Aug 18 2008
TNG not paid
This is simply not right:
Families Struggle As Texas Guard Paychecks Delayed
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) – Denena Bailey wants to make sure her girls don’t see her tears after she can’t pay their bills. The Bailey’s have missed three checks from the Texas National Guard.
“My paychecks are what’s currently paying for our groceries and gas to get to and from work,” she said.
Chad Bailey is a medic is training in Oklahoma. He’s expected to be deployed to Iraq in the next few weeks.
“School’s starting in a couple of weeks and you don’t have the money to buy your kids clothes to go back to school in,” Denena said. “They are pulling our soldiers away from good paying jobs where we never had to worry about where our next paycheck was coming from and where we were going to eat and that’s what we are going through now.”
Denena isn’t alone. A spokesperson with the Texas National Guard said there was a glitch in their accounting system. The problem was supposed to be fixed last week. But now it looks like it won’t be taken care of until August 28.
If we can afford to spend $2,000,000,000 per week on George W. Bush’s war of choice in Iraq, it sure seems like we should be able to pay the soldiers who are volunteering to fight that war. The federal government should have stepped in before now. These families need to be paid yesterday. There is absolutely no excuse for this kind of incompetence. None.
5 Responses to “TNG not paid”
I agree that it’s awful that this “glitch” has caused families to experience financial worries…but it’s not the responsibility of the Federal Government to fix an accounting issue for the National Guard in Texas. Interestingly enough, members of the military are often advised to keep savings on hand to cover times when issues may occur – two members of the military from my own family have both had payroll glitches in the past that have been remedied just as soon as they possibly could have been.
Unfortunately, a variety of companies, state agencies, and Federal entities sometimes simply have issues – I can remember right after Hurricane Katrina when FEMA hired temporary workers to process cases and they missed their first paycheck due to a similar issue. I, myself, worked for a company in the past that experienced payroll issues. It sucks…but like any other computer glitch, it can sometimes simply happen. Comparing a missed payroll period or two to the cost of the war in Iraq is apples and oranges.
By the way, I’m a visitor from EntreCard…and although I’m at the opposite end of the political spectrum as you, I’m intrigued by your site and I’ll be back to visit again!
Having grown up in the military and as a veteran myself – I find that absolutely disgraceful and despicable. I sure hope to hell they fix that “glitch” real soon!
@Tiffany: Really? “Comparing a missed payroll period or two to the cost of the war in Iraq is apples and oranges.” Hmmm. I was under the impression that our armed forces were voluntary and that they were being paid for their services (honorable though they may be, they are still paid). How is it apples and oranges to compare the cost of the war to the fact that some of the soldiers fighting that war are not receiving their paychecks?
And why isn’t it the responsibility of the federal government to bail out the TNG? It’s their responsibility, it seems, to bail out everybody else. Is it really that unreasonable to expect that they might want to help out our soldiers and their families? Come on, Tiffany, work with me here.
Tiffany really…what planet are you living on. Most families are living paycheck to paycheck as it is. Where are they going to get the “savings” you think they should have for emergencies. What the military…both state and federal are doing to our soldiers is a national disgrace. I speak as a veteran and one who works for veterans every day.
Tiffany,
When military personnel, whether regular army, navy, etc., or reserves or National Guard CALLED INTO FEDERAL SERVICE have their familys’ very lives jeopardized because of a payroll glitch, it is INDEED the federal government’s problem to help resolve.
Apples and oranges?? In amount only. Our military serve the entire country, not just the state they live in. Maybe YOU can live without a paycheck for a week or two, but I doubt that’s really a problem for you…..