What do you think about budget cuts?

You know I kind of get offended when lawmakers, the President or Secretary's of Departments want to cut the military budget, it affects the low ranking soldiers first. I am not even sure what they want to cut, but it just makes me get all edgy. 

Do they know that some low ranking military personnel are on food stamps. They have two or  three kids, and their spouses can't find a decent paying job to help make the bills. There are a lot of factors that go into a spouse getting a job, daycare for one, the mileage to and from the business, etc. You know when you have money on your mind, that kind of affects your mind, and then you get distracted or stressed out.

Lawmakers want the DOD to do budget cuts. However the current Defense Secretary has been reluctant to cut much. However he has cut some on TRICARE not a lot of cuts I think to the retirees section of Tricare. However with the incoming Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, he is known for budget cuts. I am not sure of Leon Panetta's background other than he was the Director of CIA, not sure if he was in the military but if he comes in making cuts and reduction in force where is that going to leave us in the military? There is already a 9% unemployment rate, if he starts a RIF (reduction in force) I am sure that there is going to me a jump in unemployment.

How are we (The Military) going to be able to remain resilient in the world? If they want our soldiers to rapid deploy to places how can they? If the US wants to remain a "super power" they do not need to go cutting pay or reduction in force. Only speaking from a enlisted spouses point of view, we do have a housing allowance, but they hardly get paid anything much now.  

This is where I differ from President Obama, I do not like anything that says the words budget cuts in the same sentence with military. I know Mr. Panetta will probably try to do everything to uphold the President's request of cutting 400 billion in defense budget cuts. He was known in President Clinton's years as a "no-nonsense budget cutter".

I am not sure about contracting out things, but I am sure if they cut that out, military personnel could go back and do their jobs. Have you looked at the salary of contractors who go to IRAQ? They make pretty good tax free money. I just worry that when they start cutting budgets, the military will not get a pay raise, or they start cutting programs that is beneficial for dependents. I am sure they will not cut things that help keep the military safe. I wonder have they ever looked at the rules and policies of fraud, waste and abuse? How effect is that? 

Comments

  1. I thought I would add while being a Army Spouse I doesn’t dabble in politics on my blog. Politics and military policy do intersect, and when that happens, I try to keep the focus on how (or if) the policy will affect the daily lives of army families. Please refrain from political attacks on a party, person or each other.

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