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He lives 4 houses down from me.
He couldn't get a job because he grew up in a depressed area, and the Navy was his opportunity to get out of his hometown and establish a career. He married and used living expense money off-base, still hits the commissary (subsidized) and exchange (just tax free) to buy stuff for friends and family. I think one of his kids used his GI Bill for education. I believe he said he is on 50% pension and now works for a government-funded defense contractor. I'm not sure what their health care coverage is. He even got his kid a job at the navy yard. He gets $250 off on his property taxes. Never served a day of combat.
He is a typical Libertarian--the guy who plugs himself into every available program, and views everything he taps into a justified, while viewing programs he can't tap into some form of tax that he's paying others to enjoy. He goes around and calls everyone who works in government a socialist. He kept his mouth shut when his three kids were in school and now that the last graduated high school several years ago, he's calling for reducing education funding, teacher salaries and staff levels, like they weren't already cut to the bone already. He's calling for township workers to be fired, because they aren't essential. His police officer neighbor, who is also a bagger is going the same thing. He cries that he's paying too much in taxes for the township workers.
I mentioned several times to both that they are the socialist takers that they keep complaining about and hate, and that really sets them off because they both have a litany of excuses as to why their income streams and history of living on taxpayer-funded salaries are warranted, and how everyone else working in government aren't.
I have no problem with military careers and other workers, and while shorter stints are common, you need the older career people to actually run the show. My immediate neighbor is ex-defense contractor who entered from the civilian route (never in the military). He is a mild Trumper (as in we never really had it out because he's not an overt asshole) and did quite well with his government contract gigs and has a similar view as the guys down the street. That guy was pushing that anti-vax bullshit while at the same time ferociously trying to get the vaccine for both his wife and he. They were calling every day and crashed the vaccine lines a couple of times until someone admitted them. Then they were boasting that they got the vaccine to me, while still telling others it was a hoax, but they did it because they were in their 70s and just wanted to be sure.
I have a problem with people who justify their taxpayer-funded jobs while decrying others and especially those who are actively trying to eliminate other people's jobs.
I don't get how they view their jobs and value different from everyone else and have such animus against others.
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