From the LA Times

Sen. John McCain has long said he is in robust health and is strong enough to hike the Grand Canyon, but he also is receiving what his staff Monday termed a "disability pension" from the Navy.

When McCain released his tax return for 2007 on Friday, he separately disclosed that he received a pension of $58,358 that was not listed as income on his return.

On Monday, McCain's staff identified the retirement benefit as a "disability pension" and said that McCain "was retired as disabled because of his limited body movements due to injuries as a POW."

McCain campaign strategist Mark Salter said Monday night that McCain was technically disabled. "Tortured for his country -- that is how he acquired his disability," Salter said.

Certain types of military and veterans pensions are either partially or completely tax-exempt, depending on the seriousness of the disability. In McCain's case, the exemption is 100%.

If McCain had to pay taxes on the full amount of the pension, it would have increased his tax bill by about $18,000 based on the percentage of his income he paid to the federal government.

McCain spent 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi. After he was released in 1973, he returned home on crutches and began a painful physical rehabilitation. He later regained flight status and commanded a Navy squadron before retiring from the service in 1981.

McCain would be the oldest man to enter the White House if he is elected president, and questions have been raised about his health.

McCain has twice developed melanoma, a potentially deadly form of skin cancer.

The fact that he is legally designated with a disability pension may raise further questions.

"It is a legitimate question to ask about the commander in chief: Is he fit to serve," said Robert Schriebman, a senior Pentagon tax advisor and tax attorney who recently retired as a judge advocate for a unit of the California National Guard.

If McCain can hike across the Grand Canyon, then why should he be getting disability payments from the government that are tax-exempt, Schriebman asked.

McCain shattered his knee and broke both arms when he was shot down over North Vietnam in 1967.

In his autobiographies, McCain said that his knee still bothered him in cold weather and that he was unable to raise his hands above his shoulders.

Elmo Baker, a retired colonel and president of a Vietnam War POW group, said many former POWs were receiving some type of military pension that was partly or fully tax-free.

Baker said he was receiving payments that were 70% tax-free, but that he "didn't have as many injuries as McCain did."

Many of the Vietnam POWs are receiving payment under a program known as "combat-related special compensation," which provides benefits and tax exemptions under a complex system, based on such factors as the type of injury and the years of service.

Paul Galanti, another former POW in the group, said that while McCain's injuries were serious enough to qualify him for disability, it would not affect his performance as president.

"I don't know of any physical requirements to be commander in chief," Galanti said. "He would have a nice car to drive around in and a nice airplane to fly in."

very interesting and need time to digest this

Waht is to digest . he sustained those injuries in service to the united states. You guys here want to give everyone a disability regardless if they had more than a feeling of being scared which everyone who served was .
McCain was certainly scared when those missiles hit the plane he was in scared when he hit the ground breaking both his arms scared when he was tortured.
Frankin Roosevelt couldnt walk and he was a hell of a CIC. He censored the news reports coming from the battlefields for security reasons.

I don't know if should or shouldn't matter, I am 100% disabled for various disabilites. If Senator McCain was tortured as a POW he earned the pension like any other POW. His comment about being able to hike the grand canyon could be just a show of bravoidsim to reassure people he can run the country.

I have no problem with it.

McCain was RATED by the VA for his "Service Connected Disabilities", these are called Earned Benefits. All POWs are awarded some type of percentage for the Stress that they had to endure while they were captured from 20% to 100% depends on how severe the VA rates it.

If any physical injuries are found the VA rates that also. If all the injuries add up to 100% "by the VAs math" they are rated at the 100% level. Just because a veteran is 100% does not mean he can NOT get a job and work.

There are Two Categories in the VA rating System. One is called "Scheduler" the other is "Unemployable". If you are rated Scheduler that means that all your injuries add up to 100% but you can still work. If your rated "Unemployable" that means just that, "Unemployable" you CANNOT work under that rating and you are Compensated at the 100% level.

John McCain is rated "Scheduler" so he can work, just like thousands of other Veterans that are Scheduler.

NOW WHAT I DO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH:

Just a couple months ago Duane was Spouting off as if a 100% rated Veteran should probably be on life support.

All of a sudden one of his own is drawing compensation and a large part of that Compensation is from PTSD and its OK.

But still trivializes the causes of PTSD to just being scared.

I say again, you don't just walk into the VA and tell them that you have PTSD and got scared once, then walk out with a Pocket full of money. It don't work that way. PTSD Compensation isn't the Slam Dunk Free money that Duane seems to think it is. I think that anyone that has been threw the system knows how hard it is.

Duane has stated that he has never been to the VA and that in itself explains his Total Ignorance and Irresponsible Comments.

Or maybe he thinks that the only Veterans that deserve VA Compensation are REPUBLICANS.

I have trouble with the idea of John McCain for President!!!!!!!

Could care less about his income, it is his thoughts and ideas that change so rapidly to fit the situation, etc. etc. that bothers me!!


Joy

One last thing:
Combat-Related Special Compensation or CRSC. Its not just for POWs.

If a Vet is retired 20 years and has service connected disabilities CRSC means he can Draw both the VA Compensation and his retirement.

Medically retired (Less than 20 years) Vets. with a 30% to 100% disability under Chapter61, are now eligible to draw a portion of there CRSC depending upon how many years they have served.. The old law stated that if you received VA Comp your Retirement pay had to be offset.

This will explain just why so many troops Med discharged now are receiving a 20% rating from the DOD. They are cheated out of the Medical retirement benefits with less than a 30% Rating..

Robert Ryan might be more up on this than I am, I think that hes still waiting for some kind of back pay.

My comments above were just to explain a little on Veterans Benefits. I AM IN NO WAY ENDORSING McCain.

To me McCain is a George Bush Kiss A$$. After what the Bush campaign did to him in SC, McCain should have kicked GWs A$$ instead of shaking his hand!

But I won't bang his tires on his Military Service.

I have no problem with McCain receiving compensation. Health issues are fair discussion in a political campaign, but I do not see one here that would prevent him from serving. At least, if he can't raise his arms above his head, we won't be seeing that stupid Nixon victory gesture. There is a difference between being handicaped, and being sick. I would be more concerned about something like Cheney's angina.

jinxs correct, I collect Combat Related Special Pay.

I respect McCain a whole lot more then Bush has in the past. He earned his disability, only issue was they were or are calling it a pension? There is a difference I believe.

I think that McCain is Retired Navy.

They must be referring to his Navy Retirement in regards to Pension.

and there is a difference. Pensions are received by no or very low income Veterans that can't work. The amount is very low also.

Jinxs you can collect either your Retired Pay or CRSC you cannot received both. The Combat Realated Special pay is susppose to stop the off set of VA comp. Howver, full restoration of CRDP will not take place within another two year. And again you will have to choose which one you want. Retired Pay, Combrat Realated Disability Pay are Taxable currently CRSC is not Taxable. You may receive you VA Comp, CRSC, and SSDI now, but don't what effect the Veterans Disability Compnesantion Board will have on that. This was board appointed by the President to lessen Veterans Benefits(all though his administration denies it. Seems this administration thinks it is dealing with an uneducated citizens. It is just like this new Wounded Warrior Act is a nice title that will have an adverse affect on Veterans Benefits. This new act claims that PTSD is cureable after 10 sessions with at psycharist. A lot of us on this site need to let our elected officials know that we know what they are up to and being in office means anything to them they need to hear what the citizens of this country are saying. However, I feel most politicans will continue to persue their own agendas and not care about who they represent.

Sorry for the typos but when comes to the benefits that not only affect me but also affects my brohter and sister veterans it upsets me. Especially the Veterans who are returning home from overseas now. These kids are getting dumped on buy an uncaring administration. I truly hope who ever replaces this administartion will have enough intestinel fortitude needed to face up to what is need by the citizens of this nation and vetereans. But I don't see that happening in either party. Barrack Obama I believe has yet to speak to a Veterans group. I think Senator Clinton had she might not have gotten what she wanted out of it but at least she talked to vets. We know Senator McCain has, so I don't see very much support for the Armed Forces or Veterans from the Democratic Party just yet. However that might change soon.

The man is getting almost $60,000 per year - that is clearly not VA money. It must be some sort of retirement pay.

And to answer the original question, no it does not bother me.

John McCain is listed as spending 23 Years in the Navy.

So part of the listed money is Navy Retirement then and I think that he retired as a Captain.

I don't know if the VA Compensation is listed because keep in mind VA Comp. is non-taxable.

I thought even military retirement pay was taxable? There has to be something else involved rather than a straight retirement pension. Standard VA 100% rated disability would equal less than 30K. There is something we are missing. Could there be some type of legal non-taxable write-off on part of his retirement BECAUSE he is disabled?

Military retired pay is taxable, so is Combat realted Disablity Payments. Social Security Disablity Payments are also taxable.

Robert:

The CRSC website defines CRSC below. I know that CDRP is Taxable. Can't find where CRSC is taxable, unless they have a cap on total income and tax over a certain amount. Just wondering???


From their site:
Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) provides tax-free monthly payments to eligible retired veterans with combat-related injuries. With CRSC you can receive both your full military retirement pay and your VA disability compensation, if the injury is combat-related.

did I make another TYPO CRSC is not taxable. Sorry Jinxs.

John Mc Cains VA Disability STarus in my opinion should not have anything to do with his ability to be president. I have three !00% ratings and CRSC which are tax exempt as they should beStill DVA find me fit enough to Assist me in establishing a business under the independent living program.The only problem I may think would have an effect on john is PTSD which I feel that if he stay busy will not effect him to much. He is a good man. and if Hiliary keep being so evil and dirty toward Obama, I will vote for him if Obama do not get the nominaqtion.We can take another four years of the republicans to let the democrats know tha black people are tired of being taken for granted. The clintons were well respected by blacks untill they stared using dirty tactics. As a Scout in Berlin
I secured a East German book about our POWs and John caught hell and deserve every penny this country can give him

Sorry, Grant, but that is just plain stupid. What you are saying is "Make my man captain or we will sink the boat." And never mind that you, your kids and your grandkids are in the same boat.

I understand what you are saying, I just think that is a very poorly thought out position. Huge numbers of Democrats are voting for Obama. But you are saying "To hell with all of them." You are threatening to hurt all of them - and yourself in the process - because things may not come out the way that you want.

And you think that will teach somebody a lesson that will result in something good for you? I cannot speak for everyone, but you will not get any kind of positive reponse from me through blackmail.

No Jack B I am saying that African Americans Have had a great amount of respect and admiration for the Clintons until they started using dirty tactics and have really suffered under Bush . However the democractic have always depended on blacks to be loyal to the democractic party. and African Americans are now as always been taken for granted to vote manly democratic. Now that we now see democracy as it should be. And we are finally proud to be Americans. To have the Clintons who we trusted, interject race into this election now feel that we have been insulted enough and have been taken for granted enough that we can stand the hard times for four more years with McCain who is a moderate anyway and try to put a qualified black american upagain and then see what happens Jack B you must understand. We are use to suffering.If the Clintons were to win fairly they would have no problem getting the black vote, but with their tactics now. We will stay home or vote for McCain the way we did when he ran against Busn

Let me say this and I will be finished. Right now I have more respect for Duane than I have for the Clintons.

Grant i dont know if you are being very generous putting me above the clintons. I pretty sure you mean i would have a 0 rating and they are in the negative.

Grant, you need to dig a little deeper and interject a little more honesty into your position, bro. For the first time ever, there is a real chance that a Black man could get to be President. Having Obama in that position makes about 90 percent of black Americans feel proud and as if things that always seemed impossible are finally possible. I understand why you feel that way and cannot fault you for it.

I understand that anything that stands up and presents a threat to Obama's success becomes the enemy, and I understand that, too. But the flat truth is that for the vast majority of black people supporting Obama the fact that he is black is the driving reason behind their support. Beyond the fact that he is a Democrat, most don't know or care what his policies are. You want the man elected because for you all he is a PLU - a person like us.

So pretending that the Clintons are the ones interjecting race into this election or getting ****** off with them because they want to win, is just a way of justifying turning against them because Hillary is trying to win.

I don't fault you for turning to Obama - I am absolutely sure that if I were you, I would too. In truth, I have no problem with the idea of him being President. I like the way that the man talks, and if I knew more about what he really believes, I would be a lot more comfortable with the idea.

I also know what you mean about being taken for granted. It is a great misfortune that the very first time that a black man with a chance of winning chose to run in the same elections as the first woman with a real chance of winning. But truth is truth - if you vote for the Republicans you are not only shooting yourselves in the foot, you are shooting every democrat in America in the foot. And the only reason that Obama is winning is because he is receiving massive support from both black and white democrats.

I think it pretty unlikely that Obama will lose the nomination at this point, but if he does and if black America then votes Republican or stays home and lets the Republicans win, you better get used to the idea that you will not see another black nominee for a good many years. Democrats probably cannot elect a president without the black vote, but blacks have absolutely no chance of electing a nominee without strong white support. Those are just the simple mathematical facts, Grant.

No offence, Grant, but the Clinton's are not the only ones throwing race into the issue. Obama steered clear of it until recently, when he too brought "black and white" and his heritage into it. And we know of course the media has really brought race into it, as well as voters questioned on some tv shows who were candid about their feelings on race from all sides. I saw racist comments coming from all sides and all walks of life.

So let's be honest, race is a part of this election whether we like it or not. Should it be, hell no. But reality says that some will vote for someone because they are black and not because they are the best candidate, just like some white people will not vote for a black person because he is not white.

And you are correct, the democratic party has taken advantage of the black vote, or rather taken it for granted. But as recent as Bush's first election, there was good reason to think that blacks would vote for democrats. Things like the "Dixiecrats", the repeal flyer put out by the Farm Bureau, and the way republicans went after poor people when Clinton was prez (he just went along with it which makes him guilty too) as well as increases in prisons and decreases in school funding and after school programs had a huge impact on many blacks in our country.

Let's face it, republicans could not have shown more contempt of blacks if they had tried. Look at Pat Buchanan. We spend weeks talking about Wright, but Buchanan has been a race warrior for years. Where is the right wing uproar over things he has said hundreds of times before? And for that matter, where is the media to crusify him the same way?

Look at Duane, and some of the comments made on this board about entire races of people. Blacks and Mexicans have taken a few hits here, for what I have no idea. People allow themselves to get easily distracted. All of a sudden the right wing wants better border patrols, people start talking about taxes and illegals when we spend far more on the war each year than we do illegal immigration and welfare combined. Just like when they brought up gay marriage in the last election. All of a sudden that became the focus instead of the real issues. Misdirection.

People are unwilling to face their own fears and own up to their own problems. Better to blame someone who maybe looks different or speaks a different language. That guy over there makes less money than you, he must be illegal. He must be on welfare cuz he speaks Spanish. That black drug dealer is worse than that white one. He loves another man, let's take away his freedom to marry and love whom he chooses. Yada Yada Yada. "It's all bull****", as George Carlin would say, "and it's all bad for you".

JackB You are right in correcting me. After viewing the news the last few days I have come to realize that after all of the dirty tactics of the clintons There are many people in these Uninited states that that are living the words of Dr. King and judging Obama not by the color of his skin but by the contents of his character. So many good people from the southern States Which were at one time considered to be Jim crow states and the state of Indiana that has had a very sttrong KKK interest Have voted for Sen Obama. . But it is not because he is Black that I am suporting him. It is because while I was working in the Chicago schools. Isaw him all over Chicago working so very hard to uplift all people. We will really have a good president wen he take office next march. My anger was that the Clintons were loved and respected by Black people and would have never believed that they would have believed that they would attack Sen Obama the way that they did. But with all the dirt that has been thrown at Sen Obama , He still came through. God Is good . And so are the American People