05-10-2017, 11:56 PM
(05-10-2017, 05:55 PM)Au165 Wrote: We can literally do that about everything relating to military compensation, but that isn't how the world works. In a perfect world they would make more, have better benefits, and would be treated better. Hell we could make the same arguments for Cops and Firefighters. The issue comes when you look at things in a more cold business approach. They are employees of the U.S. government not conscripts. They chose to enroll and accept all dangers that came with the job at the agreed upon rate and benefits.
Supply and demand of unskilled labor is something that has to be considered looking ahead. As more and more unskilled labor jobs become obsolete the military actually starts becoming a more attractive position through, if nothing else, availability. Now we can discuss standards and such but that is part of the truth.I know it sounds cold, but in reality I think the whole budget on the military side needs to be brought way down. This is simply one piece to a much larger budget number but one that isn't beyond reproach.
One could argue if we reduced the number of god damn bombs we felt the need to carry we could probably afford to pay them a bit more. I have been a part of the military purchasing process and the waste in that process along could probably be a significant raise.
I agree the military budget needs to come down. That's why I disagree with a proposed $54 billion increase. I'm well aware of waste, fraud, and abuse within the military which is why I know there are other ways to trim the fat from the military budget. Hell, the $3 billion collected from service members over the next decade under this proposal equals only 6% of the proposed 1 year increase in defense spending.
