Administration wants to penalize hiring of military retirees

The Military Officers Association of America explains how the Obama administration intends to penalize businesses who hire military retirees.

We’ve seen a lot of counterproductive ideas over the years. But few have been so half-baked as the proposal by the president’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to make civilian employers reimburse the Pentagon for health care costs incurred by their retired military employees who use TRICARE. ...

That’s about as perverse a system as I can imagine. First, make servicemembers endure 10 years of the worst wartime sacrifices in generations. Then reward their sacrifices by purposely impeding their chances for post-service employment in the worst job market in decades.

It’s in vogue in the new Congress to rail against “job-killing” programs. If you want to kill post-service job opportunities for military retirees — and deter good people from serving military careers to boot — could there be a more creative way than making civilian employers pay a stiff annual fine for every military retiree they hire?

More at the link.