Political Wrinkles - View Single Post

saltwn · #1 (**permalink**) 10-01-2008, 10:46 PM

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MORE THAN A FEW people have been puzzled by Sen. John McCain's dogged opposition to the updated GI Bill of Rights now before Congress. The dissonance between McCain's military-man image and his actions on this issue have introduced a jarring note to his presidential aspirations -- and have highlighted the shoddy treatment many Iraq war veterans have received.

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The original GI Bill -- signed into law in 1944 -- was one of the most important laws every adopted by Congress. It transformed the nation after World War II in epic fashion, with generous college benefits, stipends, subsidized mortgages, business loans and job training and placement.

Veterans got free rides to any college that would accept them. Tuition, books, housing and living expenses were all covered, giving rise to a new generation of scientists, inventors, teachers, doctors, civic leaders and artists. Low-interest, no-money-down home loans backed by the government made it cheaper to buy than to rent. Suburbia, widespread homeownership, college as a majority aspiration, the middle class -- all were built on the back of the GI Bill.
It reinvented the American dream. Bob Dole and George McGovern went to school on the GI Bill. So did Clint Eastwood and Paul Newman. So did 14 Nobel Prize winners. So did 7 million other World War II veterans.

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Today's GI Bill, however, is a pale shadow of the original, particularly when it comes to college, as Congress has not kept the benefits in line with the rising cost of higher education. The World War II-era living stipend is gone; in its place, members of the military must agree to a $100 monthly payroll deduction to receive the college aid. An education benefit that sent WWII vets to Yale now won't cover four years at the average public university, though many recruits don't understand this when they sign up.

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Why would a Vietnam War veteran and former prisoner of war, a man who is personally acquainted with the difficulties vets can face in returning to civilian life, join President Bush in opposing a popular bipartisan bill to support the troops? Isn't fixing the education benefit in the bill -- one that has shortchanged far too many veterans for years -- a political no-brainer in an election year?

McCain's attack on vets - Los Angeles Times

Beats the heck out of me. What is your opinion? Does he have some good reason for this?
This speaks to one of the glaring differences I see between Democrats and Republicans (at least traditionally). Newt Gingrich also went to school on government grants, yet has opposed them for modern students. You also never hear a Republican say they won't accept social security, but they have tried to cut, change or get rid of that for many years.