Policy Alternatives - Essay Example

Policy alternative. affiliation Policy Alternative in regard to Health benefits of the Military. Defense department in the US plays a crucial role in the security of the country and the world. Despite this role, it has cost the United States much money to protect the troops in terms of health care and retirement benefits (NPR.org, 2011). Due to this high expenses to the state, the Pentagon are looking for a method of implementing a strategy that can help them cut down the budget of the defense department. According to the defense secretary, Leon Panetta, finding an amicable solution is a hard task to accomplish. There were some budget proposals and resolutions that were put in place which impacted military retirement benefits.
Due to the financial effects that are projected in the future, the current administration came up with a suggestion that the retirees of the defense department should cater for health care services instead of being provided for free. The government gave a proposal of the retirees paying about $200 per annum towards their health care. As per the calculation of the administration, the country will save approximately $6.7 billion. The other proposal that was also given said that soldiers are supposed to pay into a retirement plan instead of a pension plan (NPR.org, 2011). This shift of perspective will contribute in cutting down the expenses of the defense department.
The impacts of this cut are, for instance, the impact of retirees paying $200 per year towards their medical care will save around $6.7 billion for the state. On the other hand, these proposals were not received with acceptance by the defense department. For instance, the protection of military benefits should not in any case undercut the military’s capability to fight and win the war.
Despite the impacts, the cuts of the military benefits are seen to be very effective in achieving the goals of the administration. For example, the cutting of health care benefits seems to be effective in that the country will save around $6.7 billion per year (NPR.org, 2011). The paying of soldiers towards their retirement plan instead of the pension plan, will contribute a lot to the reduction of military benefits.
The reduction of the military retirement benefits is very effective in the fact that it will assist the country to reduce the expenses towards the defense department (Washington Post, 2015). It will reduce the risk of the country becoming unable to pay the troops in the near future. From the text, it is evident that military retirement benefits cost the Pentagon around $50 billion per year. The expense is more than the expense of the entire budget of Homeland Security Department. McGrath testifies that he earns around $20 per month for his health care (Washington Post, 2015). He testifies that this is a trouble to his country in terms of expenses. Therefore, reduction in military retirement benefits is effective in the country.
On the other hand, reduction of the military retirement benefits may not be useful in the fact that, it kills the morale of the troops. For instance, Panetta said that the lives of troops are put online; they go to battle, and they are asked to fight for America (Washington Post, 2015). Therefore, they are eligible for the retirement benefits.
In conclusion, the military retirement benefits are a necessary burden to the economy of the America government. Therefore, they should be cut based on the interest of the country. If the benefits are not reduced, the country stands a risk of not having a strong military in future since there will be no money for paying the troops.

References.
NPR.org, (2011). The Cutting Retiree Benefits A Sore Subject For Military. Retrieved 25 March 2015, from http://www.npr.org/2011/12/04/143115964/cutting-retiree-benefits-a-sore- subject-for-military
Washington Post, (2015). The Congressional leaders hammer out a deal to allow pension plans to cut retiree benefits. Retrieved 25 March 2015, from; http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/congressional-leaders-hammer-out-deal-to-allow-pension-plans-to-cut-retiree-benefits/2014/12/09/4650d420-7ef6-11e4-9f38-95a187e4c1f7_story.html Read More