That's a quote from this week's Parade magazine that may be,depending on your paper, on your doorstep in the morning if not delivered early on Saturday like mine is. The title of the article is "Red, White, and Scammed," and it focuses on one person, Diann Traina who was ripped off by an unscrupulous car dealer outside her base in Fayetteville, N.C. You've seen them. These are the low class car dealers that have the big signs that say "No Credit, Bad Credit, No Problem." The article goes on to talk about the insurance, rent, pawn shop and check cashing outlets that prey on military personnel. It has become such a pervasive problem that the The D.O.D. have labeled it a threat to national security.
The truth is the average person in the service is about 19 or 20 years old. I didn't know a whole lot at that age, and if I hadn't had my dad or mom around to take with me on a major purchase, I could have easily been ripped off. That's seems to be what is happening. These young adults haven't yet gained enough experience in some instances to understand that they may be ripped off. It has become such a large problem that the Navy has their lawyers involved going after enterprises and individuals who are ripping off servicemen and women. The Georgia Insurance commissioner is going after unscrupulous insurance agents to the point that insurance companies have paid $70,000,000 in refunds to service persons.
I could go on but I'll just say this; General Petraeus typed "military loans" into Google and got 2.5 million results. The military now requires new recruits to take a personal finance class as a part of basic training. Legal services are now offered to military personnel, and they are encouraged to use these services before they sign anything. The full article.
Tom, I think that financial literacy is so important for young people - the elderly, too. But somehow, taking advantage of our service men and women is unforgivable.
Tom...if your Parade Mag is the same one we get, then tomorrow will see this installment on our sidewalk--we consider on the sidewalk near to the doorstep as a good thing. Will read this with interest and I thank you for the 'heads-up'. It totally sickens me as to the treatment that is dished out to our Military persons.
This type of treatment will prevail as long as the higher-ups seem to not care about what is happening. It is good to read that DOD is getting-on without waiting to receive directives from on high. There are scam & scum artists out there ready to take advantage of anyone.
Barb & Sal
The ability to follow orders is double-edged. Many people in the military have this precept, and obey. That's what they're taught, and the higher ups want obedience. Think I'm kidding, attend basic training. Then, when the young recruits are in the marketplace, and have a person in "authority" (ie. the sales person) who has something the recuites (think)s they want and/or need, they don't think for themselves. They just want to continue following orders, and the scum/scam have no problem pointing out the dotted line and instructing them "Sign here." We give up a lot of our mental aquity by allowing others to think for us. And the military, which has a foundation of giving orders, shows how their recuits don't think for themselves in day-to-day situations. There's a disconnect.