The children be darned! Tobacco taxes.

[pomtzu]

I'll add that providing for a military is one of the very few things the Federal Government is actually allowed to do via the Constitution.

I am a combat wounded veteran. Do I personally think that entitles me to anything special? No, absolutley not. My view is that it was a PRIVILIDGE for me to serve this country that I love in the way that I was able. Sure, I have a partial hearing loss in my left ear from the service. A hand grenade explosion, being a tank crewman and LOTS of combat shooting (no ear plugs) will do that to ya. But again, I am not going to take the money I am "entitled" to because of that. I don't NEED it.

My Dad on the other hand.... He is fighting stage 3 non-hodgkins lymphoma that the VA says is the result of Agent Orange exposure from his 2 tours of duty in Vietnam. Nothing to say of the mental anguish he still quietly fights to this day. I've only seen my Dad cry ONCE in my entire life. That was at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in DC. Don't we think he might have actually EARNED a little gratitude from our country?

So, it IS a little insulting to compare Welfare to Veterans Benefits.

Kudos to you Puck. There aren't too many folks out there that wouldn't take advantage of the benefit that they have earned in service to their country if they had the health issues that you noted. It's your prerogative to do as you see fit in this case, and if you wish to decline because you don't need the money or services, then you are among a very rare few indeed. (I would imagine anyway - no statistics to back that one up!)
But if you change your mind in the future and feel that you need the services, in no way could it ever be looked upon as a handout!

[Cataholic]

So, it IS a little insulting to compare Welfare to Veterans Benefits.

How so? I am not talking about people that take advantage of either program. I am talking about the hard working individual, maybe they have worked 30 years at a low paying job, paying into the benenfit program, and all of a sudden, find them selves out of a job, unable to make ends meet. And, they apply for welfare. They are "entitled" to it, have paid for it, and "deserve" it. Does that make them less of a person, simply because they didn't serve their country?

Benefits are benefits are benefits. No one is better or worse, as a person, because of what they do for a living. And, none of this should be taken as a slight against the enlisted men and women (or former enlisted...).