Veterans should not get free beach tags (Opinion)

Enough of the nonsense and potentially damaging ideas to give away more free stuff. It is an insult to those who have served our nation to have politicians in Trenton ignore real issues of homeless and jobless vets hiding behind the pandering of free beach tags.

First of all, local towns make millions in revenue from beach tags. This money enables the town to protect and clean the beach and create an opportunity for local businesses to thrive.  The money spent by visitors on beach tags offset the need for additional taxes on locals.

The proposed legislation would allow for veterans who served at least 90 days active duty to qualify. That means anyone who served in the reserves, whether they saw combat or were ever deployed, qualify. The bill also allows teens to go to the beach for free.  Why? Shouldn’t we charge teens more? Aren’t teens more likely to litter and disregard the rules?

Speaking for myself, I’d qualify under these rules. Why should I get to bypass the beach cost and let someone else pick up the tab? I can afford the $8 - $12 fee thank you. So can most vets. As a matter of fact if there’s a veteran who can’t afford the beach tag, then they need more than a free beach visit to get back on their feet.

How about employment opportunity? How about job training? How about we stop paying for illegal aliens to go to college for free and support our veterans? This is another attempt from soulless, craven politicians to use the emotion toward veterans to pass a ridiculous bill, which will hurt local towns by further depriving them of critical revenue.

Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015. Tweet him @NJ1015 or @BillSpadea. The opinions expressed here are solely those of Bill Spadea.

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