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Educating America's Newest Greatest Generation |
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From PR Newswire: It would provide our troops a new GI Bill that is more representative of today's cost of education in our nation's colleges and universities. The current Montgomery GI Bill accounts for only 50 percent of the average cost of college today, and the benefit for Guard and Reserve members is drastically less. World War II was still raging on all fronts, but Roosevelt knew that all wars end, and that our nation of 133 million could not absorb 16 million demobilized servicemen and women back into a fragile civilian economy that was still reeling from the effects of the Great Depression. The World War II GI Bill is widely regarded as one of the most significant pieces of legislation of the 20th century. It helped 8 million veterans who took advantage of the educational benefit to attend college - regardless of their socio-economic backgrounds - and they became the scientists, scholars, politicians and captains of industry who enabled our nation to flourish in the latter half of the century. The government also reaped a 7:1 return on investment in the form of higher taxes paid on the higher wages earned from the higher education. We say when a nation commits its forces to war, it is the inherent responsibility of government to take care of the veterans it creates with educational assistance, healthcare services, and compensation, pension and benefits programs. A responsible, educated, military veteran reentering society is a win-win for America. As we mark five years of war in Iraq and approach seven in Afghanistan, those in positions of authority would do well to remember those words.
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