Maybe you've heard about the latest threat to the American Way... Congress, looking to check another austerity measures box, is considering privatizing military retirement.
Will Congress Cut Military Pay and Benefits? You Betcha!
Not Only No, but HELL F#%KING NO!
Calls to Privatize Military Retirement - with Action Update
It's time military folks take this to the desks of Congress. Slinkerwink is also calling for congressional action today.
So, you need a little motivation?
I thought you might like to see what some other military folks have to say about privatizing their retirement:
I have been in the Navy for 14 years and now you are telling me that I am close to retirement that if I stay for 20 years I will only get 3/4th's of my retirement. It isn't worth it. I just had my son and my next tour is sea duty again and you want me to sacrifice my time with my family. My time with my husband and son is precious but Congress wants me to work for less incentive but give up more than they are while they sit on their salaries making policy on millions of people that will affect the rest of their lives.
More opinions and a follow up on calls to Congress below the fold.
Military members are angry at even the suggestion of this privatizing our retirement.
Great. Four tours in Iraq, hit by an IED, 8 moves in 15 years, gave up six digit civilian job because going the 20 was worth it. Now, at 20 years and 2 months your telling us that it was for nothing? Thanks a lot.
18 years here. And same as above, I would have left service at ten years and saved my family the heartache of multiple deployments. Would have been there for more of my childrens early years. The first time my daughter said "I luff dada" I had to see it on a video that was emailed to me. I didn't go through all of this for what they are proposing.
I am a 13 year veteran in the Army, and along with the house that I am paying off, the 20 year retirement plan is my only plan. I am 32 years old and have deployed on 4 combat tours to both Iraq and Afghanistan. My body hastaken a beating more so than any average 32 year old. The 20 year plan kept me in the Army. I would like everyone who supports this new plan to go spend 12 months in the desert wearing 50lbs of body armor everyday, and taking their chances with the bombs and bullets, and say yeah go ahead and hold thier retirement until age 65, theiy can do something else when the military is through with them. What am I going to do with the next 7 years of saving in the TSP. That is hardly enough time to save for retirement. Think of something different Washington this one will cause a riot.
I can only judge this situation by my own experience. While working after my Navy days, I worked for 24 years, and when the down turn in the economy came in 2008 (caused by bad government politics), I lost over half of my 24 year old 401k. There was no bail out for those of us that are in this situation and not enough time to recover that amount before the second retirement ceremony. Putting your money under your mattress may be a better plan.
Unfortunately, military folks aren't used to calling their Congressman. Many won't. They believe it is political action and is a right denied to them by their service commitment. Although this isn't true for military family members, many of them feel constrained as well... they are concerned that if someone in the chain of command learns about a politically active family member, that the active duty member will suffer for their activism.
That is why I am beating the drum here at DailyKos. We need our own military community members to start this process. If we join the folks that Slinkerwink is getting on board, that makes for a lot of progressive meetings with Congress. And, as she suggests, asking for transparent meetings of the Super Congress is a great way to protect our own interests... we can see if anyone plans to slip in this privatization plan, or cut military health care benefits, or freeze military pay.
A few of us on DailyKos have made a start.
I contacted the Alaska Delegation.
As of yet, the two Senators had not been briefed and the staff knows little about the proposed plan. I will be calling them back this week.
Representative Don Young hadn't heard anything either but his legislative aide for military affairs was prepared to talk to me about his potential non-support of the bill. It came with a big caveat... she told me that the Representative doesn't believe in changing plans for anyone that already had signed up for the current system. But she couldn't be sure on how he would vote if the issue made it that far.
Unfortunately, I can't ask for a district meeting - the cost of flying from Argentina to the US is a little too expensive for that. I am hoping that some of you will schedule them instead. Please.
Many Kossacks have already said they will call and some have even said they will try and make appointments to have district meetings with the congressmen. I would like to use the Monday Morning Military Openthread as an opportunity for folks to check in and let us know what they are learning from these calls.
Remember, when you call, skip the person who answers the phone and ask for the military affairs legislative aide. Let's stop pussyfooting around and get to business.
So, have at it... let's see some comments down below. Who are you going to call? Who have you called? What have they had to say so far?