Reply to White House 'Strongly Opposes' Proposed 19.5% Pay Hike for Junior Enlisted Troops

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Like any issue, IMO people need to do more research.

Using the calculator on military.com, an E3 with 3 years of service in the DC area with dependents is getting $71,328 annually, including their housing allowance.

If they live on base then the housing allowance goes away but they are essentially living for free in base housing. They (and their dependents) get practically free health/dental/vision care, spouse gets hiring priority for U.S. government jobs, and childcare is ridiculously low.

That's a pretty good deal for someone who (traditionally) is in their early 20s, married and may have a kid or two. [/quote]

You are clueless.  There isn’t enough on base housing for military members serving in DC area bases.  And there isn’t enough childcare either.  Only a very small portion are able to get into the on base childcare center.  Most military members in DC have to live off base and find their own childcare. [/quote]

I'm not clueless. I also don't have DC-focused glasses on and have a much broader view.

I've got 28 years of service under my belt. Lived CONUS, OCONUS, on base and off base. It may be an issue in DC but not everywhere else.  Fixing housing allowances is a better option than a 19+% across the board pay hike.

IMO, part of the problem is young enlisted troops get married and start popping out kids one after another, or they get married to someone who already has a couple of kids and wants to be a SAHP. The troops primarily do it because they don't want to live in barracks.

I've seen far too many cases of a 19-22 year olds in parenting situations where they simply are not ready. Throw in a deployment and a young spouse who can't handle multiple kids, can't handle the money, lives off base, and has no family support system, and it's a disaster.

As for childcare, there are waitlists based on rank and number of dependents.  And guess what?  That's pretty much the SOP for childcare for everyone! There are waitlists.

I just don't find it justifiable to provide blank checks for military service. Sure, it's tough. But guess what? There are firefighters, teachers, EMTs, law enforcement, electric linemen, elder caregivers, and garbage collectors who often do dangerous, thankless and dirty work, too.  Imagine if we didn't have any of those professions. Many, many teachers in the US are making about $30K. Firefighters make a smidge above that.  They have to pay their own housing, child care, health insurance, dental/vision,  education, prescriptions, and groceries, and if they want to purchase a home they need a down payment and will have to pay the going mortgage rates.

Should they pay more in taxes so an E-4 with a spouse and kids doesn't have to pick up the tab for ANY of their living expenses? Let's hear how you would sell that one...
[/quote]

No way anyone that actually served even a day wouldn’t advocate for an enlisted personnel raise- or need to look up the pay scale. It’s clear you no nothing about military service, as it is in no way comparable to the work done by firefighters and nurses. [/quote]

+1[/quote]

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