Sufficient income?

No. MY house payment is $3000 per month.

 

Blimey! When I joined in 1949, my Captain's pay was $80.00 per month, plus $30.00 for airborne allowance and another $30.00 for war engagement. The trenches were free, and so was food, when we got it. Officers paid for their uniforms, but enlisted men were issued them free.

I think military are well paid to-day.

Cheers,

Jim

 

That's mortgage. Average rent will run about $1500 here. A typical house will go for 400k-600k, even in the current depressed market. And that's not an extravagent home. Typically about 1800sqft.

 

Consider the job they have to do compared to their pay. They are putting their lives on the line and sacrificing time away from their families, for what? My brother has been a mess ever since he returned from Iraq and is now getting a divorce from his wife. You can't put a price tag on something like that.

The stress of military duty, especially overseas combat, cannot be measured in terms of money.

 

IMO, military pay should be similar to police or firefighter pay. In some areas it is, and some it isn't. It should definitely be regional, depending on where one is stationed. I don't think there's a simple standard that can be applied across the board.

 

You know what is involved when you sign the dotted line. We had no special care when we came home from Korea. I still served until 1958, and that included another tour of war at the Suez Canal.

I did have my university paid for, however.

Cheers,

Jim

 

You had trenches in Korea? I thought that was limited to WWI.

 

When I joined the Air Force, my monthly income was $85--period! Just before I got out 7 years later, I was getting a total of just over $600 per month. I'm now retired from the government and still don't have anywhere enough to pay my bills, buy groceries, and do everything else I need to do. My day consists of eating, playing on the computer, eating, watching TV, eating, and did I mention eating? :laugh:

 

I'd like to see the professional sports players and movie stars trade incomes with our firefighters, cops, and military.

I know, I know, but I can always dream, right?:tonofbricks:

 

would be glad too, our income is around $1,300 a month. so $2,480 looks real good, no reason we couldn't live comfortable with it.

 

I know several military famlies, I am not offendended by their pay or lack of it. I do think that at least the enlisted men's pay should be totally tax exempt period.

 

In the real world, a 40 hour week at $10/hour is $22400/year. The GI gets $29760 (13.29/hour) but of course he is working more than 40 hours.

http://www.campusgrotto.com/average-starting-salary-by-degree-for-2009.html

claims average college grad starting pay is $49,307

Forbes claims $308970.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/09/college-grads-jobs-leadership-careers-cx_tw_0109jobs.html

Don't know, but I doubt the average kid who walks into an enlistment office is making close to $30K/year.

 

I doubt the average kid is purposely put in harms way for months at a time, gets pulled away from family and friends, gets shot, blown up, watches friends die, lives in tents, eats meals out of plastic wrappers and often works for long stretches with little or no sleep. $30,000 is a bargain.

 

JUST!? That a lot more than I get on retirement--over $900 more!

 

$2,480 is not small change. they do make more stationed in a war country though. My nephew made a lot more when he was iraq.

 

Not so sure about that. The acting industry has a 98% unemployment rate. When an actor is working, the income is usually less than 30k a year. Even among the 6 and 7 figure income earners, it's usually a case of making a lot of money one year, and then not making any money for the next 2 or 3 years.

Professional sports is similar. Starting pay for a professional baseball player is $300k, but that's only after spending 4 to 8 years in the minor leagues playing for $800 a month or less. And the average life span on a pro ball player is 4 years before he can't play anymore.