Policy Alternatives - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... 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 ...Download file to see next pagesRead More