Jobless veterans could get a boost from the White House

Traveling around puts me in touch with veterans from all walks of life. When they are all together, it isn't about being a Republican or Democrat. It's about being a member of a unique class of citizen. Considering less than 10% of the population served in the military and less than 1% are serving today, that makes them very rare.

The problem most veterans have is trusting politicians simply because they say they care about them when they are members of their own party. This usually happens more with Republicans than with Democrats. Democrats tend to not trust anyone with what they say but demand proof from what they do. The more I talk to veterans it becomes clear that when it comes to the people in charge of sending them to war and taking care of them when they come home, veterans really don't know very much. They are being used in a political game yet again. This time with the Bill that could put them back to work when they need it the most.

Jobless veterans could get a boost from the White House
Nov 06, 2011 10:39 PM EST

By Courtney Friedman


TYLER (KYTX) - Help may be in sight for jobless veterans.

Last month the unemployment rate for veterans rose above 12 percent. That's 3 percentage points higher than the rest of Americans.

Senate Democrats have proposed tax incentives for businesses that hire veterans.

"It's discouraging, it's just totally upsetting," says veteran Daniel Baugh. For him, looking for a job was more than a struggle.

"For the last 18 months, impossible."

It felt like a lost cause.

"Filling out applications after applications, resumes, and everything else - until I got lucky enough to get with Good Will."

He's thankful his*job search is over, but says there are thousands just like him, who haven't been as lucky.

He says, "If this really follows through and I hope it does, it's going to be good, because for one its going to keep people off the streets."
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President Obama is not well liked by the majority of the veterans I talk to. Most have no clue how much he has done for veterans simply because no one told them. When I talk to them about the GI Bill, he support, they are shocked to discover President Bush and John McCain were campaigning against it until it was passed, then they took credit for it. They are even more shocked to discover while they have support McCain all these years, he has voted against them more than he has voted for them. It happened with PTSD programs he pushed for. This happens all the time. Now the Republicans in office are at it again.

They have a chance to give tax breaks away to put veterans back to work. They have support tax cuts for businesses and claim to be all about putting people back to work but on this one, they want proof? Ok, then, where was all the need for "proof" when they were cutting taxes for the wealthy with no stings attached for them? These folks have a double standard when it comes to our veterans. They want votes from them but then they want them to just go to the back of the room, take a number and shut up. Blind support of any politician must end just as much as blind hatred of them.

Veterans and their families need to be informed of everything the politicians on both sides stand for or we will keep getting shafted in the end. Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are coming home after doing the hardest job there is and end up living day to day wondering how to pay their bills and take care of their families. Companies need incentives to put them to work, retrain them on civilian jobs so they can see how much our veterans still have to offer. If companies can hire someone with four years of experience doing the job in the civilian world or a veteran risking his/here life for the last four, they hire the civilian. Time to do the right thing for them.

Veterans need to know what the voting record of these politicians is and stop believing just what they say it is. There are good Republicans in office right now trying to do the right thing for veterans but they are being overrun by "Tea Party" folks trying to stop everything and others just wanting Obama to fail. Time to put these games to an end when veterans are waiting for this government to do the right thing.

Vets back home face a tough job market
Written by
Dean Calbreath
As the holiday season approaches, the good news for many military families is that almost all U.S. troops serving in Iraq — about 39,000 — are coming home.

But when these and other service members return to civilian life, what economic fate awaits them?

If history is any indication, a rough road lies ahead. For example, younger veterans had a jobless rate of 14.3 percent last year, compared with the national average of 9.4 percent.

“That upsets me, because it doesn’t just affect the veterans. It’s also their wives and children,” said J.R. Robey, a former Army combat medic who is vice president of Veterans United in San Diego.
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