McCain's attack on vets

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-humes30-2008may30,0,4850795.story

His respectful rhetoric isn't matched by his votes.
By Edward Humes
May 30, 2008

MORE THAN A FEW people have been puzzled by Sen. John McCain's dogged opposition to the updated GI Bill of Rights now before Congress. The dissonance between McCain's military-man image and his actions on this issue have introduced a jarring note to his presidential aspirations -- and have highlighted the shoddy treatment many Iraq war veterans have received.

Why would a Vietnam War veteran and former prisoner of war, a man who is personally acquainted with the difficulties vets can face in returning to civilian life, join President Bush in opposing a popular bipartisan bill to support the troops? Isn't fixing the education benefit in the bill -- one that has shortchanged far too many veterans for years -- a political no-brainer in an election year? The 75 senators who recently voted for it certainly thought so. Over the Memorial Day weekend, Sen. Barack Obama expressed some well-timed astonishment at McCain’s opposition, and the two have been feuding about it ever since. The media and pundits seem perplexed, collectively suggesting: That's not the John McCain we know.

Which is true: It is the John McCain they don't know. If the media weren't so mesmerized by the McCain image they have long promoted and instead got to know the McCain record, they would realize that there is nothing surprising or inconsistent about his position on the GI Bill. For years he has opposed legislation that veterans and their advocates deem vital. In doing so, he is simply being true to the contemporary conservative wing of the GOP and its leader, George W. Bush, in opposing social programs and benefits for individuals, even if those individuals happen to be veterans. The only surprise is that anyone finds this surprising.

This time, though, McCain is swimming against the tide of history. The original GI Bill -- signed into law in 1944 -- was one of the most important laws every adopted by Congress. It transformed the nation after World War II in epic fashion, with generous college benefits, stipends, subsidized mortgages, business loans and job training and placement.

Veterans got free rides to any college that would accept them. Tuition, books, housing and living expenses were all covered, giving rise to a new generation of scientists, inventors, teachers, doctors, civic leaders and artists. Low-interest, no-money-down home loans backed by the government made it cheaper to buy than to rent. Suburbia, widespread homeownership, college as a majority aspiration, the middle class -- all were built on the back of the GI Bill.

It reinvented the American dream. Bob Dole and George McGovern went to school on the GI Bill. So did Clint Eastwood and Paul Newman. So did 14 Nobel Prize winners. So did 7 million other World War II veterans.

FULL story at link.

[Bigmack]

1. But... but....

If the current GIs get some kind of help to go to college, who will fight our wars of choice? A whole bunch of them will leave the military and get an education.

Can't have that! (Deep, bitter :sarcasm: intended.)

McCain's action shows just how cruel the Repubs can be.

I got out of the Corps and went to college on the GI bill in 1966-8. It saved my ass in so many ways. First it gave me a chance to decompress and find a different culture than the Corps. I was able to find a world of ideas and not action. When I had some rough spots - very rough spots - a couple of professors helped me over them. I'll never forget one prof who treated me for PTSD and neither of us, nor society generally at that time, knew what it was.

I got an education. It wasn't even a gift from a grateful nation, either. The GI bill paid for itself by raising the income level of the veterans and then raising the amount paid in taxes by those veterans. The BI bill is a win-win situation for everybody.

We need to take care of the veterans we have and vow to make fewer veterans in the future.

[left is right]

2. I read something about 10 years ago that for every $1 of GI benefits

the government got a return of $14. Not only did it give rise to a generation of scientists, etc. It was also a smart fiscal move.

[LeFleur1]

3. Ummmm

First, let me say that the GI Bill was a wonderful thing and should definitely be available to any veteran.

BUT it didn't cover all costs by a long shot.

My husband went to school on the GI Bill in the late 50s. He received $128.00 per month because he was married. If there was one child the check increased to $132.00 per month. No increases after that. It's true that a quarter of education cost about $45.00 plus books, paid out of that monthly check, but it was still not the amount of money some think it was.

We were grateful for it. We both worked, too.