G.I. Bill a smarter way to repay troops

George Appleton, Las Vegas

Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.

As a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War, I agree wholeheartedly with the conclusion of a Las Vegas Sun editorial in Thursday’s paper, “Go Army, go cash.”

A bonus of $40,000 for five years of Army service (with qualifications on how it can be used) is no match for the G.I. Bill that fully paid for our college educations, for two reasons:

The first is that it won’t pay for much, and, if used for a home down payment or business startup, it encumbers the veteran with a balance he or she may not be able to repay, adding to the foreclosure/bankruptcy problem we already have.

The second is that by the time I got my bachelor’s degree, in 1957 (after a hiatus of several years for marriage and a son), the government’s outlay to send us to college had already been repaid in higher income taxes from those who found higher-paying jobs thanks to their education.

So instead of a taxpayer outlay of many times $40,000, there was a taxpayer savings on all those veterans (and later me) who paid taxes on incomes higher than we’d have had without a college degree.