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The don't ask/don't tell thing has got me thinking..... the military doesn't have to abide by alot of US laws that are in effect for employment.
For instance, minimum wage. That's a federal law and the military is exempt. (this is not to debate this....just an example) Another is disabled and overweight people don't have to be 'hired'.
So why can't the military be exempt from ...what do they call it? Discrimination of sexual orientation?
Is this why they are saying Congress should determine the outcome of don't ask/don't tell and not a court?
I am so very confused as to why you would think ANYONE in the military made less than minimum wage?
I am so very confused as to why you would think ANYONE in the military made less than minimum wage?
you can make stats say anything u want. I've seen somebody break down the monthly by 168 hours (24/7) to make it look like you make pennies inthe service.
Assuming that Congress IS the best venue, it would be because ultimately Congress is the one who sets up the laws for the military. The SC would come into play under "unconstitutional" grounds. But as you point out, the military is a very special case in a lot of way, so it is not so simple.......
Joey, thanks. I'm no expert at writing but you actually read the question and answered it.
"provide for the common defense" Didn't think about that earlier. So I guess some are saying civillian courts should not interfere with rules within the military.
you can make stats say anything u want. I've seen somebody break down the monthly by 168 hours (24/7) to make it look like you make pennies inthe service.
Yes you sure can...but can go both ways..........
I beleive my last pay check in the Army was about $5000....
Divide that by 720 hours in month (because yuo are on call 24/7) and you get $6.94 a hours 24/7
Turn that around and do a standard 160 hours month my pay would be $31.25 an hour.
A friend of mine ( married with kids) got swayed by a " flashy ad" to work on a farm.
Housing was provided and a regular monthly check.
Sounded good, sounded like the military
On his 31st day of working 16-20 hours a day with not a day off, he told the boss to " shove it " as he felt the wages didn't cover the hours he worked.
Imagine if he tried that in the military !
What he did was perfectly legal in civilian life. illegal in military life.
He didn't get thrown in jail or in the farmer's brig
A friend of mine ( married with kids) got swayed by a " flashy ad" to work on a farm.
Housing was provided and a regular monthly check.
Sounded good, sounded like the military
On his 31st day of working 16-20 hours a day with not a day off, he told the boss to " shove it " as he felt the wages didn't cover the hours he worked.
Imagine if he tried that in the military !
What he did was perfectly legal in civilian life. illegal in military life.
He didn't get thrown in jail or in the farmer's brig
Did he sign a contract, swearing to work on the farm for 4 years? Did he take a vow while raising his right hand before starting on the farm? If he got injured on the farm during his first hour of work, would the farm have given him a paycheck for life, in addition to medical care? Would the farm owner have given him the same pay if he'd gotten the flu his second week and couldn't work at all that week? Was he given 30 days of paid vacation a year?
Last edited by sskkc; 10-22-2010 at 07:48 AM..
Reason: missed the part where the fictious friend was already married
I beleive my last pay check in the Army was about $5000....
Divide that by 720 hours in month (because yuo are on call 24/7) and you get $6.94 a hours 24/7
Turn that around and do a standard 160 hours month my pay would be $31.25 an hour.
So not pennies, but close..........
But seriously you guys... you don't actually work 24/7. Let's be real about this. That is just ridiculous. No one works 24/7. Yes, you can be called in...it's like being a salaried restaurant manager being called in if the stove dies or something. No one actually works those kind of hours.
In reality, you worked, what, 50 hours a week? That included lunch breaks, so really 45? Let's say you worked 60 hours, for the sake of argument. There are just over 4 weeks in a month, like 4 weeks and 2 days. So we'll say that in a month you actually worked 60x4 plus and extra 10 hours for the random extra days. That is $20 and hour for $5000 a month.
But alas, you said your pay check was $5000, you got paid twice a month, right? Or is that your full monthly pay? If that's was the actual check, you were making $40 an hour. But, that's after taxes. Before taxes, you were making even more.
An E-1 in the Air Force makes $1447 a month, that's the lowest you can get paid, and you get many raises very quickly. Now, everyone also gets BAS which is a non-taxable $323 a month. They also either get free housing or BAH of, usually, $1000-$2000 a month depending on factors such as zip code. Even making the minimum of $1447+323= at 45 hours a week, that is over $9 an hour. Keep in mind that doesn't factor in the 30 days of vacation a year, yearly uniform allowances ($500+ extra dollars), or other allowances that can be had, and it is not including housing allowance... that bumps people up a lot. And we'll all be getting a raise of at the beginning of the year as well.
Did he sign a contract, swearing to work on the farm for 4 years? Did he take a vow while raising his right hand before starting on the farm? If he got injured on the farm during his first hour of work, would the farm have given him a paycheck for life, in addition to medical care? Would the farm owner have given him the same pay if he'd gotten the flu his second week and couldn't work at all that week? Was he given 30 days of paid vacation a year?
---did he sign a contract, swearing to work on the farm for 4 years ?-
Your question just proved my point.
Any contract like that ( which the military has) would be illegal and non -binding/unenforceable in civilian life.
Yeah, actually since nearly all of us have been on both sides of the fence, we in fact know first-hand.
And I'm not sure if you're driving at a point or not -if so, what is it? That military and civilian life/careers differ in many ways? Well duh. I don't think anyone questions that.
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