"...do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic..."

"For the good of the Air Force, for the good of the armed services and for the good of our country, I urge you to reject convention and careerism..."
- Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Maxwell AFB, April 21, 2008

"You will need to challenge conventional wisdom and call things like you see them to subordinates and superiors alike."
- Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, United States Air Force Academy, March 4, 2011

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Government Giving Military Discounts?


I just read that members of the military won't have to pay an entrance fee to get into National Parks.  Sounds good, if you don't think about it.  The problem is we're not talking about a private company showing gratitude to those who serve with a military discount.  This is government action.

This is government treating government employees better than it treats the average Joe.  Joe citizen still has to pay if he wants to see the park.  The government can claim it's doing this to show gratitude, but the government isn't in the gratitude business.  The closest the government can come to showing gratitude is simply paying military members, and honoring commitments to their retirement and health care benefits.

It's not right for the government to treat its employees better than the average citizen.  The government needs to leave military discounts to Starbucks, unless we want to create a class system based on who works for the government and who does not.

1 comment:

  1. ??? Giving Active Duty (not the entire Gov't workforce) a free pass to a park is peanuts compared to all the welfare the Gov't gives to the average Joe. Isn't it the AD folks who defend our country so that we have those parks? Could we rather call this a corporate benefit? Average Joe could join the military and get a free park pass too.

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