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Re: Shameless: Trump lies to troops about pay raises
It's way more complicated than that. Several allowances and COLA items are figured in, plus the member's time in service and pay grade is figured in and he may receive bonuses for certain skills. Also flight pay, sea pay, submarine duty, hazardous duty and time in combat zones also figure in the amount he receives.Military pay is based on ECI(Employment Cost Index). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_cost_index Congress can override that, but rarely does. In this case, they did override it. However, it is important to note that the pay raise Trump proposed was the one based on ECI, and would have resulted in a smaller pay raise(~25 % less). So not only is Trump claiming something that is not true, but he is also taking credit for something he opposed.
And I personally think the military should get a very large payraise(close to the 10 % Trump claimed, and then base future raises on cost of living changes instead of ECI. This helps give them a pay rate that is closer to what they should be paid, and future pay raises keep them from falling behind the inflation curve. Note, pay raises are still pay raises when inflation is higher, no matter how you might like to spin it. Those pay raises below cost of living increases result in lower spending power, but are still raises. Words and phrases do have meaning.