Financial Ruin Thread

Sgt PSN · August 19, 2011, 02:59:02 AM

Speaking of pensions, the country is so far in debt now that they are looking to take away the traditional military pension and replace it with a more "civlianized" model.

I love what I do and I do get paid a fair (but less than my civilian counterparts) wage and put up with a lot of extra bullshtein that most civilians never have to worry about. We have physical fitness standards, weight standards, appearance standards, moral standards and we are, for the most part, considered property during our service rather than people. The job literally is 24/7. If it's 3am and one of my Marines gets in a car accident, I get a phone call. If someone doesn't show up to work, I have to look for him....check his barracks room or go to his house and call his friends or family. Most people have 1 job, 1 area of responsibility in their work place. I have a dozen....and I consider myself under tasked in comparison to some of my peers. I work in logistics and I work every aspect of logistics...transportation, facilities, supply, shipping, receiving, tracking, inventory, fiscal management, weapons accountability, fleet vehicle management and maintenance and safety. I'm also teaching juniors not only how to do their job but everything that they are required to know as Marines. I'm their mentor, leader and parent. I have to know what's going on in their lives, what's going on with their families, be aware of any personal problems they might have. I have to know where they are going over the weekend and how to get a hold of them. I'm a substance abuse officer so I get to collect bottles of piss almost every day and send it off for testing. I get people treatment when they have alcohol related incidents like DUI's or get into bar fights which also happens quite often with Marines.

I easily do the work of a dozen civilians and I do it for a fraction of what their combined salaries would be. Not to mention all of the extra work that I'm required to do that civilians don't have to worry about. Does your boss know or care about your personal life? Is he required to know where you are during non-working hours? If you got into a car accident in the middle of the night, would your boss be the first one at the hospital? Does your job require you to stay at work for 24 hours, making security checks every 2 hours....and then go back and do your regular job the next day?

I won't even get into deployments and time spent away from home.

Anyone on this board (or elsewhere) who has served can tell you about all of the bullshtein that we put up with. We don't do it to get rich. We do it because, for the most part, we love it. And while money isn't a motivating factor in my decision to have spent the last 17 years in uniform, the main reason I've stuck around this long is because I've been told that if I give 20 years to this farged up country that I'd be taken care of for the rest of my life starting the day after I retire. I'd have a nice pension...not enough to live on, but enough to help keep my head above water should civilian employment opportunities be hard to come by. Good thing we have a thriving job market, amiright?

And now these fargers are talking about taking it away to save money when they're the ones who put our economy in the crapper in the first place? Farg them. How about instead of taking away the benefits that I and hundreds of thousands of others have busted our asses for you start chopping away at the pensions and bonuses that corporate execs and Wall St fat cats like to give each other? Maybe Congress could save a few bucks by not giving themselves ridiculous raises every year and only showing up to work 30% of the time.

There are people in the military right now who have served 10 years....half way to retirement....and have no clue what it's like to serve during peacetime. They've made 3, 4 and 5 trips over to those 2 shtein hole countries and been shot at, blown up, slept in dirt, lived in tents with no a/c while it's 120 degrees outside and have watched friends and peers be maimed and killed right in front of them. And some DC pricks want to tell them to wait until they're 65 before they can collect a pension? Guess what? A person who serves 20 years on active duty in the military has a life expectancy approximately 3-5 years less than everyone else and it's even less when exposed to combat. Civilianizing military retirement will practically eliminate pensions all together because a lot of retirees will kick the bucket before they even collect a single check. And the ones who stick around long enough to see it probably won't get to enjoy it very long either.

Dicks.

Munson · August 19, 2011, 04:26:19 AM

Gotta love it when they say everyone has to sacrifice, but they leave that upper 2% out of "everyone"...while they screw over middle class workers like teachers, cops, and soldiers....good stuff

SD · August 19, 2011, 07:22:28 PM

They force you to retire in the military after 20 years, so you have no choice. It's not like you have time to go to school or learn a trait while you're in the service, so basically they want to say thanks for your 20 and see ya later. Crock of shtein.

I work for the VA (military retirement is a DOD benefit run by DFAS) and there is a ton of shtein I'd cut before cutting active duty retirement pay. Start with family members getting VA benefits. You didn't serve, you don't deserve shtein.

Diomedes · August 19, 2011, 07:30:21 PM

I want to know how you can learn a trait?

That wasn't in the AD&D rules I played by.

Munson · August 19, 2011, 07:37:57 PM

Quote from: SD on August 19, 2011, 07:22:28 PM
They force you to retire in the military after 20 years, so you have no choice. It's not like you have time to go to school or learn a trait while you're in the service, so basically they want to say thanks for your 20 and see ya later. Crock of shtein.

I work for the VA (military retirement is a DOD benefit run by DFAS) and there is a ton of shtein I'd cut before cutting active duty retirement pay. Start with family members getting VA benefits. You didn't serve, you don't deserve shtein.

Does this include immediate family, ie your children? And by benefits are you talking about health care or something else?

SD · August 19, 2011, 08:17:00 PM

No I'm talking about spouses after the veteran is deceased and not health care I'm talking comp and non-disability pension. Children under the age of 18 I can understand for the most part but why do spouses get VA benefits? You marry a veteran and now you get a benefit for the rest of your life? Bullshtein. If the husband/wife was kia then yeah they should get benefits but just because you're married to someone who was in the military you shouldn't be able to benefit from that for the rest of your life. Most of the people I deal with are ungrateful to begin with. And it's always the spouse or their adult children, never the veteran who is always thankful that they're getting anything.

Munson · August 19, 2011, 08:19:28 PM

Ah got you. Yeah I think I can agree with that type of stuff.

Both of my mothers parents were in the army but I'm still not sure what all benefits they got. I know the army pays for my grandmother's medical bills.

PhillyPhreak54 · August 19, 2011, 11:42:18 PM

The sense of entitlement some people have is sickening. Being an army brat allowed me to see it up close an personal how some people milk the system.

Being it was my step-dad who served my benefits would have ended when I turned 18 but they got divorced prior to that.

One benefit I still have is that I was a USAA member and retained the ability to be a member. I have just about everything through them. Awesome company.

PoopyfaceMcGee · August 20, 2011, 06:57:03 AM

Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on August 19, 2011, 11:42:18 PM
One benefit I still have is that I was a USAA member and retained the ability to be a member. I have just about everything through them. Awesome company.

Same. My dad did his 4 years in the Navy before I was even born, and I get to use the best bank and insurance company on the planet.

Also LOL at my retirement savings!

SD · August 20, 2011, 07:49:40 AM

Quote from: FastFreddie on August 20, 2011, 06:57:03 AM
Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on August 19, 2011, 11:42:18 PM
One benefit I still have is that I was a USAA member and retained the ability to be a member. I have just about everything through them. Awesome company.

Same. My dad did his 4 years in the Navy before I was even born, and I get to use the best bank and insurance company on the planet.

Also LOL at my retirement savings!

I opened an account with them but never used it. How do you cash checks through them since they don't have any branches.

PoopyfaceMcGee · August 20, 2011, 07:55:44 AM

They have a "Deposit@Home" feature. I used to scan them in, but now I just take pictures with my iPhone. You can also use certain Android devices.

Or, they will send you prepaid envelopes if you prefer.

SD · August 20, 2011, 08:09:59 AM

So no ATM fees either? I'm with BOA but they've been nickle and diming me over petty shtein for years.

PoopyfaceMcGee · August 20, 2011, 08:30:19 AM

They reimburse ATM fees up to $15/month.

PhillyPhreak54 · August 20, 2011, 11:07:27 AM

Yeah $15/month and it's great to not have to worry about fees at ATMs.

Their insurance rates blow everyone out o the water by a longshot.

Rome · October 18, 2011, 06:02:32 PM

I got my trial loan modification approved today. Basically they forgive whatever debt you owe since you last made a payment and they reduced my monthly payment by 250 bucks. They're also reducing my mortgage interest rate from 5.75% to 3.75% which isn't bad.