Written by Joshua Patton, 

In the world of political kabuki, President Obama is scoring points and looking strong as a commander-in-chief.  The airstrikes in Libya, drone attacks, and the death of Osama Bin Laden, seem to be “the instruments of war,” with which he will “preserve the peace,” as he said in his Nobel Prize remarks.  Thus the economy, specifically the budget deficit, has become the target of choice for President Obama’s political enemies.  The defense budget is sizable and the costs of veterans’ benefits are increasing exponentially and neither is safe from drastic cuts in funding. 
            One of the first bits of financial pruning being done is a recommended 10-12% cut to the pay and pensions of federal employees, including those who work for the VA.  The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is outraged at this and released a statement chastising the move as “balancing the budget and reducing the deficit on the backs of federal employees, many of whom are war veterans.”   Also causing a stir in the veterans’ community is the suggestion by the President that working-age retirees pay a bit more for their TRICARE benefits. The initial increase would be $30 per year for individuals and double that for families, which in and of itself is not that devastating.  However, what is worrisome is the language that allows for future increases starting in 2013, but it will be tied to the cost-of-living index and not the health care index.  Two other problems were ignored: The “Widow’s Tax,” – legalese that prevents military widows from drawing the full amount from both the survivor’s benefit and the full annuity of the deceased servicemember’s insurance – and retroactively lowering the age for reservists by three months of every 90 days deployed after September 11, 2001.
            The budget and deficit problems are real and they will require some painful cuts across the board.  The current canard in the political battle is the raising of the debt ceiling, an adjustment former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich says was “almost automatic,” but has now become “a political football.”  However one of the cornerstones of Reich’s argument is that Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security — that along with the Defense budget consists of where the US spends its money – should be untouched and that the lion’s share of the cuts come from the Defense side of things (along with raising taxes on the rich).  The problem with the national deficit and preserving the nation’s credit is not one that can be fixed with “magical thinking,” according to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
            However, outgoing Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has already made the obvious cuts.  Despite Gate’s fiscal surgery on the DoD budget, President Obama has asked that the Defense budget be reduced even further to the tune of $400 billion by 2023.  This task is going to fall on the incoming Secretary, Leon Panetta. Yet Secretary Gates realizes the challenges that his successor faces and has called for the Administration to be less hasty.  He advises the Administration to “reject the traditional approach of applying across-the-board cuts,” which is politically expedient, but leaves the military lacking in resources, training, and readiness.  The budget problems have no easy answers and the solutions will certainly not please everyone, or even most people.  The hope remains that for sectors of the populace who have already sacrificed so much, such as the veteran community, do not have to bear an unfair share of the burden.