The Economy’s Effect On The Transitioning Warrior

by Ed Mattson

Earlier this year I wrote a series of articles regarding the challenges of our military transitioning from Warrior to stateside duty and then back to civilian life. As I stated then and still believe now, that the process is made even more difficult because of the high unemployment and under-employment in today’s marketplace.

I have also written extensively about the loss of our manufacturing base which used to employ 1 out of every two workers five decades ago, but we’ve seen those jobs shipped overseas because of the US insistence on having the highest corporate tax rate in the world. Now before everyone jumps on me saying, “Corporations don’t pay taxes; they simply add those taxes to the price of goods and pass them on to the consumer”, let me remind you that may be why there is such an attraction to cheaper offshore goods from places like China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Mexico, and South America.

With only 9% of available jobs coming from manufacturing today, we are left with service sector jobs and wholesale/retail job development from the private sector which every Tom, Dick, and Harry wants to tax into oblivion because they are, in most part, in that $200,000 income bracket. With 50% of the folks not having to pay Federal Income Taxes…sure there are deductions, but then refunded following April 15… the burden for financing the government is left on the shoulders of about 10% of the households that pay 70% of the income taxes already, with the top 1% paying 40% of the total tax bill. When I say 50% don’t pay federal income tax, I am not saying they pay no federal taxes because they do “contribute“:

• Social Security tax withholding (6.2% up to the annual maximum)
• Medicare tax withholding (1.45%)
• State income tax withholding
• Various local tax withholdings (such as city, county, or school district taxes, state disability or unemployment insurance).

Federal income taxes are killing our job producers and therefore hinder job creation. By the way, I am not in that upper tax bracket but feel 80% or more earn every dime they make and invested real money, long hours, and deserve to keep most for their families.

Let’s face it. A country $15,000,000,000,000 in debt and going deeper (go ahead, count the zeros), is almost helpless to do much about it from the government point of view. In case you didn’t stop to figure it out, $15 trillion boils down to about $50,000 in debt for every man, women and child in American.

I contend class warfare is a carefully devised plan by those in Washington to deflect the blame for the runaway spending when they are clearly to blame. We are not very bright if we fall for the trick, but then again, my argument will probably fall on deaf ears. So I say go ahead…kill the goose that lays the golden egg; kill off the entrepreneur and all we’ll have left is government…mmmm, sounds like the old Soviet Union.

If you confiscate ALL THE WEATH AND PROPERTY of all those in the top 1%…you’ll raise about $985 Billion dollars. That’s it…It doesn’t even dent the National Debt at $15 trillion. So let’s  soak ALL THE RICH; take all the money and property of all those making over about $115,000 per year and what does that get you? Just about $3.4 trillion! We aren’t even getting close, yet we will have taken everything from all those these earners which those with class envy seem to hate, and we are still $11.5 billion behind the Eight Ball!

Does any of this hit home yet? Are we still going to put these political bimbos back in office? Is this not the biggest Flim Flam you have ever seen?  Don’t fall for the class warfare scam!

So with all the class envy crap out to the way, we have to figure out how to help the transitioning warriors cross the bridge from the military to civilian life, help them work through their PTSD demons; restore their sense of intimacy with their families; reestablish communication with the civilized world; and find meaningful employment… tall order under any circumstance but even more difficult today.

I received a copy of a letter written by an Air Force Colonel, we’ll call him “Col. Ed”. He retired after 22 years of military service and his letter deals with the challenges he is experiencing in making the transition to civilian. Col. Ed’s story is like a thousand other’s who have left the service and are finding the way more difficult to understand. It is not a simple arena in which to compete.

Col. Ed is finding, “unlike the brotherhood and sense of being part of something bigger than the individual (Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine), civilians have no honor, no sense of pride in what they do, and no trust in the guy next to you. In the military, you could always count on someone having your back, whether in a stinking foxhole in the mud, or fighting the fire aboard the USS Forrestal, that other guy, team mate, or crewmember was there for you, even if he didn’t know your name. In civilian life, it is every man (or woman) for himself, and the orders of the day are CYA. It is always “work for the bottom line” not for the good of the unit or team.”

He has found, like many others, there is a lack of leadership in the civilian world and I’ll add, a lack of personal responsibility, pride, honor, and in many cases, integrity. Now there’s an interesting word, “integrity”. It means doing the right thing when no one is around and nobody would know the difference. This is not to say that the military is perfect. Most of us know that is far from the truth, but the military teaches discipline and order. In other words, no matter the situation, there is leadership and chain of command not present in the civilian world.

Col. Ed is finding that he has to rely on veterans in his place of work to band together to get the job done faster and more efficiently, than would be possible under “civilian management”. This has to be frustrating and often puts him at odds with his civilian bosses, making transitional life even more difficult. In civilian life he can no longer order something to be done. He is finding out what nearly 44% of those who have left the military are finding according to the recent PEW Research Study on Transitioning. The re-orienting process is not easy. With there being less opportunity for meaningful employment and far fewer good jobs it just isn’t possible to pick up stakes and move to another job which provides more order and discipline.

With the troops now coming home, many more will find themselves in Col Ed’s shoes. Those who were Guardsmen and Reservists activated for The War of Terror, will find the transition easier to make if their employer kept their position open. Their biggest hurdle will be restoring their family intimacy and that they will get the kind of counseling that is available through many Veterans’ agencies and not just immerse themselves back into their jobs and let the family go to hell in the process.

For those who will be exiting the military following their enlistment, the process will be far more challenging. This is why mandatory counseling on military bases is becoming more common, and job placement so important. Fortunately, many red-blooded companies are committed to giving Veteran preferences in hiring. These are companies which understand that the transition process is not an easy one for many warriors, but know it is the right thing to do. The warrior has to be up to the challenge and be willing to adjust to an often seeming lack of corporate discipline. Many companies are finding warriors with leadership skills can be a great asset to the corporate management team. It is just going to take some time.

Ed Mattson

Following his service in the Marine Corps Ed Mattson built a diverse career in business in both sales/marketing and management. He is a medical research specialist and published author. His latest book is Down on Main Street: Searching for American Exceptionalism

Ed is currently Development Director of the National Guard Bureau of International Affairs-State Partnership Program, Fundraising Coordinator for the Warrior2Citizen Project, and Managing Partner of Center-Point Consultants in North Carolina.

Mr. Mattson is a noted speaker and has addressed more than 3000 audiences in 42 states and 5 foreign countries. He has been awarded the Order of the Sword by American Cancer Society, is a Rotarian Paul Harris Fellow and appeared on more than 15 radio and television talk-shows.