Death Benefits???

[Martoch]

By Rush Limbaugh

I think the vast differences in compensation between the victims of the September 11th casualty and those who die serving the country in uniform are profound.

No one is really talking about it either, because you just don't criticize anything having to do with September 11th.

Well, I just can't let the numbers pass by, because it says something really disturbing about the entitlement mentality of this country.

If you lost a family member in the September 11th attack, you're going to get an average of $1,185,000. The range is a minimum guarantee of $250,000, all the way up to $4.7 million.

If you are a surviving family member of an American soldier killed in action, the first check you get is a $6,000 direct death benefit, half of which is taxable.

Next, you get $1,750 for burial costs.

If you are the surviving spouse, you get $833 a month until you remarry. And there's a payment of $211 per month for each child under 18. When the child hits 18, those payments come to a screeching halt.

Keep in mind that some of the people who are getting an average of $1.185 million up to $4.7 million are complaining that it's not enough.

We also learned that some of the victims from the Oklahoma City bombing have started an organization asking for the same deal that the September 11th families are getting.

In addition to that, some of the families of those bombed in the embassies are now asking for compensation as well.

You see where this is going, don't you?

Folks, this is part and parcel of over 50 years of entitlement politics in this country.

It's just really sad.

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime." --Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.

Every time a pay raise comes up for the military, they usually receive next to nothing of a raise.

Now the green machine is in combat in the Middle East while their families have to survive on food stamps and live in low-rent housing.

However, our own U.S. Congress just voted themselves a raise, and many of you don't know that they only have to be in Congress one time to receive a pension that is more than $15,000 per month, and most are now equal to being millionaires plus.

They also do not receive Social Security on retirement because they didn't have to pay into the system.

If some of the military people stay in for 20 years and get out as an E-7, you may receive a pension of $1,000 per month, and the very people who placed you in harm's way receive a pension of $15,000 per month.

I would like to see our elected officials pick up a weapon and join ranks before they start cutting out benefits and lowering pay for our sons and daughters who are now fighting.

"When do we finally do something about this?"

Yeah, life's unfair.

[osprey4]

And the first reaction when the government announced the benefits for the families of terrorist attack victims was a bunch of whining.

[Epidemic]

It made no sense to pay the families that kind of dough. Do not get me wrong but lots of people die every year with out the benifit of government payouts. What makes this different. My friends dad died when he was 10 and his mom died when he was 16. I think that they should have gotten 4 million dollars because it was a horrible story.

Geepers creepers. Heck even when a tornado blows away a whole town you do not see much more than government loans. to the berieved families.

[originel]

crazy stuff. it's really sad IMO. yes i feel sorry for the families of those that died in 9/11, but first of all, money is just money, there is no way to compensate for the death of their loved ones, so going and using that argument is BS IMO.

[Epidemic]

money does not compensate for the loss, but it makes the lives of those who are left easier financially.

I would guess that most of these people could be set up for life because of a twist of fate. Generally just not good practice for the government to fix peoples woes with payouts. I gave the money I wanted to these families via charity and that is how it should work.

Government is not a benevolent entity. It is not their job and it is wrong for them to spend my money to only help a few in dire straights. If you are going to help the families of 911 victems then they should pay for all who die every year as every death is a tragedy for someone.

money does not compensate for the loss,

That's what they all say while taking the million dollar check.

[CERuppel]

Been reading some old books lately (E.E. "Doc" Smith, Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov...) and have seen a trend that I think applies here.

All of the writers saw duty and service as becoming more of a natural requirement of government as mankind grows. Each in their own way showed how the individual would serve in government, and how the system of government would act as its own check and balance. Also each paid homage to the men in uniform, often stating that service (not necessarily military) would become a requirement of higher office.

Now the kicker. The books I am referring to are all 1950's or earlier.

Now look at today and the writing of our future. Totalitarian governments, military police without controls, government officials with absolute power, citizens living as cattle...

This sort of change is profound. And scary. The authors in both cases were basing their books on the world around themselves.

Don't know if I got my point across about how this ties into the neglect being heaped onto our servicemen and women, or the privileges government is giving itself, but I hope I at least tryed...