Bush Administration Fails Self Employed Guards

[kerrygoddess]

Bush Administration Fails Self Employed Guards
August 8th, 2005

The Sunday Boston Globe has a telling piece on the toll that Guard duty has taken on the self-employed National Guard — For self-employed, Guard duty has a price.

Self-employed Guardsmen do “not enjoy the job protection that businesses are required by federal law to extend to their workers.” However, as the article points out, John Kerry has been fighting for the rights of these Guardsmen and protection for their businesses for years…

‘’There’s really not a whole lot to help somebody who’s self-employed,” said Major Rob Palmer, a Defense Department spokesman. ‘’It’s a major shortcoming of the law.”

Senator John F. Kerry, who has proposed a Military Family Bill of Rights to offer financial help to the self-employed, assailed the Bush administration for speaking publicly about the need to support the troops, but failing to enact an economic safety net for all vulnerable National Guard members and reservists.

‘’It’s a serious problem. There’s a real hidden cost of the war for these guys,” Kerry said. ‘’The bottom line is they’re getting hurt, and nobody is paying attention.”

Palmer estimates 10 percent of Army National Guard soldiers who have been deployed overseas are either self-employed or work in small businesses. According to the most recent data from the National Guard Bureau, 126,488 Army National Guard troops have served in Iraq or Afghanistan since Sept. 11, 2001. Currently, 54,444 Army National Guard soldiers are deployed in those countries.

MORE & LINKS - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=175

[Starfury]

1. Wonder who they voted for last year.... n/t

[Fridays Child]

2. Sorta shoots holes in B*sh's entrepreneur shtick.

(Do they even have a word for that in France?) :eyes:

[KT2000]

3. Ownership society!

except of course if the owner happens to be called to war - then they lose everything! But what the hell - free markets rule!!!

:mad:

[Fridays Child]

4. "I understand small business growth. I was one." GWB 2/19/2000

Yeah, we know, George. You're a tumor.

[Toots]

5. As an employer, I can no longer ever hire a Guardsman because of Bush*

It would not be in the business's best interest to do so. It used to be no big deal. A couple of weeks off every summer for advanced training and maybe an occasional Monday morning missed because they couldn't get their weekend wrapped up quick enough. But now with the constant deployment overseas and the requirements to keep their jobs available it just isn't feasible any longer. I can not risk the business in this manner. I am sure I am not alone in this sentiment either.