Letter to Veterans Disability Commission

General Scott and fellow Committee Members, I admit you have a daunting task before you, and I ask that you consider the fact that SSD is based on payroll taxes, it is not a gift from a grateful nation. For that matter neither is VA compensation, it is to compensate a service member for injuries or medical conditions caused by their military service to this nation.

The average SSD check is 850.00 dollars a month, VA compensation for a 100% disabled vet with a wife and a child is 2626.00 a month at this time, for a total of 3476.00 a month or $41,4712 dollars a year. Many of the disabled veterans require help around the house and that prevents the spouse from working or the need to hire an assistant for the veteran.

While 41 thousand a year sounds like a grand sum, for those of us with mortgages, car payments, teen agers in school and life's other events like electricity, gas, insurance, food, clothes and the rest of life's expenditure's, it gives us a decent life, maybe once in awhile if you save, you can take the family to Disney World every few years. But no disabled veterans are accumulating any great wealth off of this.

In comparison, the victims of the WTC and The Pentagon bombings received multi-million dollar settlements, and many of them are suing for more from the Airlines, the building insurance companies, and anyone else with deep pockets. How does that compare to the SSD and the VA compensation these proud veterans and their families receive?

If you go thru with this plan to find a way to create off sets, are you going to grandfather the people already that have their budgets set to their income, or are you going to destroy the lives of totally disabled veterans and their families, haven't they sacrificed enough with their health, and their quality of life, now that you feel the need to upset their lives, while you "review" their future compensation. If you are only going to stick it to the "new disabled veterans" can you make that fact known, if not, let a few commit suicide while you play your investigations out, the PTSD review of the past few years should have taught you how disabled veterans especially those totally disabled with PTSD react. Is your review worth a few more lives?

I hate to say but this reminds me of General MacArthur and the Bonus Marchers of WW1, the only thing missing is the fires of the shanty homes on the Mall.
/s/
Michael G Bailey