The United States government maintains a dual benefit system. The one which serves the general population has been the subject of heated debate. The other, designed exclusively for the veteran population, began in colonial times as an effort to compensate soldiers injured in serving their country. Over the years, programs in aid of veterans have evolved into a comprehensive benefit system, supported by an annual $12 billion federal outlay. Its functions range from helping young veterans find jobs to paying burial expenses.

Few Americans are aware of the extensive scope of veterans' programs or of the striking differences in standards between the veterans welfare system and that for non-veterans. In the first comprehensive study of America's "other" benefit system, the authors describe how veterans' programs evolved, what they now entail, and the prospects for their continuance. They examine in detail income suport, medical care, and education and training programs for former servicemen.

The authors outline distinctions made between the war-disabled veteran, who is entitled to income support and health care for the rest of his life, and other veterans whose eligibility for such assistance is based on need. In all cases, they find, need is liberally interpreted; and veterans' benefits are consistently more generous than those offered under the general welfare system. Thanks to veterans' income support programs, poverty has been largely alleviated among the incapacitated and aged veteran population. Millions of former servicemen owe their college education or job training to government programs; and many others have become homeowners through subsidized VA mortgages.

The Veterans Administration's mission enjoys the support of Congress, veterans groups, and the general population, and the VA has racked up a laudable record in accomplishing that mission. Not only has it been unusually sensitive to the needs of its clientele, but in contrast to the common welfare concept of delivering the least aid sufficient to sustain, its philosophy has been more that of providing the most generous help short of waste. The authors conclude that, at a time when poverty programs are being abandoned or restructured, the nation might well look to the veterans welfare system for alternative approaches. In addition, with the end of the Vietnam war and the conversion of the armed forces to an all-volunteer basis, we will need to reconsider the justification for maintaining two separate welfare systems.