Key numbers: “This year 6m veterans—or a third of the total—qualified for payments, with an average monthly benefit of $2,200.”
Estimated average monthly cost of living, USA, Single person: $3,360src
Difference between those values: $1,160 (not including medical expenses)
[From a 2019-2021 study,] 12.8% of veterans aged 25–64 had problems paying medical bills, 8.4% had forgone medical care, and 38.4% were somewhat or very worried about being able to pay their medical bills if they got sick or had an accident. CDC
Presumptive disability benefits are not some kind of catch-all, where every vet with type-2 diabetes gets disability. The benefits are subject to limitations, the most significant of which seems to be that chronic illnesses need to be diagnosed within a year after release. Click to read more from the VA
As of 11 March 2024 the US Department of Defense fiscal year 2025 (FY2025) budget request was $849.8 billion. Wikipedia
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is requesting a total of $369.3 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2025, a 9.8 percent increase above FY 2024 estimated levels. VA.gov
Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign aid since its founding, receiving about $310 billion (adjusted for inflation) in total economic and military assistance. CFR
Since the start of Israel’s war with Hamas on October 7, 2023, the United States has enacted legislation providing at least $12.5 billion in direct military aid to Israel, which includes $3.8 billion from a bill in March 2024 (in line with the current MOU) and $8.7 billion from a supplemental appropriations act in April 2024. Other analysts—Linda J. Bilmes, William D. Hartung, and Stephen Semler, from Brown University—have reported [PDF] that Israel received $17.9 billion in U.S. military aid during this period, a figure that additionally accounts for the cost to the U.S. Defense Department of replenishing the stock of weapons provided to Israel. CFR
The full cost of Vietnam started coming 20 years after it went in full swing as the veterans started ramping up the benefits they were promised. That same wave for Afghanistan/Iraq is hitting right about now.
Say it again for those in the back.
The full cost of Vietnam started coming 20 years after it went in full swing as the veterans started ramping up the benefits they were promised. That same wave for Afghanistan/Iraq is hitting right about now.