Congress

OK. I will agree with you. I didn't realize that veterans benefits were NOT
bundled into the defense budget. (That's a rather cynical situation in itself.)

So, I will modify my proposal as follows - Cut a sizable chunk from the defense budget (e.g. 5 - 10% of the proposed
57% of discretionary spending, i.e. 2.8% to 5.7% of the total proposed budget) and transfer all of it to veteran's benefits.
That would increase veteran's benefits by 1.5X to 2X.

I'm guessing that you might still wish to cut more. Be careful.

Despite constituting massive waste, excessive defense expenditures do serve some useful
purposes.

A good fraction goes into working peoples wages which are then recycled into the economy with a multiplier
effect. Sudden, massive decreases in defense spending would be a disaster for the economy
and for jobs.

Admittedly, some of the wasted money goes into corporate dividends, corporate treasuries and excessive executive compensation. That is where additional taxation should be applied, to return that money to needy veterans.

I also believe in following Teddy's maxim "Speak softly and carry a big stick." I would go further to say -

"Speak softly but directly, carry a VERY big stick but use it only as a last resort. Avoid useless, painful
and profitless bloodshed at all costs. The bigger the stick, the less it has to be used"

What does unhappycamper say to that?