neilios

I’m happy to announce that Congress passed a revised GI bill with generous college benefits for soldiers who served more than three years since 9/11.

I’m not so happy that this bill was opposed by both Bush and McCain:

Mr. Bush — and, to his great discredit, Senator John McCain — have argued against a better G.I. Bill, for the worst reasons. They would prefer that college benefits for service members remain just mediocre enough that people in uniform are more likely to stay put.

They have seized on a prediction by the Congressional Budget Office that new, better benefits would decrease re-enlistments by 16 percent, which sounds ominous if you are trying — as Mr. Bush and Mr. McCain are — to defend a never-ending war at a time when extended tours of duty have sapped morale and strained recruiting to the breaking point.

See the rest of a short editorial here and thanks to Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, for the link to it from his blog.