Oh, the Obama bashing. People who have their panties in a twist need to chill out. I swear — you can’t mention Obama and the Military without people on the right freaking out.
CHILL, PEOPLE.
In case you haven’t heard, the numbers for the 2011 fiscal budget are coming out, and the proposed military pay raise is 1.4%. OBVIOUSLY, this is low. If passed, it would be the lowest pay raise in the history of our volunteer Army.
But seriously, people? It’s January. Of 2010. There is no possible way that this number will stay this low. In fact, I’m pretty sure it always starts off low and typically ends up higher. Case in point? The initial proposed 2010 pay raise for military was 1.9%. Obviously, this did not stick.
They are also proposing a raise of just over 4% for BAH across the board — something that rarely happens (I know people whose BAH has actually gone down before. It’s never the same increase for everybody.) Let’s not forget that BAH is not taxed, whereas your base pay is — isn’t that worth more in the long run?
Either way, this is a year off. And people need to do their research, and check their facts before getting all fired up about something that is not set in stone. There are also many fabulous things that they are proposing that will HELP the military, such as:
- For military family support: $8.8 billion in funding (a 3% increase). This money is allocated to counseling and support of both active-duty and reserve-component families.
- Defense Department medical program: $30.9 bilion (5.8% increase). “$669 million would be devoted to treatment for traumatic brain injury and other mental health issues, while $250 million would go to fund continued research on mental health issues among service members.” according to the Military Times article.
- Military child care service availability: $1.36 billion. This number is up $87 million over the 2010 budget. Funding will go towards maintaining the high level of care and youth activity programs.
- Counseling and assistance services: $1.9 billion to expand availability, up $37 million from the previous year.
- Spouse career and education programs: $84 million to programs, tuition assistance and internship programs. This is up $12 million from 2010.
See? All great things. Let’s focus on the positive. And also remember that we are only 27 days into 2010. That gives us 338 days to see changes to this proposal. Including the overall pay raise for the military. I know, and you know (admit it) that Congress will never pass a pay raise that low. Not in these times.
*** UPDATE (2/10/10) Due to the ugliness of some of the comments that have appeared on here, I am closing comments for this. This is NOT because I don’t want to hear your opinion — I have enjoyed reading things from both sides of this — however this particular post is getting a lot of traffic, and therefore a lot of trolls are stopping by, saying mean ugly things that don’t have anything to do with the post. If you would like to continue this discussion, whether you agree with me or not (Like I said, I’m open to both sides!), please feel free to email me above! Thanks!! 
*** UPDATE NUMBER TWO (3/5/10) Due to the CRAZY amount of hits this post is getting, I’m going to do something brave and reopen the comments. FAIR WARNING, however. BE NICE. If you’re going to be an asshole, your comment will get deleted. Please keep the discussion healthy and polite. That is all.
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Exactly! Also if you look back through the Bush & Clinton years they had different raises each year. Some higher and some lower. And like you said, things will change by the time we actually get it.
A-freakin-men! Seriously. And even IF it does stay at a 1.9%, we should be happy. The majority of America is not only NOT getting any raise of any sort, but they are worried about losing their jobs. Heck, the last two years my pay raises have been 0% and 1%.
Even if they raised BAH by 4%, that’s MORE THAN A 4% INCREASE PEOPLE. You are right, it isn’t taxed so it’s an even better raise.
Oh, and I totally forgot to mention that our BAH went down this year in Washington. Yes, we are grandfathered in, but Huzzy just made the next paygrade so while we’ll be getting more BAH for that, it won’t be as much as someone who made it a few months earlier. Because we’ll get the lower BAH for his paygrade since we weren’t grandfathered into THAT.
It’s annoying. Ours went up $15 this year (which, I’m not complaining. I’ll take $15). I had one friend whose went up $200 (and their BAH wasn’t much more than ours to begin with). There seems to be no rhyme or reason to how they decide what goes up, how much it goes up, or what goes down. A blanket increase across all pay-grades would be wonderful and FAIR.
While I read this stuff now, I tend to just “ignore” it mostly. There isn’t anything I can do about what Uncle Sam does. I just hope that when he does things he considers all the men and women serving this country who deserve the absolute best for their sacrifice.
Im sorry, but Im not in agreement with this at all. There is always talks of how money will be used to better military programs, child care, etc. but there is some real facts that take place.
First, to lower a pay raise and say its ok to the men and women who voluntarily serve and devote their lives is just a damn shame. Honestly, do you think Americans are really going to look into joining the military when we are at a state of war and the risk of your life is lowered…hmmm?
Second, peopl are struggling financially in this economy, yes we should be thankful to have jobs in the military, but by cutting pay in the military, the president is cutting security.
Third, whenever I have been near or on a base, the child care is usually cheaper off post, not to mention some bases, if not all, charge the military family regardless to enroll their children in any activities, each time, for example, $40/per child to play soccer, etc..then football comes, so its another fee. There is VERY LITTLE DOD schools, therefore, most families are forced to send their kids to the local public schools, which some are good, but take in consideration El Paso school district near, Ft. Bliss, this is a nightmare, and there is no bus transportation.
Theres a lot of suggestions that I would like to see, just like, spouses should not only be trained but guaranteed a job. Health care in the military needs to improve drastically, especially with dental, eye, vision, high risk health patients, and special needs children.
I have always loved being a military wife, but I think the wives and husbands put in way to much devotion to the military for not enough credit in return. The sacrifices that not only the active member submits, but the families, children, parents give up, should not be underguessed, and should know and believe, that WE are what makes AMERICA SAFE, and deserve to be treated with the utmost respect without financial burdens .
You put everything I was thinking into words when I couldn’t. Curious though, I wonder what increase our congressman are getting?
I agree, people need to chill out. Yes, this would be a huge slap in the face if passed… but I too believe this is too soon to be freaking out as much as some people are. Like you said … its NOT set in stone.
Why get yourself so stressed out over something that may not even happen?! That just seems crazy.
Yes, by all means get offended by the fact that the president thinks we only deserve a 1.4% increase. The very idea that he’d think that’s all our sacrifices are worth is absurd. Yet, I don’t think this will pass. With the amount of bad publicity this amount gets from the military.. it’d be a terrible mistake on his part to let it go through. Mainly because no one would willingly join knowing that they’d be risking their life for less.
So I think everyone really does need to chill out, for now.
As for medical coverage (in response to an above comment) I agree they do need to improve it, but compared to most coverage you’d get as a civilian.. I think its good. And for the people who need the coverage most (meaning the people who actually serve and get their lives put at risk) have amazing coverage… yes veteran benefits suck (which DO need major improvement) Active duty are well covered. Yes, our children and us may not get the coverage we need for everything, but I do think we need to be grateful that we have as much coverage as we do have. Cause it could be a lot worse.
I am an Air Force Wife. My husband supports our family of four solely on his paycheck. He’s even paying my college loans that are just sitting there while I raise a family. We live comfortably within our means and are not worried about a low pay raise. We are simply thankful for job security and the fact that we don’t have to worry about losing our jobs or home or living in a tent city. Many thanks to all tax-paying Americans who support our life. And thanks to my husband (and all military members) for signing up and defending our free country.
Thank you, Frances. This is exactly how I feel. We should feel lucky to be getting ANYTHING when so many people out there are still losing their jobs, struggling, and NOT being given a pay raise.
Thank you for your comment.
Bottom line is that congress typically proposes a similar to cost of living increase for troops, but it’s absurd to even start at 1.4 . The only reason this won’t pass is that our service men and women are too visible in their hard work and sacrifices. Don’t think they wouldn’t rather keep the money for themselves for a minute.
With the waste and massive expenditures that our government is currently active in, our troops shouldn’t even be dealing with this. Nancy Pelosi had a 100,000 bar tab for in-flight services last year alone. For her and her guests. That’s not including the cost to fly her everywhere, just her piehole getting stuffed. Things like that are why we should be incensed at cuts in military budgets.
I know that the 4% sounds great and all, however, not all military members qualify for BAH. There are numerous members who live in barracks or on ships and who are not married who do not qualify for that, so I’m fairly certain they are looking for the base pay increase. A lot of the other benefits mentioned are also great, but again, are not used by all. It’s great that it’s available though.
Although the pay increase may not be set in stone yet, why start with such a low number? You know going too low is going to cause a public backlash such as it is now. There are all kinds of blogs, news articles and everthing talking about this and I’m sure it’s affecting his popularity as president. If I was thirsting in a desert for my country and all I got in return was a sip of water, I wouldn’t be happy. Make it worth while. That’s all I’m saying. I hope everyone has a great weekend! Take care!
P.S. I am not an army wife or wife of any sort…lol. Just ran across this site searching this topic
ha, you don’t have to be a military wife to comment here
Thanks for voicing your opinion!
By law the administration’s pay increase proposal is restricted to no more than the Employment Cost Index (ECI). The ECI is a quarterly economic series detailing the changes in the costs of labor for businesses in the United States economy. The ECI is prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in the U.S. Department of Labor. It is 1.4%. The 2009 inflation rate was -0.34%. Negative inflation is generally not considered ‘rampant’. Social security, which is national, did not increase in 2010 for the first time in three decades and is expected to not increase in 2011 either. Welfare payouts are determined at the state level, not by the President or Congress.
Also last years initial proposal was 2.9%. It ended up being 3.4% because Congress decides on the final increase, not the President, who submits the initial proposal based on law, not his discretion.
(source)Directly from the dfas.mil website-
How are annual pay raises calculated? Military pay raises are linked to civilian pay raises. Military pay raises have been at least one half of a percent higher than the civilian pay raise each year, as measured by the Employment Cost Index (ECI), until 2006. Starting in 2007, pay raises are equal to the increase in the ECI. Pay raises may exceed these automatic levels if authorized by Congress. In January 2010, the military pay raise was changed to 3.4% (ECI).
Mikee —- THANK YOU.
On January 13th, House bill H.R. 4427 proposes an additional .5% to the president’s proposal. The additional .5% is to close the gap and bring the military’s pay more inline with that of the private sector.
The presidents minimum proposal is effected by the ECI number – he could propose above that – that said, the Department of Defense puts together its input, and the DoD continually wants to limit the cost of personnel so they make good arguments to keep it at the legislated minimum –
The real dollars based on both proposals can be found here:
http://www.navycs.com/2011-military-pay-chart.html
You assessment of the situation is short term and centric. You are correct in the fact that BAH is not taxed. But what happens to BAH when the military person retires? It’s poof! It’s effects individual’s differently, but most people get half of their base pay for retirement. As it stands, this will barely be seen in a retiree’s pay. How does child care help a retiree? Almost all the other proposals do nothing for them either. A base pay increase helps EVERYONE, not just a few with select needs.
Unless you’ve been in the military for 40 years, I don’t know many people who retire and then depend SOLELY on their military retirement income. I understand that it doesn’t make much of a dent THIS year. But I also work for the military, and I have met MANY retired Generals, Colonel’s, Sergent Major’s, etc … people who worked a full career in the military … and have gone on to work jobs, typically with the military or as a contractor, post military career.
The problem is so much has been done over the last several years to narrow the civilian pay gap, that a proposed small increase in pay is seen as a setback. Rather the increase rises or stays the same, its unsettling to see that in a time where are military is tasked beyond its means, that our pay is relatively stagnant. Its not just active duty that are being effected either, this year for the first time in a long time, retirees did not receive a COLA increase. How funny you would mention an increase in spouse career and education programs when that Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts are also frozen right now. By the way, I’m an active duty Soldier with almost 25 years of service who’s job is too advocate progression and sustainment for our Soldiers. Whereas some Soldiers make ends meet, many Soldiers have to use food stamps and handouts to meet the needs of their families. Too many times, I think that senior officers and enlisted forget that every single dollar counts to those young military families. Rather its President Obama or any other Commander in Chief, the military needs to be a priority.
DB touched on this:
Your retirement pay is based on PAY – not allowances. This is more important than you realize and the primary reason the government continues to approve drastic increases in speciality (language, for example), combat, hazardous duty, and other ALLOWANCES.
Do you know when your spouse is going to blow out a knee and be medically retired? What about -God forbid- they are injured in combat and medically retired? It’s based on PAY – not allowances. A 4% BAH hike is absurd. Give the GI’s a 4% pay hike and 1.4% BAH hike instead.
I hate to have a separate opinion from your statement of “I don’t know many people who retire and then depend SOLELY on their military retirement income. ” – but the truth is, the people that DO depend on it, aren’t the types you would typically meet in your normal social settings. Visit a VA hospital’s hospice ward and you’d be amazed how many have depended on it – and for how long. I once met a 105-year old nurse who served in WWI at the VA hospital in Miles, Texas. Her sole source of income was her military retirement. They are out there, and if we – as voters and veterans or spouses of veterans – continue to subscribe to the idea that we do not care what the difference between PAY and ALLOWANCES are – we all – collectively – will continue to be sold down the river.
Navy Chief, Navy Pride
Ok, I totally see your point and I 100% get where you are coming from.
But with that said, than why don’t we just get rid of “allowances?” Why not just take whatever allowances are given, and consider it pay, tax it, and then everybody will be happy. Everybody get’s their retirement money, the base pay goes up, and nobody REALLY loses anything. Paychecks still stay the same, minus the few tax deductions here and there.
I don’t know if this would realistically work. I’m just throwing another view point out there.
Brilliant! Allowance is really just a title anyways. That’s a great idea Brittany! When are you running for president or congress? You have my vote!
In your article you have posted you said do some research! and people need to CHILL OUT! I have done alot of research on the and i know that congress is not going to pass this. You have listed some good things that they are going to try to fight for like the BAH topic. But what about the single soldiers? If the pay raise stays at 1.4 this is going to be the lowest pay raise dated back to 1973! The cost of living for next year is projected to be over a 4% raise on consumer products. The major problem here is why is he cutting there pay raise and bring up welfare percent raise? Last year Obama really screwed the retired military pay!