Older Veterans Outlived Trumps "Forever" Speech

Donald Trump Honors Fallen Soldiers In Speech At Arlington Cemetery On Memorial Day

“Words cannot measure the depth of their devotion, the purity of their love or the totality of their courage,” Trump said. “We only hope that every day we can prove worthy, not only of their sacrifice, but of the sacrifice made by the families and loved ones they left behind.” “Their legacy will endure forever.”

Except veterans over 62 outlived the promise of "permanent and total" disability as soon as Trump was elected.

Donald Trump is giving us all a big middle finger. And his supporters love it.

That was last year,,,and this is this year!

 Trump budget an attack on veterans

This is no small cut. The average veteran will immediately lose 35 percent of his income along with loss of dental benefits, survivor benefits for spouses, and property tax exemptions/deductions depending on his state. The cut will be immediate for those over 62 and as others reach 62, they too will be cut.

This plan will affect about half of all totally disabled veterans which means about 300,000 elderly veterans will take a major hit immediately. They all fall under a program that goes back to prior to World War II and is called Total Disability for Individual Unemployability (TDIU). It is for veterans whose service connected injuries or illnesses have become so severe that they could no longer work. Because of these medical issues their working lives were cut short thus earning less and building up less Social Security benefits and were unable to purchase commercial life insurance to protect spouses. With these veterans being in their 60s to 80s or more their chances of reversing their financial lives is slim.

But hey, while we're being honest here is one more thing senior veterans are getting wrong. Some think that Trump is the one who declared Vietnam Veterans Day, but it wasn't his actions. It was Senator Pat Toomey and Senator Joe Donnelly who made it official. It only took them 5 years to do it!

Former President Barack Obama declared March 29 Vietnam Veterans Day in 2012. This new law will make the date a commemoration of Vietnam veterans every year.