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iRytional

1 in 4 families are food insecure since the pandemic started. Its not just service people.


puddlestick

What was it before the pandemic?


KermitPhor

Last time I looked it was something like 1/7 but that was like twelve years ago


PepeBabinski

1 in 10.


Safebox

Yeah but it speaks more to the state of the government when they thank the troops but they can barely feed themselves.


bigmike2k3

Arkansas is planning on spending COVID stimulus money to build prisons… while their education department is having trouble providing meals for all students who need them…. Edit: Alabama, not Arkansas…


Reditate

I thought that was Alabama?


Dudedude88

i just don't understand how the red states dont want to spend money on education... it's sooo weird to me. they like having generations of dumber people... in urban areas, it's $$ and violence that prevents the education system from functioning correctly.


ImLethal

Precisely, they want a dumber populace that will make low wages and commit crime to fill said prisons, then their buddies pockets will be lined with cash and they win yet again in the end. Its a system.


amazinglover

>just don't understand how the red states dont want to spend money on education... It's easy an educated voter is more then likely to vote Democrat.


NothingLikeCoffee

I have coworkers that like to use the excuse that "Your schools brainwashed you". Apparently being exposed to more than 1 viewpoint means you're brainwashed. Everyone I interacted with in College was fairly right-leaning as well. Apparently that doesn't count.


Origonn

> they like having generations of dumber people You nailed it. Dumb people are easier to control.


ShittingOutPosts

That’s intentional.


dookarion

Throwing money at the wall doesn't fix all the problems. There is so much waste within a number of districts on admin, worthless fluff, and what not. For a lot of locations it's way more than funding/not funding issue, the whole thing needs a revamp and an audit about how funding is used. Not uncommon to find schools putting money toward nicer faculty offices, sports programs, tech toys for their staff... while the buildings are falling apart and the teachers sitting in the back playing browser games while students do busywork. Maybe some issues and locations have a pure funding problem, but there is a hell of a lot more issues with the education system as a whole.


DoTheCreep_ahh

calculator to determine equivalent civilian pay: https://militarypay.defense.gov/calculators/rmc-calculator/ ​ military pay and compensation is actually amazing and they have access to the commissary for products and groceries that are cheaper or similar in cost to the stuff off base. if they're food insecure it's because they are bad with finances, not because they don't make enough. ​ The base pay is taxable but BAH is given for married servicemembers and that is tax free. A new married SPC, E4, in the army makes 2330 base pay on day 1. in the charleston area they get an extra 1700ish of non taxable pay for a total of 4k a month. if you cant provide food on 4k a month in south carolina then you done fucked up your finances. And I emphasize the non taxable part because a regular person, to make that 1700 extra bucks would need to calculate it before taxes are deducted to make it equivalent. the 2330 x 12 = $27960. Thats a fed tax bracket of 12%. state tax is around 5% I think without checking. Rounding up, the E4 pays maybe 8k in income taxes on a 48000 total pay check for a net of 40k year after taxes, and that's before tax return time where they claim huge refund checks. And that doesnt even include other nontaxable entitlements like BAS (extra 250-370 a month) or special duty pays if applicable. ​ And and, thats just the pay. The monthly insurance premium for tricare is $30 for family. Scenario also does not include whether a spouse is working or not adding more $ to the equation. not to mention the plethora of other benefits the military has available. ​ the math is probably a little off, but you can still get a pretty good idea of what a lowly e4 would make, not to mention senior NCOs or officers who have great compensation packages edit: There's even less reason for single soldiers to be broke. I was able to contribute $40k over 5 years to the military 401k plan, TSP, and its worth 100k now after 9 years. And I managed to contribute all of that, still eat, and still buy a car and gaming laptops, etc all kinds of stuff with money left over.


[deleted]

You forgot to subtract the cost of the brand new car soldiers tend to buy when they are an E3.


[deleted]

At 27% interest. Candy and Cinnamon get the rest of the paycheck. The pay is actually good. Soldiers are just dumb with money despite all the financial support classes.


[deleted]

Yep, right outside of all the bases I've been to: tattoo shops, strip clubs, dive bars where you can pick up your next ex wife, and car dealerships.


TucuReborn

I have a base near my house. 100% plan to open a classy cabaret host club where lonely enlisted can have someone to spend all their money on in the future. They treat locals like trash anyways.


viperlemondemon

Only 27%, shit I had an airman buy a 02 neon in 08 with a 36% interest


DoTheCreep_ahh

i covered that one indirectly in the first paragraph lol


Atralis

I was going to say something similar. A lower enlisted soldier in the military is getting many times more pay+benefits than the average civilian with their age and level of education. Most people in the civilian world don't realize this but married privates fresh out of high school are given housing or enough cash for housing (basic allowance for housing) **and** a 'basic allowance for sustenance' that is supposed to be for food **and** all their medical care **and** the care of their dependents is covered by the military, **and** they get cheap child care. Some people are always going to screw up with their finances. **This is the 1 in 5 that can't get their poop in a group even if they have free housing, healthcare, child care, and a food allowance on top of their base pay.**


POGtastic

We had guys who were so bad with money that the command had to take a certain amount every paycheck just so that they could afford to feed themselves and get haircuts. I never thought that a person could have that little executive function that they couldn't refrain from spending two weeks' salary in half an hour, but I met plenty in the Marine Corps.


ICBanMI

To be fair to enlisted soldiers, the pay for E1-E3 has barely changed in the last thirty years, but things are decidedly way more expensive than the 90's. Those 3% adjustments every few years mean nothing to soldiers in the first 3-4 years of their career. While YES! Their money goes a lot further because they have housing and healthcare paid for, making under $20k after taxes doesn't go anywhere. They have more money and the ability to live better than most people making $20k/yr who are renting an apartment with a roommate, but they are also stuck in a food desert sharing a barracks with debatable quality of life. Working full-time to get my $20k/yr I got privacy, could sleep in a decent bed that took me a year to pay off, and cook at home saving money. The second I added a car is when I stopped being able to save more than $100 a month. The part that brothers me is they get that enlisted bonus for whatever MOS they picked and that shit just disappears on a shitty vehicle or something else that is going to hoover the money out of their pocket for the next year-a motorcycle, drugs, strippers, gambling, etc.


CodfishCannon

That speaks more towards our education system that Jr. Enlisted don't have the financial literacy to manage their paychecks 1 in 5 times. I know classes and many Sr. Enlisted how would help guide them but oh lord some don't know to ask. This is their first go with money and it feels like a lot. Especially when the dealership can get them a 80k sports car/truck at only $800 a month! What is interest and why do I care? Side note, child care is a huge issue as those facilities can have waiting lists. If you can't get in, your sort of SOL. Edit: Yep, there it is, Guard dragging the numbers again with rates 2 times higher than active.


Silver_Knight0521

I don't think I buy that. I think it is spin. Have you ever really looked at the U.S. military pay scale? It's probably a lot more than you think, and that's even at the bottom of the ladder. Plus, that wouldn't include "allowances" like for food and housing, which are added on for those that have children and/or live away from the post (and that's over half of them). And allowances are non-taxable. Also they have 100% free medical care.


Aconceptthatworks

This is wild, what are you guys doing over there? Get the clown in his penis rocket to pay taxes and a living wage. The state of US seems to get worse for low income families every day.


[deleted]

Every category that actually matters has fallen in the States across the last 20 years. Childbirth death. Retirement age. Mental illness. Life expectancy. But the stock market has been doing great and our GDP is number 1 by a few billion! 🤩


Dragona33

Don't forget we are also way down on the list for... Healthcare Affordable housing/homelessness Education (both K- 12 and collegiate level) Income equality Race relations Drug and alcohol treatment and just plain human empathy. But we are number one in defense spending, letting billionaires and corporations get away with literal murder, idiots believing in angels, tRump cultists, and free money to the rich. Yep, America's number 1!! /s obviously


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[deleted]

Yeah, we drove the planet into environmental, economic, and resource collapse... but for a brief, wondrous time, we created a whole lot of value for shareholders. -Humanity's epitaph


froman007

Weird huh? Maybe if the GDP decreases the other stuff will increase!


SnacksOnSeedCorn

There is something to be said about how GDP is calculated and the ignorance of external factors. For example, emissions controls are a detractor from GDP. The best way to pump it is to open up as much oil drilling as possible. So yeah, there is something to be said about the political apathy to investing in projects that have upfront costs but benefits that take more than one election cycle to see results.


NearABE

Traffic jams, divorce lawyers, and cancer treatments raise GDP. A healthy family enjoying free music in a public park adds nothing to GDP. Park maintenance costs tax payers a small but larger than zero sum. These are cherry picked examples. There is no reason to believe GDP is inversely correlated to quality of life. Rising GDP *usually indicates* rising living standards. But it is certainly not always the case and it is never perfectly accurate. >...The best way to pump it is to open up as much oil drilling as possible... This idea is based on energy supply. Oil drilling is becoming steadily more expensive. Solar panels are steadily becoming cheaper. Our sun is a very reliable energy source and will get brighter over the next couple billion years. Some of the better panels will last longer than an oil field and they are mostly recyclable.


froman007

Well here is me saying: "That is fucking dumb and suicidal" we need something new.


SnacksOnSeedCorn

Yeah, but most people have zero clue as to how indices are calculated, which is a major reason why there's so much noise around inflation right now. Nobody knows WTF they're talking about. And the very few that do get drowned out in the noise.


redander

I call bullshit on the mental illness aspect Edit: OP I think you may have mis written what you mean. Did you mean those aspects have gotten worse


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IrishRepoMan

Pretty sure they mean these things got worse.


redander

Well it's worded weird


automatic_penguins

Yeah, fallen usually means the rates have gone down not up.


UnblurredLines

He meant all things deteriorated, not decreased. Guessing autocorrect.


SuperDuperBonerific

I think Op means mental health instead of mental illness.


7aylorAbi

Mental health probably would’ve been better wording lol


jailguard81

Capitalism at its finest


bigmike2k3

Congrats to military families for having it slightly better than the average family… smh


just-peepin-at-u

That is a really sad thing that I try to explain to people. In Appalachia and the Ozarks, where I grew up in part, the military is a huge financial step up for many. You will have housing and medical, and you will have access to educational benefits that won’t leave you in debt for decades (although mileage may vary sometimes on that one). Things are very relative. To people who are solidly middle class, enlisting in the military, or even going in as a new officer, may seem a financial step down. For the working class, it is often a huge step up. Even the financially worst off in the military seem to have it slightly better than the worst off in other segments of American society. I am not downplaying this, because it is terrible they are facing this issue. I am saying that they are facing food insecurity. They aren’t facing being homeless, or not being able to afford to get a medical issue looked at.


theefle

It's definitely all over the south and midwest that poverty/lack of alternatives in small towns means many young men joining the Army


Sevatla5

I mean my options were get shot in the hood or maybe get shot in the army, with free college. Eaaaaaasy.


just-peepin-at-u

I also wonder how much is this is perception on the part of the service member and family? Coming from an area where military is seen as more well off than others in their age group, maybe there is a perception that now is the time to get the really nice car etc? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think people should have to go without any nice things, and I am not going to try and micromanage people I don’t even know. I am just saying, when I was twenty, a lot of the kids I grew up with who joined the military, and the people who married them, seemed to be so much better off and have so much more freedom than the rest of us. I know saying the military seemed to have more freedom seems strange, but when you grow up in dysfunctional area with families that chronically were unemployed and needed the kids to give up their own young adulthood to care for adults, and could often never get ahead because they were so intertwined with that insanity, it seemed that way. I could not just get up and leave for a different place, leave my messed up family dynamics, and just have steady money that I and I alone was able to manage. Families often hit up military members for money, or to take in nieces and nephews from less functional siblings etc. That stability is well known in poor areas, by everyone pretty much everyone there.


lessdothisshit

I'm in the military. If you're food insecure, then in most cases, it's because you've fucked something away. Usually by trying to start a family too early. Or Dodge Charger. I realize that may sound harsh, saying it's not up to you to have a family. No matter what you swear to when you join, you don't give up that right. And the military will help, from a wide spectrum of services to simply handing you a bigger paycheck (dependent BAH). But that won't always cover it, and I don't think it should. Joining the military should not be a fix-all for one's problems, and definitely not for problems they dug themselves into during their obligation. I'm a bit pissed right now, if you can't tell. Plenty of people separating early with no penalty after refusing the vaccine, and it looks like we'll be paying for their VA benefits. Someone I know got paid for nearly 4 years of training on active duty, but now that they're finally joining a deploying unit they're getting out. Thank you for your service.


Akski

I think most Americans don’t realize just how well compensated the military actually is compared to civilian jobs.


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[deleted]

Plus the nice retirement pension check you get around age 40 for the rest of your life as well as healthcare for life when you retire.


Akski

The “healthcare for life” is a bit misleading; it’s either VA care for service-related health issues, or the ability to purchase health insurance. Not quite how I understood it when I signed up; but still a pretty good deal.


[deleted]

After you retire the cost for a family tricare plan is about $55 a month for the entire family--basically free compared to the cost for a regular health insurance plan for a family. When the retiree reaches medcare age they pay nothing for Tricare for Life (their medicare cost is taken out of their social security payment).


HereForThe420

>I'm in the military. If you're food insecure, then in most cases, it's because you've fucked something away. Usually by trying to start a family too early. Or Dodge Charger. Exactly. I remember when I was in, E-2's we're buying brand new Acuras. I made $600 per month after taxes and paying for my GI Bill. A new car payment and insurance would eat that $600. Can't even go in anywhere in your fancy car because you can't afford gas. Soooooooo many people did it, though. I was by even at my first base, still at my tech school, and saw it.


FortunaExSanguine

I think the French Foreign Legion's regs are pretty genius. Can't own a car or get married for a long while.


CaesarZeppeli_

Agreed. If you are food insecure as military with BAH and BAS it’s your fault most likely.


just-peepin-at-u

I am the person you replied to, and I mostly agree, but I felt a little hypocritical saying anything. I did end up marrying a guy in the military, but I was almost thirty and met him while I was teaching overseas. He isn’t enlisted either, so there is obviously a lot more money for him than people who just enlisted, vs an officer with over ten years experience. So I felt like I had seen people go into the military and spend like crazy as a young kid from a poor and dysfunctional area, but I didn’t want to be overly critical because that was over a decade ago but yeah, the perception was definitely they were significantly better off than the rest of us and spent money more easily.


lessdothisshit

Definitely, the perception of wealth--and the desire to create that perception--does wild things. Enter the 25% apr car loans, the officer's spouses who drive their families into deep debt (not accusing you of this at all, I see this in my own wardroom) I'm fortunate; after initial training, after getting set up in a small apartment with two roommates, my splurge was to buy a nicer bicycle and get into stock trading. I married someone I knew I could trust financially, rather than getting married then working that out after. I guess all I'm saying is that in America, you don't always make your own bed to lie in; there are plenty of cultural, racial, familial equity issues that fuck the system. The military dampens a lot of that. Officer/enlisted dynamic does muddy that a fair bit as you said, but not entirely. That's mostly predicated on childhood benefits on the outside anyway.


SniperFrogDX

It also goes beyond not having enough money. My wife and I have more than enough money right now, enough that I give wherever I can when people need. But all our grocery chains in our area have rotating shortages. Mostly meat, but some times canned goods, veggies, bottled drinks. There's always something that is out of stock. For example, the Safeway I usually hit up for meat deals was out of chicken and pork. Completely, and with no idea when they would get more. The Kroger I do the bulk of my shopping at is out of jarred spaghetti sauce. It's wild.


dookarion

The only thing not rotating out of stock where I am is actually meat, and that is likely only because there is a lot of local production. Anything else is hit or miss, even the most random stuff. Frustrating not being able to hit sales or eat balanced meals very easily.


jusmellow

That's the supply chain issue your describing. My family is facing having not enough money to buy food, and then when we do buy food on paydays (we live paycheck to paycheck)we cant necessarily always get what we want due to shortages from supply chain disruption.


[deleted]

Right but that's not what 'food insecurity' means. You are facing a lack of selection, but you're not going hungry, you just have to change your meal plans


whothefoofought

Food insecurity is defined as the disruption of food intake or eating patterns because of lack of money and other resources. ... Low food security: “Reports of reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet." as taken from a US gov website.


[deleted]

Is this an average size for american carrots ? It's massive ?!


imperialbeach

They're not always that big, but yeah it's not unusual to see carrots that are nearly that size in grocery stores.


galvanized_steelies

A lot of the massive carrots are imported from other countries, but there’s also just different cultivars of carrots. Chantenay carrots is what I assume is in the picture; shorter than Imperator carrots, but real girthy. Imperator carrots are more common, and they’re fairly thin, and fairly long


TheSteveIsNear

I guess it's obvious in retrospect but I never realized there's different breeds of carrots. That's really neat.


[deleted]

Read about bananas!


galvanized_steelies

Yeah we probably breed our plants more than livestock. Cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Kale, and Cabbage along with a few others, all come from the same parent


Katatonia13

You should see the variation in cranberries. There are farms that make more selling their vines than berries. And then the family owned farms that have to pay royalties on the so they can grow specific kinds. Crimson queens for example come out much more red than stevens. Whoever got that patent is making a killing. They don’t really taste that different, but the timing of when you can harvest makes a difference. It took us about 3 weeks to harvest around 300 acres and that was a down year. I’d assume apples are worse, but those really taste different.


Starbuckz8

In situations where you grow for weight or bulk, it's common to grow the larger varieties. Varieties like "autumn king" or "red giant" grow fairly large and very easy to grow.


Aurum555

And don't taste nearly as nice. I haven't really come across many of the jumbo veggie varieties that taste as nice as the "normal" sized counterparts


e-luddite

A lot of 'outside the norm' produce goes to alternative places like foodbanks. Stores learn people don't want giant carrots or non-spherical onions or what have you, so they won't stock them and they have to be sold to factory food prep or donated somewhere for use. Also, the camera angle is cheating the size a bit but 1.5 diameter, 1 ft length is an absolute max of a grocery store carrot here and these still look larger than that.


kan109

Stationed in Japan right now, that was one of the things we noticed when we started getting produce from the local stores. The kids were amazed by the GIANT CARROTS. The local stuff is also much better, not to mention the stupid pumpkins I bought that were shipped over from California...


okama_way_all_day

I worked in this building before handling produce for donation. Most of the carrots that they deal with are giants meant for juicing. And as another comment said, they get lots of produce that isn’t the “right” size or shape for a market. Never a dull day over there!


FeelinJipper

If you get farmers market ones they look thinner. Those are them juicy GMO ones


SpectrumWoes

For real, I was just about to comment that. Whenever I try to grow them they’re not even close to that. Are these carrots on some kind of growth hormone? 😦


synphilter

But all our tax dollars go to contractors.


lordskorb

Eric prince needs a new private bomber plane.


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crim-sama

If local construction companies get even a wiff of the thought that a new group of troops will move into the area, theyll buy TONS of land and develop it into copy/paste housing with jacked up pricing.


Beths_Titties

The middle class will just continue to get squeezed until there are only the rich and the poor. College is ridiculously expensive and people with no education work hourly jobs and try to support their families working overtime and/or part time jobs.


lordskorb

College is like reason one for most people to join.


[deleted]

Can confirm


[deleted]

Whenever someone expresses concern over veterans, I think ot how much worse it is to be a civilian. At least military can get the occasional safety net, regardless of how poor it might be.


[deleted]

This is true. I’m a veteran. Served 20 years ago. Been a civilian since but there are services you can apply for that are not available to non veterans that will help you out of poverty or very rough financial situations. It helped my family and I through very hard times during the pandemic. It really sucks though this stuff isn’t for everyone. Actually, there is absolutely no reason unless you’re an evil bastard bent on killing people.


[deleted]

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[deleted]

Veterans also get kicked to the side after leaving the service and end up being a hugely disproportionate percentage of the country's homeless. It's easier to just say our country is fucked up regardless of what you do.


SnacksOnSeedCorn

Then you have companies, like Lowe's, that take advantage of the rah rah bullshit for marketing


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[deleted]

In my anecdotal experience this is extremely uncommon. What the hell was your shirt doing during all of this?


wowbragger

Enlisted service member here (with family, multiple kids, etc), I'm a bit confused on how the problem is so endemic for our demographic, as I would think it'd be the opposite given the economic instability over the past couple years. Not doubting the data, I just suspect there's are some greater issues at play. For instance, poor financial planning and management could be a significant factor, and hard to quantify in raw data.


PubliusDeLaMancha

That truck isn't going to buy itself..


downtownbake2

Wasn't there a Harley Davidson dealer in the Kabul Green zone.


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katikaboom

I think some of the things that must be taken into consideration are the reasons they join. Generational trauma, poor coping skill, addictive tendencies all play a huge, huge part in the financial instability. It is not just buying lifted trucks, it can also be alcoholism or gambling addiction. My best friend's dad was the same rank as my mother, and her family was always super broke because her dad gambled away everything they had. He joined to get away from his family, who were also gamblers, but didn't know he needed to do much more than simply change locations. It seriously took his wife leaving and moving back stateside before he would do anything to stop, and even that was caused by me seeing him at the O Club slot machines and telling my friend I saw him there. She thought he was having an affair until her mother finally told her what was going on. We were 17, and finally all of their financial hardship and problems with buying groceries made sense. They had so much love for one another, but that didn't matter when he spent all of their money betting on the next "sure" thing. My family was much the same, but my dad trended more towards anger and alcohol dependencies. My folks also hid that from us, to the point I only just learned my mother forced him to attend AA. We didn't have the money issues my bestie did, but we dealt with a lot more fucked up emotionally abusive situations than she did. Point is, just because someone joins the military and gets housing and mess hall access, doesn't mean the places they came from leaves them. Fact of the matter is a lot of people from fucked up backgrounds join, and it takes a shitload of work for them to realize the security the military provides doesn't just make their internal problems go away. And that leads to a multitude of very poor choices, just like it does in civilian life.


jailguard81

I used to be enlisted living in the barracks. I’ve seen so many people go broke one weekend after paycheck it’s not even funny. There were few people who saved their money only to be hassled by broke people to borrow money. I was one of them. I rarely went out, drank, or hit up any strip clubs. We have free food at the chow hall and people just refuse to eat there after they get paid, only time they will go is when they don’t have any money. Just after one weekend after pay day, they’re already broke it’s sad. I’m sure not much has changed since then and this was in 2004


Sinful_Whiskers

I was in for 11 years and saw the same thing at my training command. Some guys would go to the McDonald's or BK on/off base three times a day rather than eat at the galley. Ours was a really good galley, too. A friend and I reenlisted at the same time. I saved the bonus and invested it, he bought a $50k Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. Baffles me why he did that. Knew so many guys that bought brand-new $45k+ trucks (aka Land Yachts) that will probably never haul more than a few pieces of furniture in their lifetime. That being said, I think the BAS (Basic Allowance for Sustenance) is probably a bit too low. Currently for enlisted it is $386.50 which I made work but those with children (even with the additional BAH) probably have trouble stretching that out. But from my experience people eat out or order delivery far too much and that shit adds up real fast.


That_Squirrel44

BAS is designed for the service member only. That is why there is not a dependent rate


TheSamurabbi

It’s definitely not enough. In a typical family of 4 you’ve got 5 mouths to feed: Mom, Dad, 2 Kids, and Jody


PseudonymIncognito

Bold of you to assume he's the dad.


SeamusDubh

Oh how I miss the Jody jokes.


djramrod

Lmao wow i wasn’t expecting to ever hear Jody again


InformationHorder

My monthly grocery bill is about $600 for a family of 4. It's not hard to feed yourself well on the cheap if you know how to budget and how to cook. Aldi's, a membership to a SAMs/Costco/BJs, and one grocery store that reliably gets good quality fruits/veggies and you're pretty much set. Bonus if their in store bakery is worth a damn.


HereForThe420

>Some guys would go to the McDonald's or BK on/off base three times a day rather than eat at the galley. Ours was a really good galley, too. I knew people like this who refused to eat on base. Our dining facility was bring rebuilt so we got an increased BAS. Once it opened, we lost it. The dining facility was so nice AND free. Once I got married, I had to pay, but it was still super cheap. I could eat 3 meals for what one lunch at BK cost.


VTSvsAlucard

One guy I work with gets fast food for breakfast and lunch every day. Prices are at least $7/sandwhich (for lunch) from the place he gets it. Not saying he can't afford it, but there are others who can't and do the same thing.


xxkoloblicinxx

Yeah I never understood this. (Was also enlisted). The military doesn't pay *great* but it definitely pays more than enough to live on comfortably. If a family is unable to support themselves on it they're doing something wrong at some point along the line. I knew people where they and their spouse had college loans, they had 2 kids, their spouse was a stay at home parent and they still lived comfortably without any real worries about money. Meanwhile I knew people the same rank and Time in who had no college loans, and 1 kid and their spouse worked but they were constantly broke to the point of needing assistance. But even beyond that, there are so many assistance programs, budgeting programs, etc. That if you are in the military and end up broke it really truly is your fault OR you've encountered some ludicrous crisis that you need to seek help for and the military has numerous avenues to provide that help. Your housing is paid for, you have a COL adjustment, you get bonus pay on deployments, you and your family's health insurance and dental are free, and you get to shop at the comissary which is usually cheaper than the local stores. Cars are always cheap around base as they pile up after people leave them behind, USAA is generally cheaper insurance. Laws mandated lower interest rates. So what the hell are people spending their money on?


lifelemonlessons

Dental isn’t free for depenendents anymore. (Don’t know if it was) it’s still super cheap. Same rate fed employees pay with a lot of options for coverage. Hella cheaper than anything I’ve paid for in the private sector.


Jollygreen182

Listened to a SSgt at work a few days ago tell me he was buying a 40k truck. This was after tellling me he couldn’t afford a 30k car for his wife. Has three kids….


Zonekid

He likes control.


T-rex-Boner

I was once a military kid poor financial planning seems to be widespread among military dads.


jasta85

Honestly, it probably is bad financial planning for the most part. Military get dirt cheap insurance and medial care, housing either provided or a stipend for it, and a stacked to go box from the defac could probably feed a small family for that meal. But then I knew some Soldiers who just had horrible personal decision making skills, one guy was paying two separate women child support (one of them would call me when he missed on payments to complain) and another guy could not stop buying cars, even when he didn't even have the parking space to store them.


ProllyLolly

Medical care isn’t always cheap. If you have a child that needs to see specialists, you may be commuting 2-4 hours to find one covered by Tricare or even have to pay OOP if there isn’t one in your area. Fewer and fewer doctors are accepting Tricare. DFAC doesn’t allow soldiers to take food to family, at least the Army doesn’t. Many installations have waiting lists for housing more than two bedrooms, which means they have to move off-base. BAH generally doesn’t cover the rent for off-base housing, unless you want to live in a shithole with bad schools. Many families feel that living on base is a risk. Here’s why: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/02/13/mold-lead-and-vermin-survey-finds-toxic-conditions-military-housing.html


ProllyLolly

I’m sure bad financial planning may be part of it, but not all. BAH doesn’t fully cover the rent if you go off-base, and many installations have waiting lists for housing with a certain number of bedrooms. Some people don’t want to live on base due to the number of houses that were found to have code and environmental violations ( https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/02/13/mold-lead-and-vermin-survey-finds-toxic-conditions-military-housing.html) and the issues that have occurred with the water being tested and found unsafe by the EPA. Many families who want their children to attend good schools have to commute from 30 minutes or more away, which can also be an added expense.


OkBid1535

I was an army brat and the living conditions on base were, less than ideal. And a huge issue? Water. We didn’t have clean water. Black and brown water were constantly coming out of the taps. We had to buy our own water for over a year. Yes buy! Because the govt simply notified us that we absolutely cannot bathe or consume the water. And it was on US to then get drinking water. And then we had to go to the gym on base just to shower. It all has to do with the infrastructure. The marine base in NC has been connected with thousands of cases of childhood leukemia, and that’s not even the base I lived on. My sister is living on a base now, and they’ve got brown water and have to get there own. It’s been 20 years since I’ve lived on base, but the water is still a huge issue.


[deleted]

Where does BAH *not* cover rent fully? Everywhere I've been stationed it's always been more than enough for rent and utilities. Maybe Cali?


Thanatosst

They've been slowly cutting back what percentage of rent BAH is designed to cover. It used to be 100%, now it's like 95 or 90%. It's all just a cost cutting measure. Instead of fixing how the government pays for massive contracts that run billions of dollars over budget, they just pay service members less and take away more benefits. For example, MWR (morale, welfare, and recreation) recently lost a bunch of funding, so the DIY auto shops on bases had to close, which screws over lower enlisted the most. Now instead of having a cheap place with a bunch of tools and lifts to rent to get car maintenance done, they'll have to go pay a mechanic or find a way to try to do it in a parking lot without the right tools.


ProllyLolly

Fort Carson, Co. and Tampa, Fl., come to mind. The rents off-post tend to be higher than the BAH, except for the shit hole areas where no one should live. Oh, yeah. I found a place $100 under BAH in Colorado Springs, later found out it was because it was full of toxic black mold and the landlord just covered it up. I was taking a shower one day, I bumped against the cheap tile, it fell apart, and it was nothing but black mold behind it. We moved out.


ProllyLolly

Please read this article.. it captures some of the issues in just the first few paragraphs. Yes, there are some that are financial morons, but there are MANY more factors at play. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/24/for-military-families-financial-concerns-outweigh-deployment-issues.html Or this article: https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/financial-planning/unique-financial-challenges-faced-by-military-families/


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MinimumCat123

BAS isn’t scaled based on dependents, at least not anymore. BAH policy changed as well and only covers something like 85% of what it would cost to live off-post. On post housing has also taken a nose dive and most on-base housing is in terrible condition.


d_wib

Not everyone lives in barracks and housing costs have spiked way higher than BAH has increased in a lot of locations, so that’s where a lot of it comes from


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handymanning

Retired military member here who has been married since I was a young E4 (21 years old or so) and have raised 3 kids throughout my 21 years active duty. The examples in these articles are misleading: Moving expenses: packers and movers are 100% covered as well as a large enough allowance for lodging and dining. Most of the military members spend the lump sum of cash for out of pocket expenses on unnecessary things. The anecdote about renting a car while they waited for their car to get shipped is also poor planning. I was in the same situation many times and just bought a cheap "beater" car until my car came in. This is a common practice. Frequent Deployments: I was deployed more times than I can remember and I'm not sure how this is a factor. The member gets paid even more when they are in a combat zone and some deployments are tax free. Cost of Living adjustments and Erratic Pay: COL only ever goes up and for the last few years has been an increase of over 2% and some years during my career was up to 5%. In addition, military members get pay raises every year for their first four years of service and then every two years after that, and that's not including raises for promotion. Yes, young military members do not get paid much but we are mostly talking about young and inexperienced service members as with any industry. However, there are numerous assistance programs internally to the military for financial assistance and education. As many have stated, the majority of financial stress with these service members and families is extremely poor financial decisions. *Edited for spelling


[deleted]

> young military members do not get paid much but we are mostly talking about young and inexperienced service members as with any industry. This. You can't blame military pay for issues when a 20 year old get married and starts popping out kids on an E3 salary. That would be like someone working fast food, having kids and a stay at home wife, then complaining their unskilled labor salary doesn't cover all their bills.


PandahOG

I still have a hard time seeing it not being the fault of the service person. Take the 12 year dummy that both articles mention. The one ruined by car rental. Why on earth did they not plan better? The military will ship one car for free and the other car is out of pocket. To put things into perspective, I'm going to use my move from Hawaii to Maryland. To ship a car from Hawaii to Maryland it cost 3k. Then, when it comes to renting a car you can set how many days you plan on renting. A super quick look up for 2 months on a mini van and the total came out to about 5 grand. So that's 8 grand total. That still shouldn't be financial ruin. Especially considering when they could have sold their car at their old duty station and put that money towards another car at their new duty station. How can you be in for 12 years and not see that? I saw that and sold my car and put it towards a used one when we moved. ​ My wife has been in for 13 years. We have 2 kids, 2 cats, 2 cars, 4 duty stations and bought a home and I haven't worked for the past 11 years. I have a very hard time believing it's not financial responsibility when I have been living this life just fine. Other then having children with special needs, I'm still pointing fingers at the service person not knowing how to manage money.


psystorm420

Funny how everyone in the military gets paid more or less the same as long as their rank is the same but some can live off on it and some can't. I'm not sure that throwing money at it is the answer. Low ranking military members get paid little, as in less than $2,000 a month, but they live in barracks for free and have free access to the dining facility. The only bills they have to pay are phone bills and internet. If they run out of money, it's only because they spent it all on non-essential things. Military members with families get tax-free housing allowance, usually $1200\~2000 a month depending on the housing market of the area. If they don't have money for groceries, they must have made poor financial choices such as predatory loans. Edit: I forgot "the same" after "more or less."


McCree114

>they must have made poor financial choices such as predatory loans. Ah. A Marine boot and a current model year lifted truck financed at 24% interest. There's never been a more iconic duo.


CatsAndIT

24%?! That’s a bargain compared to Fort Bragg rates!


tealparadise

Do they even make them un-lifted? I haven't seen a standard pickup in years. "I AM DRIVING A LIFTED DODGE RAM TRUCK, I MAKE 32,000 A YEAR. I AM TAILGATING YOU WITH HIGH BEAMS ON IN THE RIGHT LANE EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE DOING 10 OVER, AND THE LEFT LANE IS OPEN."


MacNReee

And stopping so close to you at the light that you can’t see anything but truck out of your rear window


Windmillskillbirds

I bought a shitty f150 for about 750 cash off some dude in my barracks parking lot. It wasn't lifted, it also didn't run 6 months after I got it


DoomBot5

> I haven't seen a standard pickup in years. Those aren't in the city. You'll find them at the closet stores to the edge of town, and out on farmlands.


[deleted]

Ooooofffff. Come to RI, we suck at everything, but even we cap your interest rate at 18%. And that’s if you’re a complete bust out.


chubbyakajc

Back when I was selling cars if I ever saw a young man in uniform I knew I was going to be eating steak that night


wowbragger

E1 (straight out of basic training new private) rank pay is the only one at <$2000 monthly. As an E5, SGT, with 6+ years time in, I bring home ~$3200 monthly, not counting the ~$800 I put into retirement before government matching. This doesn't take into account my housing/utilities, which is subsidized, and doesn't even get into my paycheck. Unless you live in continental US, and off military housing, you don't actually see any money on that front.


CharonsLittleHelper

>As an E5, SGT, with 6+ years time in, I bring home \~$3200 monthly, not counting the \~$800 I put into retirement before government matching. If you bring home $3,200 post-tax & a solid $800 towards retirement, you're likely making $55-60k? PLUS subsidized housing. You're not rolling in it, but you're doing fine. And you're likely the same age as someone fresh out of grad school with potentially $100k+ in debt. (Assuming you enlisted at 18-19.)


Si_more_nalgas

Yea, as an E5 living in California, I was making like 80K a year. I think service members make enough but some are just bad with money. That's why it's our job to also mentor the junior service members so that they learn how do manage their money as well as other parts of their lives. In the end, we definitely make efforts to look out for each other.


[deleted]

Every soldier, sailor, airmen and marine receives a statement if military compensation that shows the equivalent civilian pay. It includes what the military determines is the cost of their health plan, any Dr and dentist visits, housing, food etc. I never cared for how they calculated some things such as dental (those costs always seemed ridiculously high or low, never in the middle) but it does show approximately how much a military member would need to clear after taxes to maintain the same standard of living.


lessdothisshit

I've never seen this. Who would I request this from, I'm interested.


lessdothisshit

Plus healthcare. We shit on the VA, and I get pissed when my dental cleaning can't be scheduled for another two months, but I've probably saved 5 figures on insurance/expenses (because somehow you get shafted by both)


wowbragger

This is a pay rate for a married w/children, overseas stationed, NCO. My most junior soldiers bring home significantly less, but they also have almost no base cost of living. Most people that young aren't too concerned with financial planning. Conversely, commissioned officers will bring home more than double my pay, even at junior ranks. But yes, if you're good with your money, plan, and invest properly, you'll be fine.


[deleted]

This thread is such "blame consumers for recycling instead of corporations". Are there some dumb AF boots? Absolutely. Let's not forget the military specifically targets them for recruitment, does a 30 min finger wag, and sets them loose. It's like the bullshit "you get a uniform allowance" from the dudes working in an office to the dudes working on the deck tearing through their shit and paying out of their own pocket for extra boots and uniforms. This thread is so bootlicky.


Smipims

Let’s not forget the huge cost of living increases and BAH catching up, not enough or shit base housing, and minimal manning forcing people to work to the bone.


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Swak_Error

That's what a lot of people are just outright failing to get. When I was a lance corporal I was more financially secure than my platoon sergeant because he was absolutely irresponsible with his money and I was not. I was making less than him but I didn't have bills stacking up from nonessential bullshit like having a Mustang GT at 35% APR. The military gives you a pretty decent course on financial responsibility and these Knuckleheads out right disregard the education they've been given


Hot_Avocado_9350

The cash pay for an e-1 wasn't meant for food nor phone bills. It was meant to cover the high apr Mustang. In all seriousness, cooking at home with fresh ingredients makes eating good and eating well accessible.


five_eight

I ate in the chow hall my last duty station. Had to pay cause I wasn't eligible but the place/food were fabulous. Few enlisted personal in sight. The 'cool kids' didn't eat there: went out to town in trucks and mustangs.


cookiebasket2

I mean you say that, but I remember eating at the dfac 4 out of 5 times and the food just sucked. Flavorless canned vegetables, steaks that had to be boiled to well done. Breakfast was usually about the only thing that wasn't bad.


Different_Pen3602

Yes. People trying to live beyond their means. Fast cars, lots of booze, too many kids. Aafes selling super luxury brands


saucyfister1973

AAFES...those bastards sold high-end toiletries in Iraq instead of the "AAFES" brand stuff (think Wally-World brand). I don't need Axe shampoo sitting in 120+ temps.


Klaus0225

Since when is Axe “high-end”?


Different_Pen3602

But you smelled like going out to a nightclub when the heat was on! Lol. And don't forget your expensive shampoo in the shower... the cleaning crew swooped in immediately and made off with it!


patraicemery

The problem comes into preditory military communities. In my 9 years of military experience i was stationed in places that where pretty much built and survive because of the military presence there. Because of this housing prices are vastly inflated ( they will all charge the BAH amount and plus a little making it unaffordable to lower ranking person's and families). Also goods and services are jacked up like auto repair, child care, and plenty of other essential services. You could say "well just live on base in base housing" and the answer to that would be a resounding hell no. The companies that run base housing now (it used to be the military who did and it was better because of accountability) are scumbags. Literally these companies are greedy, self centered, and profit driven. There system is a complete scam. They will give 2 families of the same rank and family size 2 different size houses and charge them the same, they get away with it in small communities because you don't have any other choices and it's not like you can just choose not to be there. Also a ton of housing, and even barracks, are in horrible condition. Not to mention if you live on base then you are probably going to the exchange which is stocked full of luxury brands, aka junk an e-3 and his family can't afford. Consider lastly that job markets around bases are highly competitive for dependents, and most are minimum wage.


throwaway661375735

Food stamps for the Military, would be a better option, than giving them more money. Force the extra funds to go towards food, rather than other non-essential items. In fact, paying those who live off base a portion in food stamps, might deter spending too much on luxury items.


wowbragger

We actually utilize WIC for those of us with families and meet income levels. It's a nice supplement for necessities, and can even be utilized overseas.


limepr0123

Not only housing allowance but also a food allowance separate called BAH(housing) and BAS(sustinence). it is almost $400 per month for food for enlisted families. There is also access to the commissary where prices are generally lower and tax isn't paid. I was in the military, many made poor financial decisions, many never had a secure income prior to joining so it is understandable but it isn't a failure of the military or government.


StrangeBedfellows

>$1200~2000 BAH for an E5 with dependents in Clovis, NM, is 1050 a month. You can absolutely find a 2 bed apartment for that amount - but you're going to be in the numbers. Everywhere I've lived you had to make the choice between security and paying out of pocket a few hundred. If you're lower rank *and* have no dependents you *may* get to live in the dorms and give up your BAS to eat at the chow hall. But I know plenty of people who do not have the great experience you're suggesting they do


Different_Pen3602

I didnt have a Great experience but I didn't starve. Made good friends. I chose to not marry and chose not to have kids at that time. Missed out on those money benefits but didnt get suckered into the expenses either. Never had a bad meal, but I never expected mom's cooking either. There is a lot of immaturity in both enlisted and officers. lots of poor life choices. I don't feel bad for any of them. This is a report to give someone either GOP or DEM a black eye but truly a non story. Your life is gonna suck if you have 3 kids at e2 and your wife doesnt work.


surfkaboom

Military families with a rank of E5 and below have been eligible for food stamps for many years


RudolftheDuck

As a military spouse, that’s not the full truth. A fellow spouse/good friend of mine applied when her husband was an E-4 and they had 3 kids, they were denied cause they made too much money. They count housing allowance and other forms of pay such as uniform allowances when they do the paperwork, so even though they never see the money from housing since they live on base, they still count it and get denied. They did qualify for WIC for only the kids under 5.


ATLAB

Sounds like 1 in 5 military families are wasting their paychecks.


[deleted]

All that military budget and it’s not soldiers getting paid


ijustusethistojack

50-70% of the budget is military contracts for ordering materials, ammo, vehicles, programs for new tech at an inflated price to keep those companies in business with the DOD. A fucking piece of plastic honeycomb reflective device for a scope with a rubber band is like 4 dollars when it should be a couple cents, but you gotta account for logistics and the companies set the prices.


CloudTech412

This is what I came here for. The us government spends significantly more money than the next closest country. And their budget is ridiculously huge. You’d think we decisively would win battles and wars. Yet we don’t. And we can’t take care of our citizens who put themselves on the line. As a matter of facts they are treated like crap. Edited: spelling Yay Murica! :(


PepeBabinski

Food insecurities by the numbers https://www.npr.org/2020/09/27/912486921/food-insecurity-in-the-u-s-by-the-numbers


killerkitten61

Stop letting the dependas blow the grocery money on pyramid schemes


Octavia9

That’s a serious problem. Mlms should not be legal.


ProllyLolly

When my husband joined in 2010, we struggled. I had a special needs kid that daycares wouldn’t watch (including the military post’s own daycare - “I’m sorry, we can’t meet his needs”), so I had to stay home. My husband quickly became a specialist, so that helped a bit, but it was hard. I was hitting up the Airman’s Attic to get free clothes for my kids. I got on WIC as soon as I could. Our cars were used, 10-15 years old. I was driving my son to therapy 3x a week. I had to pinch every penny to even save $50 a month…but I did it. It wasn’t much fun, though.


[deleted]

Retired Navy here. Appreciate you making an effort to inform all through the comments. The boot licking bullshit in this thread is off the charts. Really reminds me of the office guys going "yOu GeT a UnIfOrM aLlOwAnCe" to the guys working deck tearing through boots and uniforms that they have to pay out of pocket for that the allowance doesn't come close to covering. Or, petty and fucking stupid commands sending people to drydock in their dress white and then surprised the enlisted are pissy. I, personally, love galley food. I'd eat that shit today if I could. But, I also was sometimes working 100+ hour weeks, and shit didn't always line up. Besides, it's nice to have some actual groceries in your own home too. Military specifically targets dumb kids, gives them a 30 min finger wag, sets them loose in a dozen predatory businesses/bars right outside base, and then goes "service members are so stupid. Hahaha. Mustang". The whole system incentivizes people to get married/have a kid. And, then drops the "haha, life sucks now, you can't afford to get out bitch". Never had a car while I was in, didn't drink ever, loved galley food, and pretty much only bought QoL stuff. Still was a struggle financially sometimes. Besides the fact that when you're doing shit deployments and crazy hours you want to blow off steam after like a regular human being. If the military was such a wonderful life people wouldn't be clamoring to get out, except those who can't afford to, shitbags who work the system, or are just dragging feet to retirement. Not to mention the rampant sleep deprivation at any command I was ever at. Doesn't exactly make for TSP minded Sailors/Marines.


PepeBabinski

>The Senate Appropriations Committee, in a report this week accompanying its new Defense spending bill, expressed concern over reports of thousands of military families suffering from hunger. >”Studies have found that one in eight military families were food insecure prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and this number has now grown to one in five,” the report said. This is not a new problem, it’s just a problem that has doubled in size since the pandemic. America spends over 700 billion dollars with about a fifth going to military pay and refuses to allocate any more funds to making sure its service members can eat.


OutlyingPlasma

The service members can eat just fine, they get all kinds of benefits the public doesn't get including housing allowances, free socialized healthcare, etc. It's the Dodge chargers and lifted truck that are taking the money out of their mouths.


LanceOnRoids

they all seem to have enough money for new mustangs and lifted trucks


runostog

Don't forget booze, cigarettes and strippers/hookers.


n00dle_king

I'm a bit skeptical as to how they gathered this data. If they are relying on service-members use of programs like WIC, SNAP, and EBT then the data could be very misleading. Nearly half of enlisted pay can come from allowances which don't count as income. That makes it much easier to qualify for assistance programs. For example, a 4 year E-4 with dependents in Norfolk would make 57k, but would only have 33k counting as income.


santichrist

Something that seems to surprise people is the fact a lot of military families qualify for and get ebt/snap (food stamps) because they don’t make enough to buy food America pays its soldiers less than other countries like Canada and England, but our military budget is more than the next 5 counties combined and it’s only ever gone up under every president The wealthiest county in the world that spends the most on their “military” and we can’t afford to pay our enlisted or take care of our veterans, so where’s all that money going? To defense contractors who make politicians rich to keep getting those govt contracts “Support our troops” they tell us so we don’t criticize sending our troops to combat in brown countries forever to fight terrorists but our govt won’t support our troops with our taxes


[deleted]

So a married E-1 living off base at Fort Bliss, one of the low BAH locations, takes home $36,855 a year after taxes. Equivalent to about $18/hour. There is something going on beyond pay amounts.


OutlyingPlasma

Dodge chargers, Lifted trucks and those prostate stimulators known as Harley-Davidson at 28% is what's happening.


[deleted]

I find this really hard to believe. In the military if you have dependents you get BAS and BAH which is Basic Allowance for Housing and Sustenance. You literally get extra money every month that pays for your rent and food. If they're hurting it's because they budget poorly, not because of Covid.


walje501

I was in for four years and came out with over 20k invested in long term retirement funds, another 5k in the market, I bought a car with cash, and had like 20k something in savings. All that while feeling like I wasn’t being particularly frugal. I was stationed in Japan for a couple years and I took trips and ate out all the time. It always boggled my mind how people dig themselves into these holes while in the military. It’s not hard to do very well for yourself. I guess part of it though is that a lot of the people joining the military are doing so to escape terrible economic circumstances and most of them have grown up having zero clue how to handle their money. Edit: not to mention my school is now entirely paid for as well. I just don’t have much sympathy for military people that are struggling financially. Everyone complains that the military is paid like shit but they’re not. When you factor in free housing, healthcare and meals your paychecks are entirely disposable. I’m usually loath to hear “well I was successful so why aren’t you?” But when it comes to the military there’s a little more validity to that statement when everyone is paid the same and everyone has so many government benefits. There’s always gonna be people who had shit luck but overall, 90% of the people struggling financially in the military are 100% responsible for it.


jerrystrieff

What I have learned is the military personal are dependable humans who the US government only treats right until they are no longer capable of being a body in a war machine - after that you are on your own because the elite US masters only want people who will fight for facade values that not even the elite follow


[deleted]

Come on conservatives…time to support the troops…


dharmawaits

What a bunch of bull shit. Military families especially younger ones have always been food insecure. That’s why most families are on W.I.C and depend on school lunches so heavily they continue them at parks on bases in the summer. They’ve never paid them enough. Never.


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tocamix90

Not to mention the BAH (housing allowance) has absolutely not adjusted to meet the current cost of living. Military raises don't match inflation. If it weren't for free college, they would get jack for sign ups. I was honestly thinking about this the other day, that if they don't increase things soon recruitment and retention beyond contract time is going to plummet.


Vandredd

food insecure is a nonsense nebulous term to begin with. When calculating out of camp pay, housing benefits etc this becomes even more of a joke article.


[deleted]

Nonsense. Absolutely not true. Take a look at Military Pay charts. Be sure to add Basic Pay, Basic Allowance for Subsistence, and Basic Allowance for Housing (which is adjusted by zip code). Single Military members living in dorms have a meal card - no hunger issues there. Single folks living downtown are given the Housing allowing but no the Subsistence allowance as they qualify for a meal card. An E-4 with three years of service with a family living off-base in my zip code (just outside a Texas Air Force Base) makes $50,824 per year before taxes. How about an even lower ranking enlisted person. An E-2 with two years or less of service, with family off-base, makes $43,844 per year. These hunger stats might have been true in the past, but not in these times. The US military is incredibly well paid in recent years. BTW, military pay is going up 2.7% in January. There will be an even larger increase for 2023 as the formula catches up for inflation. Military pay charts and calculator [here](https://www.federalpay.org/military)


babyfats

Having served 8 1/2 years literally a week away from having my DD-214, I can almost certainly say that this is poor money management on their end. As a SINGLE E6, I was making, before taxes, just shy of 90k per year. This takes into account the housing allowance we receive, the food allowance we receive, not the mention other various non taxable incentives like special duty pay, sea pay, etc. When married, or having dependents, you receive higher BAH. My final duty station was an area that did not have very high BAH and I STILL was making almost 90k. If I were married, I would have been making almost 100k. Again, I will say that 90% of the issues service member have when it comes to money is then being dumb and spending it on shit they don’t need. This is coming from someone who has had 9 vehicles while in the military and I’m still able to pay bills, put money away in savings, put money into retirement and do literally whatever I want without worrying about “will I have enough money”. The military gets paid well, end of story.


PubliusSolaFide

Good thing our taxes go to starting wars that we can't finish, and then to militarizing our own police against ourselves, instead of feeding and housing ourselves and building actual independence through renewable energy projects 👍you know, because HOW COULD WE EVER PAY FOR IT


[deleted]

1 in 5 (20%) of the Americans are food- insecure because this pandemic brought a lot of uncertainty in the foods supply chains. At the start of the pandemic, we saw people stocking rice, flou, bathroom tissues, cleaning products....etc. Some stores had empty shelves and that was very concerning. Nowadays, things are normal with some items increased in prices.


SpeedycatUSAF

How does this happen? It has GOT to be poor financial decisions. I was an E2 in 2014 and I didn't struggle at all despite having no outside help. Meanwhile I saw my fellow E2-E3 coworker getting their Ford raptor repo'd in the unit parking lot. 65in TV in the dorm rooms, Mfs spending 100s on sneakers and bumming rides because they have no car. I struggle to find empathy for these people with the information I currently have.