All cost of living increases for government employees, including the military, should be frozen. Raising military basic pay is politically popular, but it’s fiscally irresponsible. Basic pay increases have a decades-long impact on the budget.
The military is already well paid. Compare pay and benefits for an E-4 or E-5 with 4 years of service versus someone in the private sector who also doesn’t have a college degree. They aren’t even close. I’m not saying they should be, but government doesn’t have a bottomless pit of money.
If combat is the concern, then double or triple combat pay and family separation allowances. That would help reimburse those who are making greater sacrifices without blowing the budget over the long haul.
Okay, but let us be honest.
What exactly does a company like Haliburton pay an American civillian with no college degree to work in a middle eastern warzone?
I think you had better have both items at least be on the same continent in your comparisons