As he paced back and forth in front of the soldiers, some of them leaning on crutches, Colonel Gade said that too many veterans become financially dependent on those monthly checks, choose not to find jobs and lose the sense of identity and self-worth that can come from work.
“People who stay home because they are getting paid enough to get by on disability are worse off,” he said. “They are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol. They are more likely to live alone. You’ve seen these guys. And the system is driving you to become one of them, if you are not careful.”
Obviously, the messenger is important for a message like this.
Do we already have free Community Colleges?
ReplyDeleteIs financial aid a potential abuse of a system designed to provide education for students that need assistance to pay for college? As President Obama floats a plan to make community colleges free for students attending half time (6 credits at SUNY schools) and maintain a GPA of 2.5 or better, I cannot help to think it may be abused (Jafee, 2015). I see students in my classes that show up week one, sit in class disinterested in the topics, not buying books and stop showing up after financial aid balances are paid out on week 8, only to see them again at the start of next semester. There are also students that attend, do well enough to maintain a good academic standing, and with a few classes shy of a degree changes their major – two or three times. Doing this makes them eligible to continue receiving aid for several years without ever finishing a degree, and receiving enough money to pay rent, buy food and minimal supplies for school. Don’t get me wrong, I see many, if not most of the students that take advantage of the assistance and go on to be gainfully employed. Also, if the programs were not in place enrolment in community colleges would be so low; I probably would not have the job I do, so is this subsidy really a transfer of wealth mutually benefiting many students and community colleges (Froeb, McCann, Shore & Ward, 2014)?
Froeb, L. M., McCann, B. T., Shor, M., & Ward, M. R. (2014). Managerial Economics; A problem solving approach (3rd edition). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning .
Jafee, G. (2015, January 9). Obama announces free community college plan. Retrieved January 24, 2015, from http://www.washingtonpost.com: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/01/09/obama-announces-free-community-college-plan/
Hello John O'C ESC - I agree that there are some loopholes with President Obama's plan. According to Eric Kelderman, Tennessee officials also have a similar plan to offer underprivileged high school students the opportunity to attend Community College paid by state lottery preserves. He also mentions merit based scholarships offered to prospective students. Either way, there are loopholes that would allow students to take advantage of the opportunities, and not in the favorable way. What I do not understand is, why can't there be scholarships that reward students with substantial grades AFTER graduation which are used to pay towards student loans? If these officials would just take these funds that they are using to offer students a community college degree, and apply them to students that have actually graduated, I think that would give those students that are serious about earning a degree, a reason to keep working hard for those high grades! As Dewayne Matthews, vice president for strategy and policy at the Lumina Foundation, wrote in an email, "Dramatic and game-changing ideas are needed to meet our nation's need for higher education...."(“Free Community College? Tennessee Proposal Draws Praise and Concerns - Government - The Chronicle of Higher Education,” n.d.) I agree with him. What are your thoughts on how President Obama’s plan can be improved to close those loopholes? Reference:Free Community College? Tennessee Proposal Draws Praise and Concerns - Government - The Chronicle of Higher Education. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://chronicle.com/article/Free-Community-College-/144553/
DeleteHi John O'C ESC,
DeleteI can understand your frustration with the abuse of financial aid in this country. I too have seen students that just do the bare minimum to survive in order to receive the financial benefits. I feel that student loans are abused by many as well; I say this because people tend to change their majors and ultimately never receive their degree just so they can continue to receive student loans without having to start repayment. These students might not realize that the more they borrow the harder it will be to pay it back.
According to Jane Musgrave of the Tribune Business News in Washington D.C., the U.S. Government has filed hundreds of lawsuits against borrowers. Some of these borrowers received the loans decades ago. Many of these people defaulted on the loans because they are unemployed and a large percentage of these borrowers never completed their degree. I feel in order to limit the abuse on student loans the U.S. Government must impose strict rules; for instance a time limit to achieve each degree level.
Froeb, L. M., McCann, B. T., Shor, M., & Ward, M. R. (2014). Managerial Economics; A problem solving approach (3rd edition). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning .
Musgrave, J. (2012, Sep 03). Federal government push to collect on student loans amid bad economy fuels growth in filings. McClatchy - Tribune Business News Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1037694950?accountid=8067
AFrame & D.A. T
ReplyDeleteTwo great points – thank you.
I am not sure that there is enough information about Obama’s Community College plan out to evaluate it at this time, but a few points. I have concerns that there will be pressure for faculty to make more students “successful” so there is increased retention to increase payments from any plan based on student grades. Operating a college is a business first; education is a service of that business. 2.5 GPA or better can translate to - increase production (number of students completing degrees), or we will find someone who can do a better job. Makes sense right? If someone in any other business is not maintaining production standards they are replaced. Many faculty in CCs are reappointed every few years with no protection from contracts, and with administration turnover there is no past practice. That can create a practice like Friday afternoon at a golf tournament – top 60% move on, no matter what their score is.
There are ways that graduates can get student loan relief, part of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 has previsions for students to pay back federal loans bases on a barrower’s income – 10% of discretionary income for 20 years (OSLF 2014). There are qualified programs that will allow graduates to defer payments by volunteering or take work that will give experience and build resumes. Governor Cuomo of New York mentioned in his state of the state address last week, a plan to forgive student debt if graduates teach in New York schools.
If there is a program there is a loophole, it is difficult to determine who is a struggling student or who is taking advantage of the rules. Labeling a student as one who takes advantage of the rules and someone else as lost or one that had a tough life and is figuring things out is difficult without appearing to be biased, or stereo typing. I will reiterate that I can give more examples of successful students because of aid than those that may appear to be using loopholes.
Obama Student Loan Forgiveness (OSLF) 2014, Retrieved on January 26, 2015, from: http://www.studentdebtrelief.us/forgiveness/obama-student-loan-forgiveness/
I'm a strong supporter of our troops and believe that they need to be taken care of for the sacrifices they make to protect our country. I find the article interesting in that a current disabled veteran made these comments, however being strong in his beliefs and being able to speak from personal experience, I’m sure he has seen many comrades fall into the traps he discusses of alcoholism and drug abuse. The government should be mindful and look into that the troops are getting the right type of support and not what they think is the right support. This wouldn’t be the first time the government did what they thought was right, but did more harm than good. As written by Froeb, McCann, Ward & Shor, government policies designed to extend credit to low-income Americans increased homeownership from 64% to 69% of the population. Many of these recipients, like Victor Ramirez, were able to offer houses only due to the subsides. Once the housing bubble burst, they could not afford to stay in them. I thought these were 2 good comparisons, because both were giving people what the government believed was the best interest of the people and in actual it seemed to be doing more harm than good. The real answer to the problem, are these folks being provided with the right tools to get where they want to be as oppose to be given it? Are the right individuals getting involved to answer these problems? Are millions/billions of dollars going to waste because we are not adequately addressing the problem? Once again I whole heartily support our troops, but I just want to make sure they are getting the best for them, as I don’t want to see them fall in the path of alcoholism or drug abuse.
ReplyDeleteLuke, F., McCann, B, Shor, M., & Ward, M. (2014). The One Lesson of Business. In Managerial Economics (3rd ed., p. 15). Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning
Mike,
ReplyDeleteI think you raise some great points, and I to strongly believe that our troops deserve the best help that they can possibly get. I understand what Colonel Gade is saying, that if you allow it, the use of welfare will consume and you will not know any other way to live. I also understand that there are those that are unable to work because of the traumatic experiences they have faced while serving our country.
From this, we can use the basic problem solving model discussed by Froeb, to decide how the VA should work with the current policies to increase positive results for the veterans.
A situation such as why are veterans turning to alcohol?
1. Who is making the bad decision
2. Did they have enough information to make a good decision
3. Do they have good enough incentive.
It can be argued either way, the veteran is a fault or the VA. Personally I believe there is much more the VA should be doing to help our veterans instead of leaving it solely up to them to work on getting better.
Froeb, L. M., McCann, B. T., Shor, M., & Ward, M. R. (2014). Managerial Economics; A problem solving approach (3rd edition). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning .
I disagree with Lieutenant Colonel Gade that veterans who are diagnosed with a service connected disability should not receive some type of compensation. However, he does make some very good points that the VA disability system could use an overhaul. When the law changed several years ago, military retirees could not receive both retired pay and VA disability compensation unless their retired pay was reduced by whatever the compensation amount was. Now military retirees can receive what is known as concurrent receipt.
ReplyDeleteConcurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) means that qualified disabled military retirees will now get paid both their full military retirement pay and their VA disability compensation. This recently passed law phases out (over 9 years) the VA disability offset, which means that military retirees with 20 or more years of service and a 50% (or higher) VA rated disability will no longer have their military retirement pay reduced by the amount of their VA disability compensation.
“From an economic standpoint, you would be crazy to get a job, It’s a trap”, I would agree that CRDP is a misguided disability compensation incentive which may not be good from an accountants point of view however, the majority of the Veterans I know that receive CRDP do work. From an economist’s point of view - opportunity costs – absolutely!
Disclaimer: I am a military retiree with over 36 years of combined service and I do have a military service connected disability rating. I do not have a political agenda nor do I agree or disagree with Lieutenant Colonel Gade.
Lieutenant Colonel Gade said that too many veterans become financially dependent on those monthly checks, choose not to find jobs and lose the sense of identity and self-worth that can come from work. Veteran’s diagnosed with a service connected disability may have months or years of physical rehabilitation. During this time frame it must be difficult to imagine a new productive life, especially if the Veteran’s daily interactions involves people who reinforce the image of dependence on others; that disabled means reliance on the government.
ReplyDeleteThe looking glass self theorizes that we develop a self-image based on reflection of how others see us. A veteran may improve physically before his self worth recovers from the trauma. The disability payments are awarded for justifiable reasons. However Colonel Gade’s statement illustrates the lack of incentive for veterans to rejoin society. I believe financial incentives awarded to the veterans would not be as productive as incentives also awarded to social workers and medical workers. Medical costs for patients with chronic illness and substance abuse have been greatly reduced by implementing coordination of care clinics. (Gawande 2011) Clinic employees develop relationships, holding patients accountable and improve the value of the services offered. Why aren’t Veterans offered coordinated care benefits from clinics proven to reduce medical costs and improve outcomes? Veterans would benefit from improved coordinate healthcare. Financial incentives could result in cost savings from reduced medical care while providing veterans with improved quality of life.
Reference:
Gawande, Atul Can we lower medical costs by giving the neediest patients better care
New Yorker; 1/24/2011, Vol. 86 Issue 45, p40-51
That’s an interesting statement made by the author Luke Froeb, “People who stay home……” But employers are required to provide disability benefit coverage to their employees for injuries that occur on the job, especially New York. It may seem sometimes that some employee take full advantage of such benefits. According to the Social Security Website it is said that the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability programs are the largest of several federal programs that provide assistance for people with disabilities. Although these programs are different in many ways, both are administered by the Social Security Administrations and only individuals who have a genuine disability and meet the medical criteria should receive the benefits under these program. Attempts are being made to reduce waste, fraud and abuse in the disability program through modes and incremental changes which would allow others to devote more resources to the severely disabled, not less. There seems to be a large and growing issue about this, it is not about the fact that some people are taking advantage of the system. It is also about the fact that taxpayers are paying able bodied Americans to drop out of the work force, thereby increasing the burden on those who are still working. In turn, that can make is much harder to keep the fiscal situation under control and harder to provide for the truly disabled.
ReplyDeleteReference:
1. Froeb, McCann, Ward and Shor (2014) Managerial Economics – A Problem Solving Approach.
2. Avik, Roy (2013) Forbes – Billion-a-Year ‘Disability-Industrial Complex’
Esther Tannassee
That’s an interesting statement made by the author Luke Froeb, “People who stay home……” But employers are required to provide disability benefit coverage to their employees for injuries that occur on the job, especially New York. It may seem sometimes that some employee take full advantage of such benefits. According to the Social Security Website it is said that the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability programs are the largest of several federal programs that provide assistance for people with disabilities. Although these programs are different in many ways, both are administered by the Social Security Administrations and only individuals who have a genuine disability and meet the medical criteria should receive the benefits under these program. Attempts are being made to reduce waste, fraud and abuse in the disability program through modes and incremental changes which would allow others to devote more resources to the severely disabled, not less. There seems to be a large and growing issue about this, it is not about the fact that some people are taking advantage of the system. It is also about the fact that taxpayers are paying able bodied Americans to drop out of the work force, thereby increasing the burden on those who are still working. In turn, that can make is much harder to keep the fiscal situation under control and harder to provide for the truly disabled.
ReplyDeleteReference:
1. Froeb, McCann, Ward and Shor (2014) Managerial Economics – A Problem Solving Approach.
2. Avik, Roy (2013) Forbes – Billion-a-Year ‘Disability-Industrial Complex’
Esther Tannassee
I would have to say that I agree with Colonel Gade in "that too many veterans become financially dependent on those monthly checks, choose not to find jobs and lose the sense of identity and self-worth that can come from work." However, I would also have to say that it is not solely veterans that are falling dependent on the disability benefits that are provided to them. Welfare benefits that are increased and extended are also being used to the full extent and availability, leaving a growing unemployment rate because those receiving the benefits may not see the value in gaining employment and getting off of welfare.
ReplyDeleteI personally feel as though it may be hurting the economy as a whole to allow these extensions in welfare and disability benefits because it seems as though the guidelines for these extensions are not very strict and it does not seem that it is benefiting the economy in the long-run. It is important to make every attempt to increase the unemployment rate since it will help improve the economic state of the nation.
It is important that I do state that I understand there is an importance of these disability and welfare benefits. These benefits have proved to be fundamental in the lives of many people who truly need the assistance in times of need. However, I do strongly believe that there is a certain point that indicates a violation of this assistance and these benefits that is exceeded my many individuals. It is something that the government should regulate a bit more heavily in order to help the nation grow.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/02/20/increased-welfare-benefits-really-do-reduce-the-employment-rate/
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteColonel Gade makes a good point. It may be hard for some to swallow but it’s the truth. As with many incentives the government offers, such as for school (many have mentioned this one), housing, food stamps, subsidies, etc., the abuse is rampant. This is true because there are not enough rules and regulations that go along with them. Give someone who is depressed, down on their luck, or who grew up in a household where welfare is the norm, an inch, and they will take a mile if you let them.
ReplyDeleteThese privileges are meant to help soldiers, parents, families, etc. make a better life, or get on their feet. Not become lazy and dependent on a system that allows them the freedom to do so because there is nobody to tell them to get out and make something of themselves. That’s not to say that everyone abuses these programs. There are many families who truly need help and are trying their best. But those who abuse the system over and over are allowed to do so with no repercussions.
Colonel Gade goes on to say that the low expectations of our culture and misunderstanding of the term “disability” that these federal policies are based upon has created dependency among soldiers that should be temporary but has instead become permanent. The efforts are undermining their recovery and stripping our society of the talents and experience they could be contributing.
I agree with Colonel Gade and think that this, and other programs need to be re-evaluated and structured to help soldiers and other citizens to get on their feet, not use them as a permanent crutch. What ever happened to self-worth?
Gade, D. (2013). A Better Way to Help Veterans. National Affairs, (16). Retrieved from http://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/a-better-way-to-help-veterans
In my view working from home is not bad at all especially if the work is like Forex trading, I am doing that only and I feel very comfortable while there is also great benefit for me that I have got OctaFX company at my side, it’s one of the finest I have ever seen with their love able low spread of 0.2 pips for all major pairs while even the leverage is huge up to 1:500, so this is helpful for people like me who are low investors and it allows us to work smoothly.
ReplyDeleteSadly, wounded vets come home with more emotional and mental scars than physical ones. It is because of these invisible scars that prevents them from being able to rejoin society. Programs need to be set up, or if they already are, to be easily accessible, to help these vets come to terms with their PTSD and other illnesses before they can do what you think they should.
ReplyDeleteCynthia Allen @ Disability Specialist Center