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President Biden’s budget has pencilled in a 5.2% pay increase for the military. This would be the largest pay raise in over 20 years for the military. This pay raise is on top of a military budget that is close to $850 billion for 2024, which is another $25 billion more than Congress authorized for this year.
President Biden’s budget has pencilled in a 5.2% pay increase for the military.
More money more money. It’s free, right?
Quote:
The 5.2% raise proposed by Biden is the rate consistent with the index. It would be the largest raise since a 6.9% increase in 2002. By comparison, this year's raise, which was the largest in a decade, was 4.6%.
But critics have argued the Employment Cost Index lags behind inflation, which has slowed in recent months to about 6% but hit a peak of 9% over the summer.
That, as well as what critics say are out-of-date calculations for benefits such as the Basic Allowance for Housing, has led troops to struggle in recent years to afford food, housing and other necessities.
So you have an issue with a pay raise that just keeps up with the cost Employment Cost Index and may not even match the real cost of living increases?
... 37 USC 1009 provides a permanent formula for an automatic annual military pay raise that indexes the raise to the annual increase in the Employment Cost Index (ECI). The fiscal year 2010 president's budget request for a 2.9% military pay raise was consistent with this formula. However, Congress, in fiscal years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009 approved the pay raise as the ECI increase plus 0.5%. The 2007 pay raise was equal to the ECI.
They continue printing more money, which floods our economy pushing down the value of the dollar, therefore we see inflation. With such inflation, there is a desire to increase wages.
They continue printing more money, which floods our economy pushing down the value of the dollar, therefore we see inflation. With such inflation, there is a desire to increase wages.
Pay and benefits is about 25% of the military budget. The DOD budget is about 3.6% of the GDP, which is on the very low end of what it has been historically. If you are looking at what's driving inflation, military pay should not be anywhere near anyone's list. So any talk of trying to drive down inflation by not paying servicemembers an equitable and survivable pay is asinine.
And that doesn't reflect the value of free room and board, medical care, work clothes/supplies and lack of commuting expenses.
Some military bases have sufficient barracks to house all their troops. Most bases where I was stationed only had enough barracks and off-base housing to support a small fraction of personnel. So they paid us an extra allowance for us to seek our own housing [for most of my career it was called BAQ and VHA, though its name was later changed to BAH]. That allowance amount varied a great deal from one region to any other region, it was difficult to say exactly how much any given servicemember would be paid to house themselves, as it was a different amount in each region.
'Work clothes', I was 'issued' a set of uniforms at Basic training, and the cost of those uniforms was deducted from my first paycheck. In my unique career, I had to go through Basic Training twice. Both times I was 'issued' uniforms, and both times I paid for those uniforms out of my paycheck. I was given a receipt for them and it was documented on my LES. A copy of those receipts was stored in my personnel record and given back to me when I retired many years later. I paid for every uniform that I have ever worn.
At one of my re-enlistment ceremonies, I qualified to begin wearing gold embroidered stripes on my dress uniform. As we were preparing for that ceremony, I asked my Master Cheif if you would present me with those gold stripes. He agreed so long as I went out and bought them first. There was no budget for him to buy them.
Some military bases have sufficient barracks to house all their troops. Most bases where I was stationed only had enough barracks and off-base housing to support a small fraction of personnel. So they paid us an extra allowance for us to seek our own housing [for most of my career it was called BAQ and VHA, though its name was later changed to BAH]. That allowance amount varied a great deal from one region to any other region, it was difficult to say exactly how much any given servicemember would be paid to house themselves, as it was a different amount in each region.
'Work clothes', I was 'issued' a set of uniforms at Basic training, and the cost of those uniforms was deducted from my first paycheck. In my unique career, I had to go through Basic Training twice. Both times I was 'issued' uniforms, and both times I paid for those uniforms out of my paycheck. I was given a receipt for them and it was documented on my LES. A copy of those receipts was stored in my personnel record and given back to me when I retired many years later. I paid for every uniform that I have ever worn.
At one of my re-enlistment ceremonies, I qualified to begin wearing gold embroidered stripes on my dress uniform. As we were preparing for that ceremony, I asked my Master Cheif if you would present me with those gold stripes. He agreed so long as I went out and bought them first. There was no budget for him to buy them.
yep - they took out the value of the first set of uniforms out of your first paycheck.
I got lucky after that. I only ever had to buy service dress items. Utility uniforms - after being in service for 6 months, I was assigned to a tactical missile unit. They gave us all our uniforms. If you tore it, just went to supply and it was replaced - boots too.
Then I came back to my original unit. It was on a separate part of the base where all the supply warehouses were located. One building was clearing out and they had tons of new BDUs - they told us - come on over and take what you want. And then when I deployed - again all uniforms were provided.
Wow, more money to be taxed, what a great pay raise.
When I was serving, those pay raises didn't do a damn thing. It was the untaxed BAH, BAS, COLA, etc. that were great.
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