George W Bush has announced a pay increase of just 2.2% for the American military this year, their lowest annual salary increase in eighteen years.
Is that a measure of how good a job he really thinks they are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan?
While a captain in the armed forces with four years of service will earn less than $53,000, and a staff sergeant with six years of service a paltry $27,900, members of the House and senators will see their salaries go up from $165,000 to $168,000.
Given the amount of time politicians spend doing their job, and the unholy mess they make of it, those figures don’t seem quite fair, somehow.
Filed under: Unfair world
I think they confuse work with position. We may have to storm the bastille, yet.
PM – my trusty cutlass is sharpened and ready.
I heard on some radio program that the actual wage for a soldier is over $100,000 for every year served. I suppose they figure in lifelong benefits: retirement benefits for fairly young people, education benefits, VA medical care for life, etc., room and board 😉 while serving, etc. I wish I had written down the source, but I didn’t.
Flimsy – I was unable to provide a link to these figures because my information came via a managerial SSA email to all staff regarding federal wage increases for 2007. The original source was an article by Stephen Barr in the Washington Post, but I was not able to locate it. No doubt, these are basic salaries. Other benefits will be added, when applicable. A list of those benefits can be found HERE.