I is for Irony

Ice Cube was right...it really is all about the dolla bills, y'all.

I had to make a phone call tonight that I never dreamed I would make...certainly not during a deployment...the one time that most military families are actually able to save some money. As I dialed our Family Readiness Group Leader's number, I thought I do not even know where to start.

We have many young Soldiers in our unit who are making E4, E5, E6 pay. I Googled it just because E4 was so long ago for Neal that I don't think he would have a clue as to what they are making now.

$23,843

I made $23,000 one year...my first year out of college. I had a one bedroom apartment on the shady side of town and budgeted fiercely in order to put food on my table and kibble in the kitties' bowls. I learned what it meant to live "paycheck to paycheck." There was no wiggle room for movies or new shoes...let alone oil changes, flat tires, or birthday gifts. I did not have children to feed and clothe or a spouse to provide for and I still struggled every single month. An unexpected expense would send me into a financial tailspin that took months, and sometimes years, to dig out of. And yet, we have E4's and E5's in our unit who are married, have children, have bills to pay...bills that now sit squarely on the shoulders of the spouse back home.

Imagine for just a moment that you are sweaty, sand-encrusted, and 7,000 miles from home. It is your first deployment to a place where nothing is as it seems and nowhere is safe. But your one and only concern is how your family is coping. Can your spouse sleep? Are your children sad? Can they keep the heat on and the fridge stocked? Oh...except that last one was not really a worry...until today. But tack it on to the list because you live paycheck to paycheck while you're chipping away at time in grade. No longer do you just worry about the emotional state of your family, now you dwell on whether their basic needs are being met. And as CPT Miller will tell you, when a Soldier is preoccupied, it often results in disaster.

But how did we get here? Mama Virgo told me tonight that yesterday's post was "impassioned." I will settle for that...let's shoot for "educational" now.

According to US Debt Clock.org, we, as the United States of America, are a little over $14 trillion in debt. I feel like I should capitalize "trillion"...like somehow it has earned that right. If you watch the debt clock for any length of time, I promise you will experience chest pain and dizziness...perhaps tingling in the extremities. It is a fact of life that to slow the whirring increase of numbers, there has to be a budget. Many active duty families are familiar with budgets as most of us live on just one income...the one from the Department of Defense. Moving every three years (or less) and effectively maintaining the household through multiple deployments can make it difficult for the spouse to work a full-time job. We, along with 100,000's of other military families sit down at the beginning of each fiscal year and determine where the money should go. There are exasperated sighs and sometimes tears but there is always an agreement. It does not take more than an evening and a bottle of wine. It certainly does not take 8 months.

Maybe what Representative John Boehner and Senator Harry Reid need is a nice cask of chianti.

Or a swift kick in the ass.

According to several sources, including Politico, Roll Call, CNN, and the Huffington Post, it's not necessarily the budget itself that can't seem to pass the senate (although, bless their hearts, they do start the meetings with dollar signs spewing from their lips)...it's the political agendas hitching a free ride. Isn't that a familiar tune? One that you could almost whistle backwards. The total reduction to federal spending has been negotiated to something in the ballpark of $35 billion. Now...where and what? Senior Republicans are fighting for a cut to discretionary domestic spending (which bears an uncanny resemblance to cutting federal funding for Planned Parenthood and introducing restrictions on EPA's regulation of greenhouse gases) while freshmen Republicans are storming Capitol Hill with their rallying cry, "We will cut spending!" Is it any wonder that our government is shutting down? There are divisions even within the parties.

So, why am I asking Vanna to buy an "i"? Because 3 penis-packing individuals have met throughout the day and night, attempting to reach a compromise on Planned Parenthood...an organization that primarily provides medical attention to women. What business do they have negotiating annual pap smears, breast exams, and prenatal care? And above all, why is that program the reason why I had to call our FRG Leader tonight and suggest we begin looking at financial aid for families?

Aside from this entire process proving to be petty, typical, and disappointing, it's ironic. If the federal government shuts down tomorrow night, some of our 352 families will get a phone call on Saturday morning and instead of discussing T-ball games and Spring Break plans with their Soldiers, they will have to discuss options for a new budget...one that will get them through until Congress, who will continue to receive full and on time paychecks, can decide on the nation's budget. It really is all about the dolla bills, y'all...until it's about Washington boobs discussing your boobs instead.

*If you have an opinion on the rider which provides federal funding for Planned Parenthood or the issue of our nation's debt, I invite you to write your Congressman or woman. I just ask that you remind him/her that riders have nothing to do with The War on Terror. Our military and their families sacrifice years of their lives for this country. As we say...all give some and some give all. Why give them some of a paycheck when we could give it all?
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**If you are a military family that will fall into financial crisis if paychecks are interrupted, check out the National Military Family Association for information on temporary financial aid.