Published on December 8, 2004 By drmiler In Politics
This was forwarded to me for repost. It was said by Rush Limbaugh on the EIB network and has been verified by snopes.com
This REALLY sucks!

By Rush Limbaugh:
I think the vast differences in compensation between victims of the September 11 casualty and those who die serving our country in Uniform are profound. No one is really talking about it either, because you just don't criticize anything having to do with September 11. Well, I can't let the numbers pass by because it says something really disturbing about the
entitlement mentality of this country. If you lost a family member in the September 11 attack, you're going to get an average of $1,185,000. The range is a minimum guarantee of $250,000, all the way up to $4.7 million.


If you are a surviving family member of an American soldier killed in action, the first check you get is a $6,000 direct death benefit, half of which is taxable.

Next, you get $1,750 for burial costs. If you are the surviving spouse, you get $833 a month until you remarry. And there's a payment of $211 per month for each child under 18. When the child hits 18, those payments come to a screeching halt.

Keep in mind that some of the people who are getting an average of $1.185 million up to $4.7 million are complaining that it's not enough. Their deaths were tragic, but for most, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Soldiers put themselves in harms way FOR ALL OF US, and they and their families know the dangers.

We also learned over the weekend that some of the victims from the Oklahoma City bombing have started an organization asking for the same deal that the September 11 families are getting. In addition to that, some of the families of those bombed in the embassies are now asking for compensation as well.

You see where this is going, don't you? Folks, this is part and parcel of over 50 years of entitlement politics in this country. It's just really sad. Every time a pay raise comes up for the military, they usually receive next to nothing of a raise. Now the green machine is in combat in the Middle East while their families have to survive on food stamps and live in low-rent housing. Make sense?

However, our own U.S. Congress voted themselves a raise. Many of you don't know that they only have to be in Congress one time to receive a pension that is more than $15,000 per month. And most are now equal to being millionaires plus. They do not receive Social Security on retirement because they didn't have to pay into the system.

If some of the military people stay in for 20 years and get out as an E-7, they may receive a pension of $1,000 per month, and the very people who placed them in harm's way receives a pension of $15,000 per month.

I would like to see our elected officials pick up a weapon and join ranks before they start cutting out benefits and lowering pay for our sons and daughters who are now fighting.


Link


Comments
on Dec 08, 2004
It's appalling what they give to soldiers compared to civilians. Maybe the payments should be the other way around...
on Dec 08, 2004
i agree with rush
on Dec 08, 2004
You know I very seldom agree with Rush. Usually he's too far out on the limb for me. But this time I just got to back his play.
on Dec 08, 2004

might be interesting to see how the wtc compensation was worked out and why.  although its been spun as a tribute to those who were killed in in the attacks, in order to get the money, the families hadda agree not relinquish any claim to additional damages.  that protects both the airlines and the insurance companies whod be otherwise liable (others as well but those are the two deepest pockets).  it's not as if the airlines didnt get a whole lotta free money as well as loans. so i guess it turns out the really deepest pockets are ultimately ours.  

it does make ya wonder why limbaugh--who normally aint shy about naming names whether they desere it or not--didnt attach any blame to the the top of the food chain in this case.

on Dec 08, 2004
I heard the live broadcast and it was a number of months ago, maybe a year. It is a very awkward subject, obviously. I happen to agree that what our service families receive after the loss of a loved one seems pathetically inadequate, but our soldiers, sailors & airmen don't go into military with that sort of calculation in mind. They are made aware of it & know it going in. That said, I think we, as the beneficiaries of their sacrifice, should do more. I'm even willing to pay more taxes for that. Go figure.

Cheers,
Daiwa
on Dec 09, 2004

it does make ya wonder why limbaugh--who normally aint shy about naming names whether they desere it or not--didnt attach any blame to the the top of the food chain in this case.

If you have to wonder, then you missed the point of the article.  Rush is not a one issue or one dimesional person.  The point here was that all the moaning and bitching of the 9-11 survivors, they really are being given a sweetheart deal.  There are thousands of people killed each year in violent deaths by the hands of criminals and terrorists.  And their survivors get nothing but any life insurance they may have coming. 

And as he pointed out, soldiers die every day in the line of duty, and the family gets a pittance. So before running out and crying 'poor survivors', just remember, they got a great deal in comparison. 

I know I am going to get flamed for that last statement, but this is life.  Shit happens.  And life is not fair. We grieve for the victims of 9-11, and sympathize with the survivors.  But that does not mean we should roll over and asked to be boinked just because we are not one of the victims.