I checked though certain branches have been making GI Bill benefits available to dependents but that is not all services inclusive.

It makes me sad to hear the stories of people not getting the benefits they deserve when they get out of the armed services, but I always wonder what they did wrong. I think often time once people get out of the service they don't want to bother with more paper work, and more jumping through hoops. Problem is that if you don't you will not get the benefits you should, and if you don't do it right when you get out it creates more paperwork and more hoops.

My wife was denied her re enlistment due to medical reasons (so she wasn't medically retired), with in 9 months after completing all the paperwork and jumping through hoops (bureaucracy) she was covered completely for medical by the VA, and began to receive disability payments once a month.

While it's true anyone serving before 9/11 are stuck with the old Chapter of the GI Bill. If you have service for just 90 days after 9/11 you fall into a new tiered bracket, in which the benefits are HUGE! (Loving it right now myself!) Right now if you can grab a hold of the Post 9/11 GI Bill they pay the school directly, then they pay you BAH based on the area the school is in. Just in Pa, they are paying me 1520 or so a month, and pittsburgh is one of the cheapest cities to live in. Then they pay you once a year a stipend for your books and what not. Anyone that is using the Post 9/11 Gi Bill should in theory be able to finish out most of their Bachelor if not more before the benefits run out, with out owing any money at all, unless they took out a loan just for extra money for whatever reason.

And for the transferring of benefits to dependents. It's for all services. The Gi Bill isn't a service exclusive deal and they only have 1 system for all branches. Army, Navy, Marines, Airforce, then you also have to group in each branches reserves and national guards. That would be too taxing to focus a different system for each segment, so they're all grouped into one system with one set of rules.

"An individual approved to transfer an entitlement to educational assistance under this section may transfer the individual’s entitlement to:

• The individual’s spouse.

• One or more of the individual’s children.

• Any combination of spouse and child.

• A family member must be enrolled in the Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System (DEERS) and be eligible for benefits, at the time of transfer to receive transferred educational benefits.

• A child’s subsequent marriage will not affect his or her eligibility to receive the educational benefit; however, after an individual has designated a child as a transferee under this section, the individual retains the right to revoke or modify the transfer at any time.

• A subsequent divorce will not affect the transferee’s eligibility to receive educational benefits; however, after an individual has designated a spouse as a transferee under this section, the eligible individual retains the right to revoke or modify the transfer at any time. "

http://www.defense.gov/home/features/2009/0409_gibill/ In the related links click on the transferability policy link and it explains the whole bill.



The new Gi Bill is priceless, just too many of the service member's/veterans don't take advantage of the program.

[Surgam]

I've tried, but every time I try to contact anyone about this issue its the same thing, since my injury occuried within two months of being on the group my total active duty time doesn't add up to 180 days.

[Deleted]

Its sad to hear you guys in the US military are getting screwed over, veterans have it pretty easy in the UK.

Indeed. Guys, what's this 180 days active service? Is that deployed service or since graduating from Basic training? Pretty sickening if you ask me..

[Tastyfish]

Well, what we DO Know is, the largest amount of American Homless are the mentally ill and vets, and that vet suicide rates are higher then they have been. Way too high. What is the point of having all that money in WAR, if you can't support the ones who survive?
If we shell out 1.6 trillion a year toward guns and bombs, but fuck over the humans who shoot them.. well what the fuck is going on?

[Bakis]

Very sad, I think governments wanne cut down on everything everywhere and I've read some things about the few vets we have here in Sweden too about some injustice in the system but nothing on this scale.

180 days? What does that matter for someone who are unlucky enough to get deployed and manage to get injured before those days passed.
"Sorry bud' your limb is not worth anything cos you sucked so much for not huddling behind a cover the first 180 days and avoided injury like the intelligent ones"..

[Deleted]

what makes me sick is the 1 cent per dollar on science, sickening.

[Bakis]

what makes me sick is the 1 cent per dollar on science, sickening.

Its little, well very little but almsot all sience is made by private companies who then add it as a development cost when selling to DoD.