Supporting the troops?

John McCain is opposing a post-9/11 update to the G.I. Bill. The L.A. Times reports:

The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act, sponsored by Sens. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), will restore the promise of a cost-free education to those who serve in the military. The original GI Bill transformed American history, providing education for returning soldiers. The GI Bill not only recognized our nation's moral duty for the enormous sacrifices of our World War II veterans, but it helped create America's middle class and spurred decades of economic growth for our country. Economists estimate that the original bill returned anywhere between $5 and $13 for every dollar we spent on it. But the original GI Bill has become woefully outdated, to the point where the average benefit doesn't even cover half the cost of an in-state student's education at a public college.

The Post-9/11 Veterans Act, which has an estimated cost between $2.5 billion and $4 billion, is common-sense legislation. With 53 cosponsors, including nine Republicans, the three other Vietnam War veterans in the Senate and former Secretary of the Navy John Warner, the bill simply updates what the late historian Stephen Ambrose called "the best piece of legislation ever passed by the U.S. Congress." Yet, faced with unprecedented filibusters, it needs 60 cosponsors. As de facto leader of the party, McCain could signal to other Republicans to sign on to the bill and assure passage.

Instead, McCain has said he hasn't had time to read the bill and isn't sure if he could support it. It's hard to believe that neither he nor anyone on his staff has had time to read such an important bill, which has been around since before he started running for president. But, even if true, McCain must do the right thing now.

To put this into perspective: $4 billion, the upper-estimate cost of the bill, is about what the U.S. spends in Iraq every week. McCain has no problem pouring that money into the war, but when it comes to "supporting the troops" in a very real way, and in a way that has a historical precedent of being enormously beneficial to the whole society, he doesn't have time to read the bill.

Then there's the punchline:

The White House has voiced concern on the bill, arguing that if returning troops are offered a good education, they will choose college over extending their service.

The all-volunteer military, in other words, is not a good way for patriotic Americans to get a jump up the social ladder. It's a way to maintain a perpetual underclass, to ensure the military always has a big enough pool of destitute patriots to recruit from. So much better than a draft.