Obama Slashes Military Pay By 44%

HEADLINES New York Times:
Army will be on duty Monday through Thursday
Air Force will be on duty Wednesday through Saturday
Navy and Marines will be on duty Friday through Monday

President Obama stated in a 3 minute address that sequestration of the Military pay will have zero impact on our national defense.  The President added that they all volunteers and as such, they should not expect to be paid.

Okay, the Times did not print those headlines--

But they would have if they could transfer the blame for the cuts on Congress; as they did with the sequestration.

However, I guarantee you that the President believes that the military should serve without pay.

Here is what happened:

President Obama has notified Congress that he is capping next year's pay raise for military personnel at 1 percent instead of the 1.8 percent called for by federal law.

The federal law says military pay raises must be based on the Employment Cost Index compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which ties military raises to private sector pay growth. Under that formula, military personnel should be getting a 1.8 percent pay raise beginning in January 2014.

However, the law allows; “if because of national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare, the president considers the pay adjustment which would otherwise be required by this section in any year to be inappropriate.”, the president can inform Congress of an alternative pay adjustment "

Obama wrote to congressional leaders: "I am strongly committed to supporting our uniformed service members, who have made such great contributions to our nation over the past decade of war. As our country continues to recover from serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare, however, we must maintain efforts to keep our nation on a sustainable fiscal course."

Enough is enough!  It was the military and only the military that suffered an actual cut in budget as a result of the Presidents sequestration.  The military has suffered major program cuts under this administration; many of which have a negative impact on the future safety of our troops.  Some negatively impact national defense.

He asserted that his decision "will not materially affect the federal government's ability to attract and retain well-qualified members" of the military.

If you believe that, I want to talk to you about ocean-front property in Arizona.

In July, the House passed a bill   authorizing the full 1.8 percent raise; the anti-military Democrat controlled Senate set the raise at the 1 percent recommended by Obama.

Military pay rose 1.6 percent in 2012 and 1.6 percent for 2013.

Retired Air Force Col. Mike Hayden, director of government relations for the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), calculated that the reduced pay raise could cost an officer with 10

Numerous studies have shown that about 75 percent of civil servants are overpaid.  Furthermore, all civil servants receive extremely good retirements and health benefits.

It is the military that puts their lives on the line, not the civil servants.

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the military tends to vote conservatively while civil servants tend to vote for the liberals?

Comments are invited!

Send feedback to:  WatchDog