Not So Due Process
Let’s set aside the amount for moment and let’s talk about due process. I’m from Las Vegas, I can smell a back room deal several states away. This was nothing more than a dirty deal that put my family and our future earnings on the chopping block without notice or discussion.
They want us to “pay our fair share” in this budget crisis. It’s funny how they use the word “fair” because to me, it would be fair to open this up to the public before they crafted a way to sneak a major pay cut into an amendment and bring to a vote!
They are circumventing their own process. Earlier this year Congress created a Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Committee to look closely at retirement pay reform. Their goal is make the hard cuts without hurting those currently serving or retirees – as they were promised – aiming cuts toward those who enter the service in the future.
Why didn’t they use their own process?
Why is it on the table now?
Why is the entire military community (and my family) being used as pawns in this game in Washington?
I’m tired of my husband, your spouse, and our livelihood being used as political capital for those who have never served. We are a bargaining chip, a negotiation tool. It’s disheartening to watch your future earnings being taken from you on CSPAN without notification, discussion or even a hint that it was coming.
In my opinion, this is a slippery slope. If they can cut military retirees pay without so much as a peep out of us, then I would think there could be more cuts in our future. They created a process to study military pay – Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Committee, but I think we all know that was sham, now. I’m extremely leery of what other circus tricks are on the horizon.
How safe is our retirement?
