$20,000 Bonus

The Army is offering a tremendous sign-on bonus these days. And people are snatching it up, lured in by big money instantly given to them if they are willing to become cannon fodder.
I don't think such a thing should be considered acceptable.

First and foremost, the need for such a bonus (poor recruitment) should tell you something is wrong. It should tell you that perhaps The People aren’t in agreement with the wars that we are in. If they were in agreement, recruitment would be through the roof.

So, instead of recognizing what people are saying (by not joining), the federal government has decided to entice people with more (of our) money.

Now before you think I’m anti-military, I’ll set the record straight and say that I support a strong military. A strong defense is how all of our united states are protected from harm. If the federal government is not protecting our states from harm, what’s the point of uniting in the first place?

What I don’t support is the massive waste of our federal tax dollars (which are taken against many people's will in the first place) to entice suckers into an unpopular war.

I’ve received mixed feedback from my stance and I often hear responses such as, “Military members need that money because they don’t receive enough compensation for what they do.” I’ve also heard, “For all that they’ve done, they deserve that bonus.” In both cases, I raise the bullshit flag.

1. This is a sign-on bonus. It’s not given to seasoned vets, “for all that they’ve done”. It’s given to brand-new recruits. It’s nothing more than bribery into an unpopular war.

2. Military members are VERY well compensated in America. The pay scale is slightly lower than civilian counter-parts, but most people fail to recognize that the military pay scale does not include 100% health care (including spouse and children), 100% dental care, nearly 100% education expenses paid for, free housing, guaranteed retirement after only 20 years, bonuses in the thousands every 4-6 years, yearly pay raises just for being alive, paid down payments on new homes, and reduced prices at restaurants, movies, parks, amusement parks, vacation homes, and countless other places. That’s not counting tax-free products and services at exchanges and commissaries around the world.

Factor in the cost of awesome benefits such as those and the pay-scale for military members is much HIGHER than the average civilian employee.

Any time you hear of a military member on food stamps, it’s because that member is not responsible, plain and simple. The military adequately takes care of it’s people and rightfully so.

My point? Members don’t need that $20,000 because they are living so poorly. They are not living poorly at all.

I don’t support a sign-on bonus for the military of any amount, much less one set at $20,000. We're talking about federal money that should not be used so frivolously. It's not like state money, which any state has a right to waste according to what its people want:

It’s a Free County!