More Unintended Consequences

Earlier this year I wrote an article on unintended consequences. Little did I realize this process was gaining momentum? Congress is in the process of passing a two year budget with the potential of unintended consequences affecting every child, currently age 10 to 20 years old, over the next five to ten years.

Like all budgets this one has winners and losers. The biggest losers this time could be the future of your children. This budget takes money away from retired veterans. At first glance this does not seem that important. Let’s explore this idea.

There is room for a conversation about the validity of taking money from a retired military person who is only 40 years old. Most of these folks will get another job to supplement their retirement. Some of these retired military people could actually go back to work in the government, and end up with two retirement plans by the time they are 65 years old. No doubt about it, this is something open to discussion. The problem here, this plan will affect people who have already retired.

Military personnel generally re-enlist every 4 to 6 years. Military retirees eligible to retire have re-enlisted a number of times relying on the promises made to them regarding retirement. Like most of us, these retirees made plans based on promises made regarding their benefits. The re-enlistments are important to keep a standing army capable of protecting this country from our enemies. If re-enlistments drop, we could see a new call for a draft to provide manpower for the military. Most of our current generations have not faced a draft, and the fear of forced service, thanks to the number of volunteers who feel the military offers them a career path worth pursuing. Every time a member of the military re-enlists they realize there are a number of sacrifices for not only themselves, but for their families. They realize there will be deployments often lasting up to a year. Many times families cannot accompany the military personnel on these deployments. With the large number of police actions since Vietnam, re-enlisting leads to an understanding; continued military service can lead to death on a foreign battle field thousands of miles away from their families. Agreeing to remain in the military means their standard of living will remain mostly the same. Nobody gets rich fighting in Iraq.

So despite the sacrifices, despite their service to keep us free, despite the time away from home, the House of Representatives decided to take money from them to get a budget deal. Wow, who knew the best way to solve the budget crisis was to steal from retired military veterans? The unintended consequence may be less people staying to retirement age. Less volunteers, more draftees?

A compliant Republican Establishment and an aggressive Progressive Party continue the status quo. The war on success and so called greed will continue. The war on religion will continue. The war for control of the schools with the resulting decline in the education level of children continues. What may not continue is the all-volunteer military. What may not continue is the freedom, from service in the military, provided to kids who do not want to serve.

We are learning a lesson in today’s political climate. People with an agenda push to makeover the country in the image of their imagination. Without the experience of understanding how an economy works, these folks make decisions without regard to consequences. There is a growing list of unintended consequences. The economy, our health care system, the military and a fictional green economy will affect us for years to come. The law of unintended consequences cannot be overturned.