Comments on Bullet Wisdom: President to Congress: Transfer GI Bill Benefits ...

Can the 92% who do not use their GI Bill correlate...

2008-05-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

Can the 92% who do not use their GI Bill correlate with the increased costs of attending college? I dont think so. I believe those who dont use it are strongly impacted by life changes and less motivation than the costs of school itself. I disagree with strong and overarching increases in the GI Bill and that of allowing spouses/dependents using the remaining benefits their military member doesnt. Who benefits more from their own investment in school than one who pays for it themselves. I know we hear the "I wants" but I really believe that our spouses (who complain about how strapped they are for time/resources) can not fulfill their own educational plans lest they actually get support from their military member. I believe the costs of in-state tuition should be met however the stipends are too much. At some point there are diminishing returns that extrinsic rewards have on the public service motivation that our soldiers work within. Continuing to bolster benefits, invent Army Family Convenants, funnel money into MWR funds which all lack empirical evidence of value and performance means the military has no clue as to what they're buying.

I am a military member and spouse. I use my GI Bill benefits (active duty) and we have no challenges in meeting our financial obligations outside those realms. Oh I guess because we have no children makes a bigger impact than those who have multitudes.

Cheers

I'm confused...why would a military wife receive $...

2008-03-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

I'm confused...why would a military wife receive $3 less than her civilian counterpart? I'm not saying I don't believe it, just curious. (My mom used to be a military wife, so I find this interesting.)

Update - It looks like this is picking up steam as...

2008-02-08T09:35:00.000-08:00

Update - It looks like this is picking up steam as there is now a bipartisan effort co-sponsored by, of all people, Sen John Kerry, that will make GI Bill benefits transferrable to any family member as well as expand benefits for veterans. This bill received a big push on Fox News from Bill O'Reilly.

Yet this is the same president that went in front ...

2008-02-02T00:21:00.000-08:00

Yet this is the same president that went in front of the Armed Services committee and told them that there didn't need to be any GI bill increases, because they would hurt retention, as soldiers would be too tempted to get out of the military and use them.

Oy.

MAJ -- Outstanding point! I think my spouse could...

2008-01-31T20:28:00.000-08:00

MAJ -- Outstanding point! I think my spouse could get a lot more use out of the GI Bill than I ever could.