Your Thoughts ? I read that our "Commander in Chief" is looking to reduce Military pay.?

Navy Times

Wednesday Jul 9, 2008 11:10:55 EDT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama knows that to win the vote of current and former military members and their families, he has to prove himself.

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Military members and their families deserve better pay and benefits, he said, and although money might be hard to find for a generous increase, he supports increasing basic pay to keep up with inflation and private-sector salaries, and he believes housing allowances need to be increased so young service members and their families can afford adequate places to live.

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My how times change.

Pay cant be reduced, it is already stated and will stay that way. The only way there could be a reduction in pay for all military personnel is if there is a major depression and everything needs to be cut. Every year there is suggestions by the DoD to how much the pay should increase, it is then put before Congress who takes it or counters with their own idea. Usually then it is met in the middle. With the Cost of Living not going up as much this year as it did in the past 2 years, the increase does not need to be as much.

What I have heard is that he is not actually going to reduce pay, but that he is going to change benefits.

For example: Secretary of Defense Gates had a chart in one interview I saw on CNN where he showed how the military pays about 1200.00 a year for medical costs, but other federal employees pay 3200.00 a year for medical costs. He thought this should be equal. So it was not really lowering pay, but reducing benefits is what was talked about. So its kind of a shell game, where they don't reduce the pay, but make the individual pay more for benifits.

A link to prove your statement would have been useful. Interesting how Bush was able to use the military to evoke revenge on Saddam. Pretty much wasted the lives of brave men in Iraq for a personal vendetta. And the right didn't find that to be much of a problem. Yet the rumor of pay cuts to the military is a call to arms.

Obama as President is only pulling in 450k. Hardly enough to break the bank considering that CEOs of major corporations are yanking in millions in bonus'. And they don't have to answer to the populous.

First a correction: Obama is not "our" Commander In Chief. The president becomes the Commander In Chief of American military forces when they're engaged in warfare. The president is never the Commander In Chief of civilians. Where's the link for your information on military pay? I haven't heard or read anything abour military pay or benefit reductions and I correspond regularly with members of veterans groups that keep up with these kinds of things. Obama's a Democrat. Dems might increase pay but they don't decrease it.

You should post a link to the actual story. The President doesn't have the authority to cut our pay. All he can do is recommend to Congress that they cut our pay but no politician who wants to be reelected would vote on such a thing. The most he could hope to do is ask for a lower pay raise but once again it has to clear Congress.

While I cannot be 100% sure it is highly unlikely they would reduce military pay with all the other things they could do to cut costs.

Also would you rather have sarah palin instead of Obama? At least he makes us look good as a country.

You're most likely correct! After all, he wanted them to pay for their own medical care, calling them, "...volunteers", as justification.

He's tied their hands in the Afghan campaign and then blames the no night fighting, no house searches, and Miranda rights on the commanding general.

Billions for stimulus but none for the military! Sounds just like Obama and his Democrat minions!

I doubt that he would even try to reduce their pay. There would be such a public outcry the likes you have never seen . Not to mention all the hell the veterans organizations would raise .

I think that the military should receive a 10% pay raise and that our congress should take a pay cut of 20%. nuf said.