dagblog - Comments for "Are U.S. Veterans freeloaders? John Stossel will be the judge of that"

I'm surprised no one was

Beetlejuice — Wed, 11 May 2011 12:47:18 +0000

In reply to Are U.S. Veterans freeloaders? John Stossel will be the judge of that

I'm surprised no one was expecting this. After all, GOper's are known for promoting the troops when they decide to go to war, and pulling the rug out from underneath them once the first sign of a white flag is raised. They expect the troops to do their duty when ordered, but once the last bullets fly, they have no use for them...just another tool in the toolbox.

What will be interesting to see over the next 10 years or more will be those with permanent battle scars. In Vietnam, many died from the wounds received in battle. Those same injuries are treatable today, so there is a huge cadre of wounded veteran's that will need medical services for the rest of their natural lives. And since most are young, that means they will be in need of medical attention for a very long time. And that costs money. That means a drain on the tax revenues. That means increasing taxes. Perhaps the GOPer's should have thought first about the post consequences of going to war...servicing the wounded.

Besides, if it weren't for the promise of life-time medical attention for wounds received in battle zones, how many do you think would volunteer for military service? Why go to war, receive a debilitating wound and not get the medical treatment you need to survive? It's the price the public must pay if they expect others to fight their battles.

With people like Stossel, soon the ranks of the military will be void of anyone willing to fight for them. Truly a military full of freeloaders.

Ok, so first off, Stossel is

wolverine — Wed, 11 May 2011 07:16:46 +0000

In reply to Are U.S. Veterans freeloaders? John Stossel will be the judge of that

Ok, so first off, Stossel is not the king of libertarians, he is as much the leader of the libertarians as anyone with a show on msnbc is the leader of the democrats.

second, being disabled has nothing to do with the compensation that the govt provides to the military. one can be both a drain and deserving at the same time for different reasons. its not as simple as you seem to think it is.

third, libertarians that you claim to be heartless or soulless also are probably atheists and/or objectionists. there are as many different types of libertarians as there are democrats or republicans.

fourth, i think everything that everyone does is about feeling good, not just libertarianism. that could include feeling good for physical reasons, emotional reasons, intellectual reasons.

As a libertarian (I consider

Anonymous — Wed, 11 May 2011 06:05:22 +0000

In reply to Are U.S. Veterans freeloaders? John Stossel will be the judge of that

As a libertarian (I consider myself the "lite" version) and currently serving in the military the quick answer is "no, vets are not freeloaders". The more complex answer is that vets have given blood for their country, and the country owes them.

I think people misread what a libertarian actually believe. Minimium government does not mean no government. As the "lite" version of being a libertarian, I believe the federal government should maintain an active militatry (even though most support troops be reserve or national guard), major diaster relief, a single national police agency (we do not need 10+ different agencies), a national court system, and basic civil rights enforcement. Let the State governments take care of education, healthcare, a social safety nets, transportation and infastructure.

Are we talking about

Richard Day — Wed, 11 May 2011 00:14:49 +0000

In reply to Are U.S. Veterans freeloaders? John Stossel will be the judge of that

Are we talking about freeloading or freefalling?

I dunno. I just read this as

kgb999 — Tue, 10 May 2011 23:51:44 +0000

In reply to In what weird world can

I dunno. I just read this as Stossel asserting Libertarians support at least some sort of workers compensation system - certainly PTD. I'm not sure why we're assuming he'd be against PPD (or any other rating).

The disability rating stuff itself really is a necessary process, and has been since the longshoremen set up a system in the earliest days of America. Ultimately, it's a pro-labor thing that workers have fought - and continue to fight - to keep adjusted with changing times. The military is a job and in the end soldiers must be cared for as workers. Workers who get injured ultimately hit MMI - which sometimes is still pretty bad-off. There comes time to figure out how they can continue to have a decent life within their new physical reality. Part of that is wage loss calculations. There are instances of abuse (all around) but it really is a good thing, not a bad one.

As for Stossel himself - I know nothing about him ... probably a total asshat. (Also, who died and left him king-lord-Libertarian arbiter?)

The truth is that the veteran

rmrd0000 — Tue, 10 May 2011 21:22:17 +0000

In reply to Are U.S. Veterans freeloaders? John Stossel will be the judge of that

The truth is that the veteran probably takes comfort in Stossel's words. We may find Stossel a cold fish, but he may be soothing to the veteran. The veteran might think that a 50% disability is a freeloader.

Think about the Tea Party folks who argue against "other people" getting the same government subsidies that the Tea Party folks got.

"I got mine. You got your's to get."

Straight from Ayn Rand's

cmaukonen — Tue, 10 May 2011 21:10:27 +0000

In reply to Are U.S. Veterans freeloaders? John Stossel will be the judge of that

Straight from Ayn Rand's script. Word for word.

In what weird world can

Michael Maiello — Tue, 10 May 2011 21:00:55 +0000

In reply to Are U.S. Veterans freeloaders? John Stossel will be the judge of that

In what weird world can somebody every be fully "compensated" for a 100% disability? Particularly when, as this guy implies, the 100% disability was suffered in the service of his country?

Stossel has no idea about physical pain. He whined like a baby when he got playfully slapped around by a pro wrestler some years back.