Re: Health care bill passed
And maybe this will blow your mind but 1.5 million people are employed by the Armed Forces and an incalculable number (tens of millions) federal government workers and private contractors make a living through the military. People don't seem to understand that the military is a job like everything else and if you cut back a job it shouldn't take a genius to realize that people get removed. Military spending isn't 100% thrown at actual combat expenditures. Most of the money actually goes to health care, food, living conditions, benefits like college expenses (whoa join the military and have college, loans, and housing paid off I thought it was all fighting and killing brown people ololololol) and retirement for military employees.
America's spending ratio on military resources is equal with that of the rest of the world based on income and spending and even then America spends more money on the living aspects than combat. If anything we should spend more because the military creates thousands of jobs outside of the actual branches. Even something as simple as a local medical clinic is contracted by the federal government when in need. Other countries like the Philippines and India actually look forward to the military for humanitarian relief and a massive boost in income. Imagine you're making 5 grand a year and suddenly 6,000 people show up on your doorstep with money in their hands. Holy ****.
Edit: God dammit, I'm mad now. I can't blame people for not knowing where military spending goes because the media does a terrible job covering the armed forces. Whenever you hear "Federal government increases military spending" they immediately show stock footage of dudes walking through the desert and bombs going off. The media doesn't seem to care that military employees are human beings like everyone else who have basic human needs like food, clothing, and shelter. Contrary to stereotypes, the government doesn't want idiots joining so they offer training. The government wants members to leave as productive, tax paying members of society so they offer tuition assistance and per diem if you're going to college. The government wants to keep morale high and a big factor is home life so they ensure your wife, kids, immediate family, and housing is up to par with the rest of the country. The government doesn't want starvin' marvin's so they feed your ass or ensure you buy adequate meals every month.
I can't even calculate this but I'd say it costs $10,000 to put one person through boot camp. An E1 fresh out of basic gets paid about $20,000 a year flat base pay. If he's giving housing, clothing, and food expenses then he's looking at another $15,000. He gets out after one enlistment and has his GI bill which covers $30,000 of tuition (that's bare minimum, now it's almost double that) and books plus he gets per diem based on the highest living cost of the state he's going to college in. A dude who signs up for one enlistment costs the military more than $100,000 total. Multiply that by 2 million and suddenly that $400 billion dollars spent on the military every year begins to make sense. I didn't even factor in the $400,000 your family gets if you die, the extra money you get to support dependents, retirement, the cost of moving you or your family if your duty station changes, health benefits, and all that ****. The military is beginning to find extra reasons to kick people out because it's waaaaay cheaper to get fresh faces than it is to support someone for a 20 year career and give them retirement + medical benefits for the rest of their life.
Very, very, very, very, very little money actually gets spent on weapons like people think. There was even a scandal a few years back about terrible living conditions in some bases because money is so tight from cut backs. Last year people had to pay out of their pockets to move their families because of the sudden drop in spending. There was another scandal involving vehicles reinforced with cheap ply wood and a lack of basic equipment. Most of our weapons are decades old or being phased out of service because they're absolutely terrible.
Alright, rant over. I've vented enough.
Originally posted by Sampson
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America's spending ratio on military resources is equal with that of the rest of the world based on income and spending and even then America spends more money on the living aspects than combat. If anything we should spend more because the military creates thousands of jobs outside of the actual branches. Even something as simple as a local medical clinic is contracted by the federal government when in need. Other countries like the Philippines and India actually look forward to the military for humanitarian relief and a massive boost in income. Imagine you're making 5 grand a year and suddenly 6,000 people show up on your doorstep with money in their hands. Holy ****.
Edit: God dammit, I'm mad now. I can't blame people for not knowing where military spending goes because the media does a terrible job covering the armed forces. Whenever you hear "Federal government increases military spending" they immediately show stock footage of dudes walking through the desert and bombs going off. The media doesn't seem to care that military employees are human beings like everyone else who have basic human needs like food, clothing, and shelter. Contrary to stereotypes, the government doesn't want idiots joining so they offer training. The government wants members to leave as productive, tax paying members of society so they offer tuition assistance and per diem if you're going to college. The government wants to keep morale high and a big factor is home life so they ensure your wife, kids, immediate family, and housing is up to par with the rest of the country. The government doesn't want starvin' marvin's so they feed your ass or ensure you buy adequate meals every month.
I can't even calculate this but I'd say it costs $10,000 to put one person through boot camp. An E1 fresh out of basic gets paid about $20,000 a year flat base pay. If he's giving housing, clothing, and food expenses then he's looking at another $15,000. He gets out after one enlistment and has his GI bill which covers $30,000 of tuition (that's bare minimum, now it's almost double that) and books plus he gets per diem based on the highest living cost of the state he's going to college in. A dude who signs up for one enlistment costs the military more than $100,000 total. Multiply that by 2 million and suddenly that $400 billion dollars spent on the military every year begins to make sense. I didn't even factor in the $400,000 your family gets if you die, the extra money you get to support dependents, retirement, the cost of moving you or your family if your duty station changes, health benefits, and all that ****. The military is beginning to find extra reasons to kick people out because it's waaaaay cheaper to get fresh faces than it is to support someone for a 20 year career and give them retirement + medical benefits for the rest of their life.
Very, very, very, very, very little money actually gets spent on weapons like people think. There was even a scandal a few years back about terrible living conditions in some bases because money is so tight from cut backs. Last year people had to pay out of their pockets to move their families because of the sudden drop in spending. There was another scandal involving vehicles reinforced with cheap ply wood and a lack of basic equipment. Most of our weapons are decades old or being phased out of service because they're absolutely terrible.
Alright, rant over. I've vented enough.
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