President Bush ‘Strongly Opposes’ 0.5 Percent Increase In Military Pay Because It ‘Is Unnecessary’
President Bush ‘Strongly Opposes’ 0.5 Percent Increase In Military Pay Because It ‘Is Unnecessary’
Yesterday, the House passed the Defense Authorization bill, which prescribes spending amounts for the military activities.
The bill includes a section to raise the pay for the soldiers by 3.9 percent – an increase of 0.5 percent over the Bush administration’s request. In a “Statement of Administration Policy” released yesterday, the White House asserts that it “strongly opposes” the pay increase authorized by Congress:
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that the 0.5 percent increase in troop pay would mean spending just an extra $324 million in 2009:
At the same time it is strongly opposing a slight increase in pay for the troops, the Bush administration is asking for hundreds of billions more for war. To put it in all in context, the White House wants $165 billion to continue fighting the Iraq and Afghanistan wars this year, but refuses to spend 0.2 percent of that amount ($324 million) to provide the troops a slight pay raise.
Despite his opposition to a pay increase, President Bush continues to demagogue the issue of support for the troops, telling soldiers at Ft. Drum yesterday that Congress is to blame for not having passed “a responsible war funding bill.” Of course, he didn’t tell that troops that by “responsible,” he means he wants a bill that gives them less pay.
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Bush:
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:49 pmDear Troops - you’re not worth an extra 0.5%
Mr. Bush: SHUT THE …HELL UP.
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:50 pmVETO IT! MOFO.
Make my day.
Do you feel electorally lucky this year, punk? Huh! Do Ya?
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:52 pmUnless it’s diverting our national treasury into the fascist pockets of his friends or family, it’s unnecessary.
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:53 pmHard to believe how disconnected bull shit bush really is…Any one here have the latest stat’s on how many military famalie’s have to get food stamp’s and help from food bank’s to survive?…Also let’s not forget heir cheney’s personal army of mercanaries and what kind of pay they get..Bet none of those have to get help to feed their famalie’s…..I must leave for awhile, this shit pisses me off to the point I may distroy my computer just reading about it….Blessings
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:55 pmThat 0.5% would barely, if even, cover the cost of fuel the families budgets must swallow.
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:56 pmlol
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:58 pmWhat counts as “the troops?” I’m all for pay raises for the people who are just scraping by. But I know a person in the Army National Guard who makes about $90K to do a pretty average office job that would probably pay half as much in the private sector, so I’m not sure an “across-the-board” pay raise is in order. I suspect there are plenty of commissioned officers who are doing just fine with their current compensation.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:01 pm324M is about 1/00th of 1% of the 3 trillion cost of Bush’s War. Would the camel even feel that straw?
May Bush die a slow, painful, cancer ridden death with plenty of time to think about the evil he has wrought.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:02 pmWhy do people aspire to be republicans??? It’s gotta be some sort of genetic predisposition (we’ll call it the sh*thead gene), to be a staggeringly monolithic tube of pus.
The sh*thead gene attacks and neutralizes the shame gene, distorts the genetic tendency towards common sense, then merges the genes that form the anus and lower intestine with the brain’s white matter, overwhelming the grey matter.
Result? Republicans, conservatives who celebrate birthdays and play guitar while a city drowns. These people are functionally disabled…
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:02 pmFinancial Pressures on Military Families
In addition to the emotional strain of separation endured by military families, many also experience financial strain. Below are some indicators of the financial squeeze facing active-duty military families.
The number of military families seeking emergency assistance from a military charity doubled in the first few months of 2007.
Active-duty military personnel are three times more likely than civilians to have taken out a “payday loan”—a cash advance on the borrower’s next paycheck.
The number of military families seeking emergency assistance from a military charity doubled in the first few months of 2007.
Payday loans and other high-interest loans often leave the service member with enormous debt, family problems and a tarnished career, according to the Department of Defense.
The number of military families seeking emergency assistance from a military charity doubled in the first few months of 2007.
Three in 10 active-duty military families reported having trouble paying bills in the previous year, according to a 2004 survey.
The number of military families seeking emergency assistance from a military charity doubled in the first few months of 2007.
More than 1 in 5 active-duty military families had to apply for food stamps or Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) aid from the government.
The number of military families seeking emergency assistance from a military charity doubled in the first few months of 2007.
Approximately 16,000 active duty members of the U.S. military file for bankruptcy each year.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:05 pmIf you are offended by the administration’s logic, well, here’s your problem.
See, Halliburton and that pack of thieves won’t get any part of a pay raise going to the troops, no matter how small.
BUT, they would get a big chunk of the $165b overall funding increase going to perpetuate this insane war.
Cheney is a Halliburton alumni, and Bush obviously owes a lot to the military machine on our country, and the defense industry wants it all.
There. Clear as mother’s milk.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:06 pmhttp://www.defenselink.mil/ contracts/ contract.aspx?contractid=3781
I was looking at the contracts for one day, and it probably totals more than 300 million [URL above]. The Pentagon has overspent its budget by some 295 billion dollars.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0403/p99s01-duts.html
And here is congress playing political football over 300 million?
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:09 pmHaving a trial for the TREASON and WAR CRIMES for Bush and Cheney (ENEMIES OF THE STATE) is UNNECESSARY.
Just arrest them as ENEMY COMBATANTS and JAIL THEM WITHOUT TRIAL.
FOREVER.
Until they DROP DEAD.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:10 pmWitch1 Says:
Hard to believe how disconnected bull shit bush really is…
Disconnected? It appears to me that bastard sociopath has gotten just about everything he wants. My honest opinion: The only ones he views worthy or has any empathy for are the have mores.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:11 pmmistaketv Says:
What counts as “the troops?” I’m all for pay raises for the people who are just scraping by. But I know a person in the Army National Guard who makes about $90K to do a pretty average office job that would probably pay half as much in the private sector…”
You’re full of crap. Even if one accepts your apocryphal “friend” so what. That’s one person. what about the men and women who are earning wages below the poverty line to put their lives on the line? what about the billions of dollars the Pentagon can’t account for in Iraq?
Your argument is typical republican crap. Why aren’t you complaining about privates driving around in Caddilacs while you’re at it.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:16 pmYou people just aren’t seeing the bigger picture. Seems to me that Bush opposing a miniscule pay increase for the troops is just the way to get his approval ratings out of the crapper. Maybe this could be the political comeback for Bush that David Broder predicted.
Am I wrong about this?
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:18 pmHow does one ’support the troops’ by utterly disrupting their lives, putting them in harm’s way for no good reason, extending their tours without warning, giving them shoddy treatment at vet hospitals, extending the war indefinately, robbing them of educational benefits for playing along with your insane vision, and then insulting them by declining even a token pay increase?
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:19 pmPass this information on to any military families you know. That’s what I am doing. They need to know how Bush REALLY feels about their service to our country (right before Memorial Day weekend no less). They need to hear that Republicans are opposed to giving troops more educational benefits.
Funny how Bush draws the line on spending when it comes to things people actually need, like S-CHIP health coverage for children, Webb’s GI Bill expansion, or giving the troops a 0.5% pay raise.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:25 pmBefore this whole shit started, the Pentagon announced it had lost $2.3 TRILLION, and, oh yeah, 9/11 wiped that right out of the news cycle.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:26 pmDon’t hear anything about that missing $2.3 TRIL anymore.
When Bushclot stole the election in 2000, they set about to implement Cheney’s strategy for divesting as much as possible to themselves and key friendst hrough the oil and financial industries coupled with the military. They weren’t even that covert about it, and they set about gouging and stacking in their favor, as much as they could before the 2004 election, never knowing for sure if their manipulation through “terror” would actually allow them a close enough general election to manipulate the results again. But by golly, they did.
Everything since then is gravy, and their arrogance and total disregard for the possibility that they’ll ever be called to account for their actions by anyone results in petulant George W “deciding” what is “unnecessary”, or what he’ll equivocate with a “signing statement”, practically and effectively the dictator he always wanted to be, orchestrated by Cheney and his expertise in Nixonian scallawagery.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:27 pm@Bobwurst
First of all, as a raving liberal I find it hilarious that I am guilty of “typical Republican crap.” As you point out, perhaps I shouldn’t base my opinions on very limited subjective experience (second-hand knowledge of my friend’s salary). But what I perhaps should have said was that I would like to see a larger pay increase for the lower-level enlisted types rather than an across-the-board increase that would benefit more well-off higher ranking officers and the like. I don’t subscribe to the idea that giving the same percentage increase to everyone regardless of need is a fair allocation of resources.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:28 pmafter all we have seen these past Iraq war years, I’m sad to say I expect nothing more from the idiot figure head sitting in his comfy oval office; not one single stain on his hands, so he thinks.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:28 pmI agree with mistaketv. We were doing targeted pay increases during the Clinton years, weren’t we? The needs during this period have grown more specific and should be most heavily directed toward increases in E-1 through E-4 pay, along with increases in hazardous duty and family separation pay. The pay of noncoms and higher ranking officers is stinking up the place. They’re living pretty well, especially stateside.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:35 pmThey need the payraise if for nothing else to pay for their DIVORCES…asshat.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:39 pmmistaketv Says:
I suspect there are plenty of commissioned officers who are doing just fine with their current compensation.
The raise is for the troops that while putting their lives on the line,their families have to get food stamps to eat.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:41 pmEnlisted pay is crap and has not kept up with inflation.
$324 million?
For chrissakes, they probably LOSE more than that a month in Iraq (or at least are unable to account for it).
F***ing US Constitution/troop hating Republiscums.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:43 pmSupport the troops?
More like, screw the troops (and their families).
What’s 0.5% more? Unless of course, you’re going to war with Iran, which will inflict heavy casualities, requiring more troops.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:43 pmIsn’t this the same administration that is so opposed to Webbs’s GI Bill because of spectre of declined retention rates? Why then are they quibbling about a half percentage pay increase for the very same troops that they are SO concerned will leave the service because of more attractive incentives in civilian life?
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:45 pmI guess the blissful base would see that as continued fiscal conservatism. Why do they always have a double standard? They’re ok with blowing billions on Iraq but strongly oppose half of one percent spent on Americans? Why is that?
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:49 pmI would have no problem with targeted pay raises if McWars and Mistake are correct in saying certain ranks are much better compensated than others.
However, I very much doubt Bush’s opposition is that principled, and when viewed in light of the tens of billions lost in Iraq through fraud and mismanagement that BushCo refuses to truly investigate, his opposition is disgusting but predictable.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:52 pmWe should also increase subsistence (food) allowances to $500 per month for enlisted members E-5 and below, officers 0-2 and below, and warrant officers W-3 and below.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:52 pmBecause if they maintained a consistent single standard, it would require a lot of compromises that they find they don’t have to make if they can just adjust their standards to suit the situation.
(Also if they were consistent, the rest of us would see how batsh!t crazy they really are.)
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:53 pmIf a guy needs to be in Iraq to feed his family, why not be smart and join Blackwater? You make four times the money, shoot civilians with no consequence, have much better equipment, and if you need a little piece on the side to relieve the stress, she signed the “arbitration” clause, who’s she going to complain to?
Maybe this is Bush’s intent, push the enlisted guys over to the merc side of the business where there is no accountability with the American public.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:59 pmThis is the hallmark of the Republican elite. Penny pinch when individuals may benefit. It does not matter how little the money is. Thees are just people and they do not merit the attention of government. However, if you are wealthy or a corporation; then the government will lavish attention and money. The Republican elite are just showing their values.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:07 pm.
Why does the Commander in Chief hate the troops?
.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:08 pmThis is no surprise to our troops as they have known for a long time the Bush Administration doesn’t care about them. Why would Bush or Cheney care since they never protected this country in time of a real War. Don’t look for McCain to do anything different because he’s controlled too. Americans feel good with china made flag pins, ribbon’s on cars and flags out side their homes that all say We Support Our Troops. Notice no American or Law Makers is speaking up or demanding America take care of the soldiers. Petraeus is giving lip service of reducing the soldiers knowing it’s a lie he’s been ordered to tell. We will see very few young Americans willing to volunteer in the Military after seeing who a US Soldier is really treated. It’s all about money with this Administration and the troops be dam.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:09 pmSurely, Bluestatedon, Bush’s opposition is not that principled. His contention is reducing the spending by .05. Our contention is keeping the 3.9% in place, if not increasing that number, for lower ranks, while awarding a lesser increase to those who don’t have to shoulder as much of a burden in this conflict.
Consider the current base pay for these ranks (Source: DoD Military Compensation Calculator):
E-3/2 years: $1,687.80 monthly
E-9/22 years: $5,185.80 monthly
0-2/2 years: $3,353.10 monthly
0-10/30 years: $14,349.90 monthly
Out of the four examples, choose the two ranks more likely than the other two ranks to face danger. Direct the bulk of pay increases toward them. Award bare-bones cost-of-living increases to the rest.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:11 pmEasy. Because they are constant reminders of his own cowardice and inadequacy.
Duh.
(That last “Duh” was for comic effect, Max-1. Nothing personal intended)
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:13 pmDoes it seem strange to anybody else that the folks who started this illegal war make more money than the actual people fighting this illegal war? Does that make sense?
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:30 pmStatRat,
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:38 pmThose who put us into this mess are risking their reputations while those doing the fighting are merely risking their lives.
Help me understand….we need to suspend the federal tax on gasoline over the summer even though the average person would only save about $10/month but 1/2 of a percent more pay for the troops is unecessary? Oh, right, Republicans: left is right, up is down, etc.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:42 pmnanlichi Says:
Exactly. The equation is really quite simple: Povery Wages and the Uniform Code of Justice versus Mercenary Wages and No Accountability. This administration would much rather have private mercenaries than paid American soldiers, who need benefits and caring for after they’ve been broken.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:45 pmOff topic but….DCCC just called for money and I told them not one more cent from me until they stop funding the war.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:45 pmYou leftards have to tell me…..
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:53 pmHow does it feel to wake up every day pissed off and hating your country????
Or do you consider my post “abusive” for pointing out the truth and your going to tell Mommy on me???
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:55 pmBig difference between loving your country (we all do) and hating you scumbag fcks who are trying to destroy it.
And it’s not every day we wake up pissed, the end is in sight. Next January you POS Repugnicunts can sit on the curb and watch us restore the honor and dignity of our USA.
Go blow the dog again, he’s lonely.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:01 pmIt makes perfect sense. Providing more compensation for the U.S. military would reduce the number of recruits for the “private military” represented by firms like KBR and Blackwater. If the Republicriminals want protection they will need mercenaries who only answer to them. Anything, which helps the legit military retain qualified people, threatens the security of the guilty parties.
BTW, I love my country. I hate the criminals who are Hell-bent on destroying it. And I think it’s safe to say that the 71% of our population with functioning brains agrees.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:06 pmbobeast3 Says:
You leftards have to tell me…..
How does it feel to wake up every day pissed off and hating your country????
We wake up hating cowards like you bo beast. why do you hate the troops and love draft dodgers and deserters?
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:11 pmThe US military people should be making at least as much as Bush/Cheney’s private military (Blackwater, etc) employees do. Maybe Congress should insist upon that parity.
But I guess there’s no way of knowing how much those companies pay their “private contractors”.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:13 pmAnd I’ll tell your mommy to take away your computer privileges when she gets her face out of my lap.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:13 pmMcWars sez:
To clarify for those unfamiliar.
E is for Enlisted. Those kids straight out of high school mostly. So an E3 with 2 years service makes $1687. An E9 (that’d be like a Chief Master Sargent depending on which branch we’re talking about) with 22 years of service gets $5185.
O is an Officer. These folks have 4 years college or Military Academy under their belts and are therefore the management people a.k.a., the Brass (lieutenant, captain, colonel, general).
W is a Warrent Officer. We didn’t have these in the Air Force so I’m unfamiliar with them but they generally fall between the other two, from what I understand.
You always salute a higher ranking officer but never salute enlisted folks. I never did understand this until I made the mistake of saluting my Training Instructor in Basic.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:30 pmbobeast3 Says:
——————————————————————————–
You leftards have to tell me…..
How does it feel to wake up every day pissed off and hating your country????
Wanna try and address the actual topic of the thread?
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:42 pmDigDug Says:
Wanna try and address the actual topic of the thread?
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Never gonna happen. That would require observation of facts and application of logic. Those who are so intellectually stunted would just embarrass themselves further. Which, now that I think about it, would be a very impressive trick. Kinda like filling in the Grand Canyon with a spoon.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:49 pmAs usual, more total bullshit lies from libs. You all know why George Bush opposes this bill so why leave the REAL reason out!
Hmm, I wonder why!
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:24 pmI’m curious. Did Bush receive pay from the National Guard when he was AWOL, busy working on a campaign in another state? Did he cash the checks?
Liar, thief. Is is 2009 yet?
PEACE
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:28 pmI am not a firm believer in Heaven or Hell, but IF there is, Dubya and Cheney belong there like no one who has come before. Yes, I mean Hitler, too
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:33 pmspending just an extra $324 million
Remember Israel gets $3,000,000,000. But our prouds lads in the military get f**k all
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:56 pmYou people will never win the White House with a weakagainst terror empty suit like bo.Deep down you have to know it, and it makes you more pissed off. Say what you want about McCain but he will not hesitate to kill the bad guys and bo will not. I suggest you take a look, they don’t just want us,(that includes all inclusive, P.C., understanding open tent Libs like you), out of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, etc. They want us dead. That’s it very simple no grey areas, dead. You, your wife, your children hell even your dog and cat. To them you are nothing “kafir”. Look it up. They openly admit it, all you have to do is read what they say, it’s all there right in front of you. Very simple. This goes back decades, their Jihad didn’t start on Jan. 20 2001, just your’s.
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:57 pmhttp://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
>They want us dead
Whose they? You know how much more likely you are to die by the hand of your fellow american than you are a foreigner?
If it told you that an if someone kills you, its about a million more times likely to be an american than a foreigner, would you call me a liar?
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:31 pm>he will not hesitate to kill the bad guys
who are the bad guys? you mean like Hamas? you know thats who the palestenians chose with thier freedumbs, right? what if the IRaqis choose someone like Hamas to run thier government?
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:52 pmwill your hero mccain wait to bomb them after they are sworn into office, or immediately after they are elected?
how do you feel about sending american soldiers to die for a country whose constitution starts with the line “there shall be no law which is against islam”?
Only $324 Million for thousands of AMERICAN TROOPS?
Makes this from today’s NYT on taxpaper money fraud, unaccounted money and waste in Iraq even more disgusting:
“But perhaps the masterpiece of elliptic paperwork is the document identified at the top as a “Public Voucher for Purchases and Services Other Than Personal.” It indicates that $320.8 million went for “Iraqi Salary Payment,” with no explanation of what the Iraqis were paid to do.
Whatever it was, the document suggests, each of those Iraqis was handsomely compensated. Under the “quantity” column is the number 1,000, presumably indicating the number of people who were to be paid — to the tune of $320,800 apiece — if the paperwork is to be trusted.”
Pity our own troops just couldn’t write a note and get the cash needed from the Iraq Petty Cash fund . . . . “$324 Million for G.I. cost of living wage raise”
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:32 pmSay, how about the military being paid residuals on PR, campaign and political Republican photo background shots? Figure if they’re going to used as “extras” let’m get paid and put it into a “Foodstamps for Enlisted Families Fund” -
No wonder Blackwater has no shortage of highly paid experienced ex-military recruits . . . Spend thousands on training, screw’m on pay, benefits, care and then pay Blackwater $200,000 a year to hire them to make $90,000 . . .
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:47 pmEven if Pelosi’s estimate ($333 million per day) for the Iraq war is on the high end, can any American in his/her right mind deny a day’s cost of the war to increase the paltry excuse for a paycheck to our country’s finest? This question comes from a Libertarian.
May 24th, 2008 at 12:30 amThe 3.9% is still below projected inflation, meaning in real terms that it is a pay cut. Having said that, most civilian employees would be tickled with a 3.4% pay increase. Mine hasn’t been that much in the last 6 years. That is how trickle down works.
May 24th, 2008 at 1:20 amWow by using the name “chocolate Jesus” you must be one of those cool Che’ t-shirt wearing anarchists. Am I right?
May 24th, 2008 at 10:29 amwhat is your opinion of this……………………………..http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
May 24th, 2008 at 10:30 amtheir Jihad didn’t start on Jan. 20 2001, just your’s.
May 24th, 2008 at 10:31 amSo what about our American, war-mongering Jihad against North Korea, Vietnam, or our bungled Iran/Contra affair, to name a few? To think that angry people only attribute their frustrations to Dubya is short-sighted. Our country has been meddling in the affairs of other countries since the end of WWII (and before then, I’m sure). And who pays the price for all this meddling? Our troops. And what do they get for it? A “fck you very much, here’s a deployment extension, a back door draft, and no pay raise” from Uncle Sam. If McSame should get elected, we can surely expect the draft. We’ll see then how many of you chicken-hawk neo-cons (who ruined what it means to be “republican”) man up and do your part.
May 24th, 2008 at 11:19 amBobeast
As someone who lives in New York City, I have no doubt that Obama would be so much better in combating terrorists and terrorism than McCain. McCain will continue the horrible policies of Bush that make us hated across the world (I actually travel outside of the US, I doubt you even own a passport). So please don’t bring up terrorism, the terrorists aren’t going to attack your trailer/meth lab so take off the diaper you pathetic coward.
May 24th, 2008 at 12:30 pmScrew the military! Soldiers who have fought in this criminal war : go to hell! The rich need to get richer!
Death to the idiot Chimp! Disaster-Idiot-in-Chief!
May 24th, 2008 at 1:38 pm