Veterans Day will be celebrated this Friday, but it’s not too early for a grateful nation, state and region to begin contemplating now the holiday intended to honor the millions of men and women who have honorably worn our nation’s military uniforms.
It goes without saying that we should take time Nov. 11, and any day we get the opportunity really, to show gratitude toward veterans, 774,000 of whom call Georgia home. At a minimum, we owe them that.
And we shouldn’t stop there. Our veterans deserve more-tangible assistance, even as our country continues to endure trying economic times. This is especially important given President Barack Obama’s announcement that U.S. military involvement in Iraq will end this year. That means many American military personnel will hopefully be returning home in coming months to a well-deserved welcome.
As service members hang up their uniforms, they will confront an unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan-era veterans that’s significantly higher than the overall rate. The Air Force Times reported that the jobless rate for Iraq and Afghanistan vets last July was 12.4 percent, or 36 percent higher than the national rate of 9.1 percent. Overall unemployment for all veterans in July was 8.6 percent, which likely speaks to this group’s overall suitability and desirability as employees.
President Obama has offered ideas for tax breaks and even “reverse boot camp” programs to boost employment for veterans and help ease their transition back into civilian life. Those concepts are still working their way through Washington’s bureaucracy.
Another worthwhile goal for the capital Beltway crowd is to ensure adequate funding for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs programs in coming years, even as the nation grapples with long-term deficits. Ditto for the Georgia General Assembly in their budgeting for the state Department of Veterans Service.
Those are crucial, big-picture, longer-term policy decisions. In the short run though, at the Main Street level, it behooves anyone posting a “help wanted” sign to give every possible consideration to qualified veterans who are mustering out of the service and taking their place in lines at job fairs. They deserve at least that much, and we should each do what we can to rapidly lower the higher jobless rate for Iraq and Afghanistan vets.
Providing them the opportunity to jump into honest work will be perhaps the best honor we can pay them in this time of slow economic recovery.
Andre Jackson, for the Editorial Board
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