Yes paying the salarys of servicemembers is a lot, it is a good thing that we have maintained our military at the same levels, rather then allowing it to swell.
Most of the money that goes to civilians, is going to US companys so we are keeping most of even that portion in the US.
So it is supporting US servicemembers and their familys, and US companys [who pay taxes] and their employees [who pay taxes].
I suspect you are right Galen...a good part of that money does stay in the US... supporting US Military... etc.........(and you can't begin to pay those guys ENOUGH!)
BUT... we could spend that money on OTHER endevors that would ALSO keep that money in the US.
Could you imagine if that amount of money went to education (damn.. hopefully we would have A LOT of pretty smart people running around that could figure how to keep us OUT of war!! )?
I could think of lots of places we could spend that money..........and keep in in the US!!!!!
Brand new current boxed-set curriculum for homeschooling a child through any grade-level can be had for $150 per grade-level.
In Connecticut [where I lived recently] the average amount of 'public monies' spent on education is $8500 per child per year.
Here in Maine they spend closer to around $8400 per child per year.
Are children from either of these states any better educated? do they have any better college entrance scores?
Sadly no.
Money can to thrown at education, and in the process: teachers, school administrators, janitors and even computer geeks can all have nice pay raises and benefit packages. But historically [since we began this 'public funded schooling'] funding had no direct correlation to education levels nor to intelligence of children.
Two of my own grandparents taught in one-room grammar schools, both of my parents were taught in such manner. but that was before the Great Depression and the 'New World Era', and personal income taxes, and Social Security.
So what next? Want to discuss 'free' national health care? I have Federal government provided healthcare, want to hear about how well that works? LOL, I advise that you truly dont want to spend money on that idea either.
Krys- If you want to see what federal healthcare looks like and how it works today- Visit a nursing home.
The staff do the best they can but it typically sucks. The residents have their every need taken care of just not how they want or when they want as long as federal guidlines and restrictions allow it. Most residents are reciving a mixture of medicare/medicaid- or they will when they run out of money.
Actually Galen, I would like to know about your Federal healthcare.
Retired military healthcare (from the retiree's perspective) works as follows:
There are two plans:
1) A POS-type plan with in network discounts (Tricare-Standard)
- Annual deductible (I believe $300, but forget exactly)
- 75%/25% co-insurance
- 80%/20% if you use a provider in-network
- $3/$9 meds co-pay (generic/brand)
2) An HMO-type plan (Tricare Prime)
- Annual fee (IIRC: $460 per family)
- Must use military facilities where available
- Approvals required for specialist care
- $3/ $9 meds co-pay
I use the first plan. My employer buys a supplement for me that picks up the deductible and co-insurance amounts. (The supplemental policy would cost me around $100 a month otherwise)
It's really an outstanding plan and is one of the PRIMARY reasons why I stayed in until I got past my 20 year point so I could retire. Had it not been for that, I'd have probably separated at about 16 years.
Before Galen has a chance to say it: thank you for your tax dollars. I understand this plan is VERY costly to the taxpayers. (I understand that about $29 billion is budgeted for health care...the vast majority to deal with retirees...considering there are only a few million of us out there, that adds up)
As some else that is retired military, let me say...
When it comes to pay and entitlements (benifets), the military (as like any other business) weighs out the total cost of each Soldier in pay and entitlements (just like any other business). To be honest, being a Soldier is not the highest paying job out there, but it does have some of the best benifets of any occupation. Espicially when it comes to retirement. Being in the military is a very hard life and lifestyle. If it weren't for the retirement beni's, many a good person would leave the military after a shorter period of time.
The last time I looked that figure was $274.928,787,690!!! (excuse my ignorance... but is that billions or trillions?)
Thats a friggin heck of a lot of money!!!!! On ONE war.
come on............. so the benifits to the men and women fighting it are an ok health plan........ a little bit of retirement..... etc.. etc.... so thats ...what.... 1tenth of one percent.........
It's billions - trillions by end of May if not sooner.
Columbus, Ohio City Schools are going broke.
The tiny town of Utica, Ohio will lose several teaching positions if the levy they are asking for doesn't get passed. This past year alone there were NO field trips due to lack of funds.
Almost every school district las "pay to play" meaning if your middle school or high school age kids want to play a team sport, a fee must be paid; for some, it's over $100/kid/sport.
My health care benefits, through one of the largest medical colleges in the country, suck like an open chest wound.
And eventually, we're gonna bail out of there anyway, leaving in our wake only a few MORE million people who have dedicated their lives, and the lives of their sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, for generations to come, to destroying utterly The Great Satan.
WG
PS: Please understand that in spite of the above gripes, I have only admiration and respect for the US military, past, present and future. It's not their fault they are where they are. There's a lot of government waste out there, but not on them.
I have been using Military bases. For stitches anywhere that I can not reach I go on base to the ER. I learned long ago that if I can reach the wound, I am better off to put in the stitches myself. After all as an Electronic Tech I have just as much training in putting in stitches as the 18yr old corpsman that would put them in if I went to the ER. The last time was this little girl who was shaking so bad, her knees were shaking, my head was down between her knees and I had to hold her knees to keep them from shaking so bad, while she tried to pull the two sides of my scalp back towards each other they would hold the stitching.
Once after that I did go in for a slice on the bottom of my foot, but after seeing the reaction form the corpsmen, I wnet home and did it myself.
Every year they want to take pictures of my ulcer, so I have to schedule an appointment with the base Ob-Gyn. Apparently Ob-Gyns are the only guys who get to play with the camera they use. It is a 4 foot long garden-hose with a camera inside it’s end. I have to swallow this thing, so they can get it down to my duodenal ulcer and take pictures. I commonly make jokes, asking about where he has been poking the thing and into what dark hole was it in last? But that appointment is cool, as it always gets me in to see a doctor who has been to college.
A year and a half ago when Bonnie had her heart attack she was in the Cardiac ward of the local civilian hospital, her ‘cardiologist’ was a Navy doctor. A real one who had gone to college. that was rare.
From my retirement until this past November I was on Tricare Standard which did not cost me anything. I could walk right into any military hospital, and sit and wait for an appointment cancellation. Anytime a servicemember canceled his appointment, they would call for the next waiting retiree to come up and be seen. Or sometimes I could be seen after hours when the night duty staff got done with their dinner.
If you go to a civilian doctor with Tricare Standard, you need to find a doctor that will take it [most will not] and you need to call Tricare first to tell you that they will allow it.
When I first returned stateside, the VA sent me a letter telling me that they had appointed a primary care physician, and that my first appointment was on such-such a day. I called them, and later I went, but as I told them I was still going to see the corpsmen on base so I did not need a VA doctor. They billed me $12.50 for calling their office, and again they billed me $12.50 for having the appointment. From what I could tell every time that I called or walked into a VA hospital they were going to bill me $12.50 We seem to have gotten them to stop sending us letters now, but we ended up with eight separate billings for $12.50 each before they lost our address.
Last November, I went to NAS Brunswick to get a new script written. The desk told me to wait, and the other retirees waiting told me that they had too many active duty to get to us retirees. No availability! But I was welcome to sit and wait with them.
I went to the Tricare office there, and was told that Tricare underwrites with a local HMO called: Martin’s Point and that there is a HMO medical center near our new home. I paid $460 for one year enrollment.
I checked in December and they had not gotten the paperwork to the correct cubicle yet. Come January they had gotten it, but it was not during the right period for enrollment, but come the end of January I got a call for setting up our first appointment, and mid-February Bonnie and I both had our first appointments.
I saw a real doctor [it was an adult lady from Georgia Russia] and she wrote scripts for my ulcer and cholesterol. She had gone to college and everything like any real civilian doctor does. Unfortunately one of the drugs are non-formulary so not covered by the HMO drug coverage. The other two drugs were covered and I paid $3 for a month’s script and $9 for the other month’s script. At the local drug store I got my ulcer meds for cash.
Thanks.
As far as I'm concerned, every single person who's served for 20 years is absolutely entitled to their retirement benefits
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Amazingrace
Double ouch.
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Galen
Yes paying the salarys of servicemembers is a lot, it is a good thing that we have maintained our military at the same levels, rather then allowing it to swell.
Most of the money that goes to civilians, is going to US companys so we are keeping most of even that portion in the US.
So it is supporting US servicemembers and their familys, and US companys [who pay taxes] and their employees [who pay taxes].
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krys
I wonder how many uninsured people would have their medicines and drugs.
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2life
I suspect you are right Galen...a good part of that money does stay in the US... supporting US Military... etc.........(and you can't begin to pay those guys ENOUGH!)
BUT... we could spend that money on OTHER endevors that would ALSO keep that money in the US.
Could you imagine if that amount of money went to education (damn.. hopefully we would have A LOT of pretty smart people running around that could figure how to keep us OUT of war!! )?
I could think of lots of places we could spend that money..........and keep in in the US!!!!!
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Galen
Brand new current boxed-set curriculum for homeschooling a child through any grade-level can be had for $150 per grade-level.
In Connecticut [where I lived recently] the average amount of 'public monies' spent on education is $8500 per child per year.
Here in Maine they spend closer to around $8400 per child per year.
Are children from either of these states any better educated? do they have any better college entrance scores?
Sadly no.
Money can to thrown at education, and in the process: teachers, school administrators, janitors and even computer geeks can all have nice pay raises and benefit packages. But historically [since we began this 'public funded schooling'] funding had no direct correlation to education levels nor to intelligence of children.
Two of my own grandparents taught in one-room grammar schools, both of my parents were taught in such manner. but that was before the Great Depression and the 'New World Era', and personal income taxes, and Social Security.
So what next? Want to discuss 'free' national health care? I have Federal government provided healthcare, want to hear about how well that works? LOL, I advise that you truly dont want to spend money on that idea either.
:)
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krys
Actually Galen, I would like to know about your Federal healthcare.
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ckeer
Krys- If you want to see what federal healthcare looks like and how it works today- Visit a nursing home.
The staff do the best they can but it typically sucks. The residents have their every need taken care of just not how they want or when they want as long as federal guidlines and restrictions allow it. Most residents are reciving a mixture of medicare/medicaid- or they will when they run out of money.
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markomalley
Retired military healthcare (from the retiree's perspective) works as follows:
There are two plans:
1) A POS-type plan with in network discounts (Tricare-Standard)
- Annual deductible (I believe $300, but forget exactly)
- 75%/25% co-insurance
- 80%/20% if you use a provider in-network
- $3/$9 meds co-pay (generic/brand)
2) An HMO-type plan (Tricare Prime)
- Annual fee (IIRC: $460 per family)
- Must use military facilities where available
- Approvals required for specialist care
- $3/ $9 meds co-pay
I use the first plan. My employer buys a supplement for me that picks up the deductible and co-insurance amounts. (The supplemental policy would cost me around $100 a month otherwise)
It's really an outstanding plan and is one of the PRIMARY reasons why I stayed in until I got past my 20 year point so I could retire. Had it not been for that, I'd have probably separated at about 16 years.
Before Galen has a chance to say it: thank you for your tax dollars. I understand this plan is VERY costly to the taxpayers. (I understand that about $29 billion is budgeted for health care...the vast majority to deal with retirees...considering there are only a few million of us out there, that adds up)
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Zshot
As some else that is retired military, let me say...
When it comes to pay and entitlements (benifets), the military (as like any other business) weighs out the total cost of each Soldier in pay and entitlements (just like any other business). To be honest, being a Soldier is not the highest paying job out there, but it does have some of the best benifets of any occupation. Espicially when it comes to retirement. Being in the military is a very hard life and lifestyle. If it weren't for the retirement beni's, many a good person would leave the military after a shorter period of time.
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2life
The last time I looked that figure was $274.928,787,690!!! (excuse my ignorance... but is that billions or trillions?)
Thats a friggin heck of a lot of money!!!!! On ONE war.
come on............. so the benifits to the men and women fighting it are an ok health plan........ a little bit of retirement..... etc.. etc.... so thats ...what.... 1tenth of one percent.........
and the rest?
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Watered Garden
It's billions - trillions by end of May if not sooner.
Columbus, Ohio City Schools are going broke.
The tiny town of Utica, Ohio will lose several teaching positions if the levy they are asking for doesn't get passed. This past year alone there were NO field trips due to lack of funds.
Almost every school district las "pay to play" meaning if your middle school or high school age kids want to play a team sport, a fee must be paid; for some, it's over $100/kid/sport.
My health care benefits, through one of the largest medical colleges in the country, suck like an open chest wound.
And eventually, we're gonna bail out of there anyway, leaving in our wake only a few MORE million people who have dedicated their lives, and the lives of their sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, for generations to come, to destroying utterly The Great Satan.
WG
PS: Please understand that in spite of the above gripes, I have only admiration and respect for the US military, past, present and future. It's not their fault they are where they are. There's a lot of government waste out there, but not on them.
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krys
Thanks.
As far as I'm concerned, every single person who's served for 20 years is absolutely entitled to their retirement benefits.
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Galen
Krysilis-
Okay.
I have been using Military bases. For stitches anywhere that I can not reach I go on base to the ER. I learned long ago that if I can reach the wound, I am better off to put in the stitches myself. After all as an Electronic Tech I have just as much training in putting in stitches as the 18yr old corpsman that would put them in if I went to the ER. The last time was this little girl who was shaking so bad, her knees were shaking, my head was down between her knees and I had to hold her knees to keep them from shaking so bad, while she tried to pull the two sides of my scalp back towards each other they would hold the stitching.
Once after that I did go in for a slice on the bottom of my foot, but after seeing the reaction form the corpsmen, I wnet home and did it myself.
Every year they want to take pictures of my ulcer, so I have to schedule an appointment with the base Ob-Gyn. Apparently Ob-Gyns are the only guys who get to play with the camera they use. It is a 4 foot long garden-hose with a camera inside it’s end. I have to swallow this thing, so they can get it down to my duodenal ulcer and take pictures. I commonly make jokes, asking about where he has been poking the thing and into what dark hole was it in last? But that appointment is cool, as it always gets me in to see a doctor who has been to college.
A year and a half ago when Bonnie had her heart attack she was in the Cardiac ward of the local civilian hospital, her ‘cardiologist’ was a Navy doctor. A real one who had gone to college. that was rare.
From my retirement until this past November I was on Tricare Standard which did not cost me anything. I could walk right into any military hospital, and sit and wait for an appointment cancellation. Anytime a servicemember canceled his appointment, they would call for the next waiting retiree to come up and be seen. Or sometimes I could be seen after hours when the night duty staff got done with their dinner.
If you go to a civilian doctor with Tricare Standard, you need to find a doctor that will take it [most will not] and you need to call Tricare first to tell you that they will allow it.
When I first returned stateside, the VA sent me a letter telling me that they had appointed a primary care physician, and that my first appointment was on such-such a day. I called them, and later I went, but as I told them I was still going to see the corpsmen on base so I did not need a VA doctor. They billed me $12.50 for calling their office, and again they billed me $12.50 for having the appointment. From what I could tell every time that I called or walked into a VA hospital they were going to bill me $12.50 We seem to have gotten them to stop sending us letters now, but we ended up with eight separate billings for $12.50 each before they lost our address.
Last November, I went to NAS Brunswick to get a new script written. The desk told me to wait, and the other retirees waiting told me that they had too many active duty to get to us retirees. No availability! But I was welcome to sit and wait with them.
I went to the Tricare office there, and was told that Tricare underwrites with a local HMO called: Martin’s Point and that there is a HMO medical center near our new home. I paid $460 for one year enrollment.
http://www.martinspoint.org/documents/USFH...berHandbook.pdf
I checked in December and they had not gotten the paperwork to the correct cubicle yet. Come January they had gotten it, but it was not during the right period for enrollment, but come the end of January I got a call for setting up our first appointment, and mid-February Bonnie and I both had our first appointments.
I saw a real doctor [it was an adult lady from Georgia Russia] and she wrote scripts for my ulcer and cholesterol. She had gone to college and everything like any real civilian doctor does. Unfortunately one of the drugs are non-formulary so not covered by the HMO drug coverage. The other two drugs were covered and I paid $3 for a month’s script and $9 for the other month’s script. At the local drug store I got my ulcer meds for cash.
Thank you.
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