How Much Is Enough?

Abstract

Recent debates in the United States have pitted the fiscal imperative of rationalizing the budget against the social narrative that society has an obligation to take care of its service members and veterans. This civil-military disconnect is a result of the structural necessity in so-called liberal market economies (LME) to focus significant portions of their military compensation on benefits, in addition to pay. These benefits for example, health care, childcare, education, and retirement are not broadly provided to all citizens in LMEs and constitute attractive recruiting incentives. However, it is difficult to control their costs and difficult to limit or remove them once implemented. Thus, the United States is caught in a benefits trap with challenging civil-military and policy implications.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2015
Accession Number
ADA625798

Entities

People

  • Lindsay P. Cohn

Organizations

  • Air University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Age Groups
  • Commerce
  • Department Of Veterans Affairs
  • Economic Systems
  • Education
  • Families (Human)
  • Governments
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Labor Markets
  • Market Economy
  • Markets
  • Military Budgets
  • Military Personnel
  • Motivation
  • Students
  • United States

Readers

  • Military Mobilization and Reserve Forces Studies.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Rehabilitation and Prosthetic Care for Military Service Members and Veterans with Limb Loss or Disability.