Quote:
Originally posted by Secret_Agent_Man
Unless I'm quite mistaken, the salary for a junior enlisted soldier (E-4 and below), won't take a family of four above the poverty line. The benefits help some (PX, AAFES grocery shopping, health care) -- but (I think) there are tens of thousands of junior enlisted families that qualify for and receive AFDC.
That, Burger, is one reason why military pay and benefits might could use to be somewhat higher. (Although you could also take the position that young junior soldiers should not get married or have children. Good luck.)
S_A_M
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The issue I was identifying was the across-the-board increase in pay rates. That has little to do with specific pay grades. If you want to get into a discussion of who should be paid what for what type of work, then we can have a lengthy debate--low-level enlisted should get more at the bottom end. Lawyers should get more at the top end. If Bush wanted to raise the pay of the lowest in the military, he could do that with a one-time increase, on teh ground that the military is underpaid. But that's not the rhetoric he's been using.
