“Should we pay the armed forces a competitive wage?”
Have you looked into what the armed forces pays? It’s not bad.
Even as a low ranking enlisted person, you get housing, healthcare and then a salary (albeit low, but it’s mostly discretionary). You can qualify for the GI Bill which pays for schooling once you get out. And if you’re in for 20, you get a pension and healthcare with the option of retiring at 40 if you went in at 20.
I believe you also get a housing allowance is you qualify to live off base and if you serve in a combat zone, a big chunk of pay is tax exempt.
I’m sure someone will be along to correct my inaccuracies.
If you add it all up, a military career is by no means a poor financial choice.
A pension plan isn’t magic, it is just a fixed-income security. You can buy them on the private market. A pension can thus be converted to a dollar value and compared to a private sector job.
Total compensation is decent in the military, but imo it’s definitely not work the risks to life and limb if deployed. Any good soldier could probably make a lot more in the private sector for the same amount of work hours and stress.
I don’t know that this is true for all government jobs... I know that California and especially San Francisco have (or had) lavish compensation programs.
Have you looked into what the armed forces pays? It’s not bad.
Even as a low ranking enlisted person, you get housing, healthcare and then a salary (albeit low, but it’s mostly discretionary). You can qualify for the GI Bill which pays for schooling once you get out. And if you’re in for 20, you get a pension and healthcare with the option of retiring at 40 if you went in at 20.
I believe you also get a housing allowance is you qualify to live off base and if you serve in a combat zone, a big chunk of pay is tax exempt.
I’m sure someone will be along to correct my inaccuracies.
If you add it all up, a military career is by no means a poor financial choice.