RE: http://www.military.com/featur...15240,199178,00.html

Apparently the person or persons who come with such outrages ideas have not been to the grocery store to buy groceries or to buy clothing. Maybe the gasoline came down a little bit but it is going back up at 15 cents every other week and then droping only a few cents only to go up again. And grocerys have prices have not gone down nor has clothing. So I suggest those high paying officials who are making these claims get out and see the real world.

Yep--when they gave us the 250 incentive the rumor was that we would not get a cost of living increase for the next 2 years, guess the rumor was right. That's another Big "O" victory.

Congress should pass a law tying the annual increase to SS, VA, & retirees pensions/disabilities to BOTH the COLA & pay raise given to military & civil service employees. Which ever is the highest for that year should apply to SS, VA & military retirees!

What does the SBP decision mean for those of us who have not remarried and receive DIC?

Will Congress receive their COLA?! No inflation?! This is nothing more than another slap in the face!I am an unremarried widow of a 100% disable vet who served this country for 24 yrs whose income is affected by the SBP/DIC offset. My COL has increased! I'm the only person living in my home and my utilities (especially electric) have increased just as gas, grocery prices, insurance and the list goes on. I'm looking for employment & it's not easy trying to re-enter the workforce after a 7 yr haitus. I chose to take care of my family without hesitation. To vote to end this injustice will only be made right when Congress does the right thing and puts the vote into action not just empty, vain words. Do this not just for remarried widow's for even that is unjust, but for those of us who are unmarried without an additional income. Forfeit some of your limo's, boats and jets, and you'll really find the money! God's word clearly speaks they HE will judge those who rob the needy of justice, who take what is right from the poor of His people that the widows may be their prey and that they may may rob the fatherless. Isaiah 10:1-3

Another lie...so what else is new ? Concurrent pay ? LOL!!!

Then take it out of the stimulas. I couldn't use an excuse for 20 years in the army, nor the 2 1/2 years in vietnam. While they are at it pay back the the money stoled from social security. I paid my taxes and supported those who could not or would not do it themselves. Now they want more. Let's go folks. I HAVE HAD ENOUGH.

This excuse for not receiving a COLA for military retirees is ridiculous. It is also interesting that Social Security recipients are not getting a COLA either. And who is in charge of the Treasury today? A tax evader who works for the guy who wants to redistribute wealth.
I have been retired from the USAF for over 20 years and this is the first time I remember not gettting a COLA and the price of gasoline had nothing to do with anything before. Nothing that comes out of the White House or from Government is believeable anymore. This is nothing more than another way for Obama to get money so he can redistribute it.
Do you believe for one second that those in the Senate and House will not get COLA?

I just don't think it is right for the most deserving not to get COLA. I am widowed for over 4 years now, my husband served 26 years in the Army, he was 100% disabled since 1978, died in 2005 due to illnesses from Agent Orange. Now I start getting widows benefits from Social Security, since I am 60 now.
Whoever decided that we (the veterans/survivors)don't need a raise, has not lived with the amount of $$ that we have to live with. I wish they would have to, for about 3 month. Then they can see that everything is going up and we end up with even less. But they don't have to worry, they have enough to waste it on meaningless things. It is just a shame from the government to take it from us. They take it from Peter to pay Paul, it will never end and not get better. I wonder what comes in the third year, what excuse they have then, not to pay COLA.

This is an afterthought I had this morning,2.Sept.09

Where are the voices that are suppose to represent the Veteran, Dependents, Retirees?
The DAV, VFW, AARP? I did not see or read any outrage from them. I found that for the Social Security are 6 Trustees to make decisions on SS.
Well, 4 decided that SS won't get COLA, that's 4, the other 2 are public trustees that are not appointed yet by the president. I copied and pasted what I found here:

Who Are the Trustees? There are six Trustees, four of whom serve by virtue of their positions in the Federal Government: the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Commissioner of Social Security. The other two Trustees are public representatives appointed by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate. The two Public Trustee positions are currently vacant.

Kathleen Sebelius,
Secretary of Health
and Human Services,
and Trustee

Michael J. Astrue,
Commissioner of
Social Security,
and Trustee

Timothy F. Geithner,
Secretary of the Treasury,
and Managing Trustee



Hilda L. Solis,
Secretary of Labor,
and Trustee

So 4 people decided that millions of already struggling people don't need that so needed COLA

This message has been edited. Last edited by: lostforever,

I strongly believe that this Government/Administration have all their priorities in the wrong place and certainly at the wrong time.No Retiree COLA is an outrageous idea that can and will be supported by a few people who have never served in the Military and dont have a clue what Retired Military Life is like for Veterans on fixed income.Congress and the Senate can vote themselves a pay raise, but the people who have served honorably cannot get a COLA.It would be great if some of the people in the decision making process for COLA, live on my fixed income for just six months.Then they can all go back to their Airconditioned Executive Offices and vote for whatever they think the Retired Military deserves as COLA. THEY MUST ALL LEAD BY EXAMPLE

Another one of those in washington bright ideas,they don't think when they are making up the rules as they go, it's the military who really gives them the freedom to sit on their duffs an come up with this junk,it would really be a big slap in their faces if the military could tell washington to fight their on wars. I don't know of any war started by the military, but its the military who gets dumped on by those in washington who never served a day,like this current president...

I couldn't agree more with daden123. As gas prices rose, grocery prices zoomed up and they haven't gone down! Some of the most noticeable jumps were in the laundry detergents, cleaning products, etc. I figured these items were heavy to transport, so the fuel costs were being passed on. But even lightweight items like crackers and cereals went up and have stayed up. It was all the talk in the aisles of the commissary. Why are COLA increases linked inextricably to current fuel costs without regard to the impact of previous fuel hikes or other economic drivers?

Wellllll, let's see now. The price of food has gone up, not to mention about everything else, but wait a minute---didn't Congress slip in a pay raise for themselves in the middle of the night ? Yep, you can always count on politicians to give you that great smile and when they turn around, you find that your wallet is missing. Hummm, I wonder if I can work a street corner with a tin cup and ask for dimes and quarters to make up for I didn't get and Congress did. Gawddd! I just love being a disabled Vet.

So does that mean that congress is again going to ignore a law that they passe in 1959 tying the military retired pay directly to active duty pay, to ignore the fact that in that very same bill tied thier annual pay to the military pay increase, the very same bill that removed welfare from a state controlled project and made it federally funded by transfering monies from social security to pay for thier federally funded welfare. system. I thought that our country was supposed to be BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE, why are we letting these jerks get away with this, From my understanding of history the government can not vote for thier own pay raises, the original charter forbad that very power from them so that they could not do what is being done today, yet we continue to allow them to vote on laws that are an advantage to them and not the PEOPLE. They atre not supposed to vote thier choices but what the PEOPLE want, they pass laws that are written in such a way that nobody can understand and then try to convince us that that is what they thought that the PEOPLE wanted. Maybe if they would reverse this trend of Cranel-Rectal- Inversiion that thay all seem to be inflected with and actually start talking to the PEOPLE and do what the PEOPLE actually wanted it wouldn't be so bad, Better yet all of the PEOPLE need to get passed within thier own states a 2 Term law period and do away with some of this dead meat in Washington and quit electing these professional politicians this country could again be the great country that my family in the last three generations, has given over 200 years of military service to.

Who is the government fooling, supporting two
wars and spending billions of dollars each month
the way to get the money back is to hit the
military and retired people receiving a govern-
ment check. A man or woman gives their all to
support and defend the United States when they
serve honorably in the military, and after they
are out the government craps on them, me in-
cluded as having served faithfull for 22yrs of
my life and 3 of those years in Vietnam, it
bothers me that the government lies, lies and
continues to lie when promising so much to us
when we got out, and for pete's sake the
little money they do give us when it is cola
time, is nothing compared to their raises , yet
nothing is ever stopped for them. Obama where
are you and is this the change you were
talking about.

Another score for the big O. He will sone destroy what's left of this country if we don't get him out of office.

Another year BOHICA by the government!!! Why they jeopardize the retired, SS, ETC., when we are the personnel that need the raise each year. Has anybody gone grocery shopping, clothes buying, making home repairs? They have not decreased, in fact, most have gone up. Why don't they cut the raise for Congress or the House and the government could save probably 3 times as much money. This country was a country to be proud to be in, but now, it the government officials are no better than the Nazis and Hitlers regimen. Even communism is better than the way the government is run now.

I spent half my life in the military, been to Saudi Arabia, and can not work due to chronic pain. Last year the gas prices were $4,00 a gallon and we receive our COLA then. It seems like every time something needs to be lower they always pick on the Military retirees. I say we contact our Congressman and fight for our rights.

I can't believe that they would not give retirees a Cola increase because of gas prices. Gas has not gonne that much that entiles we retirees not to get an Cola increase. Besides everything else price wise is going through the roof. I bet congress will get their Cola increase as well as those retireed Congressmen and Senators. But those of us that serviced our country faithfully get shafted yet again. As for the SBP/DIC for widows I can't understand why they would have ever stopped the payments when they got remarried in the first place. The laws are so backward that it is ridiculous. They try to take a wifes money who's retired husband has died due to no fault of their own but still allow a divorced spouse to continue to get half of her exhusbands retirement after she remarry's that has never made sense and no one seems to want to look at it.

It is all a juggling act by the court jesters(politicians)They continue to juggle with our tax dollars, but not until they get their cut first with pay raises and fringe benefits.They constantly drop the ball when it comes to the most deserving. And they are not included in the most deserving.

quote:

Originally posted by 16642220:
Will Congress receive their COLA?! No inflation?! This is nothing more than another slap in the face!I am an unremarried widow of a 100% disable vet who served this country for 24 yrs whose income is affected by the SBP/DIC offset. My COL has increased! I'm the only person living in my home and my utilities (especially electric) have increased just as gas, grocery prices, insurance and the list goes on. I'm looking for employment & it's not easy trying to re-enter the workforce after a 7 yr haitus. I chose to take care of my family without hesitation. To vote to end this injustice will only be made right when Congress does the right thing and puts the vote into action not just empty, vain words. Do this not just for remarried widow's for even that is unjust, but for those of us who are unmarried without an additional income. Forfeit some of your limo's, boats and jets, and you'll really find the money! God's word clearly speaks they HE will judge those who rob the needy of justice, who take what is right from the poor of His people that the widows may be their prey and that they may may rob the fatherless. Isaiah 10:1-3