Congressional Pay Cuts Undermine Dignity of Job, Pelosi Says

Congressional pay cuts undermine the dignity of the job, Pelosi says.

"The current salary for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $174,000 per year."[1]

About 70% of Marines hold the rank E4 or lower[2], and they each earn less than $30,000 per year[3].

You wanna compare retirement plans next, Representative?

To rate any sort of pay after exiting the services, one must serve on active duty at least 20 years (with certain exceptions based on combat injuries). At that point, they rate 40% of the base pay of their highest rank. After 30 years on active duty, they rate a maximum of 75% of their highest base pay.[4] The highest enlisted base pay is less than $65,000, making the maximum retirement pay less than $49,000.[5] But it is incredibly difficult to stay in service that long. Promotion and retention are performance-based but restricted numerically annually by law; less than 1% of enlisted Marines reach the rank of E9.

Those who serve in Congress also must serve 20 years to rate retirement pay (with certain exceptions based on age). A typical congressman earns $55,012 in retirement pay after 20 years. There is no maximum, however, it would take about 60 years of service to rate the 75% of base pay rated by 30 years in the military.[6]

The point is, Representative Pelosi, that all congressmen are already paid significantly more each year than the large portion their counterparts serving in the military, and only a small number of military servicemen come close to the level of congressional pay. Similarly, fewer military servicemen rate retirement pay, and when they do, they still aren't paid as much as congressional retirees.

And I sincerely hope I don't have to explain to you which of the two jobs is ACTUALLY more dignified.

Sources:
[1] http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/congresspay.htm
[2] http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/marinepromotions/a/marineprom.htm (A little old, but the percentages align with what I've been briefed officially within the past 12 months.)
[3] http://usmilitarypaychart.com/2013-military-pay-chart/ (Highest E4 base pay * 12 < $30,000.)
[4] http://militarypay.defense.gov/retirement/ad/04_redux.html
[5] http://usmilitarypaychart.com/2013-military-pay-chart/ (Highest E9 base pay * 12 < $65,000.)
[6] http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30631.pdf

Note:
I used the enlisted servicemen for the comparison because most servicemen are enlisted. Although it occurs to me now that perhaps a comparison with officers would be relevant as well since the numbers would more closely math the number of congressmen as well as the fact that officers are more likely to be college educated. However, the pay systems are the same for officers as enlisted.

Maj. Hasan, the "Accused" Ft. Hood Shooter

A discussion on the dilemma between calling an apple an apple and upholding the American justice system's "innocent until proven guilty in a court of law" standard and on the mainstream media's motives.


Why not call it like it is?
We're not calling apples "apples", but it wasn't always this way.

Today, while reading this story about the US Senate's report on the Fort Hood shooting, I was reminded again of an issue with which I've struggled. Here's the bit that caught my eye (emphasis mine),

According to portions of the report obtained by the Associated Press, military supervisors had the authority to discipline or discharge Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 in the shootings at the Texas military post in November 2009.

Why do we refer to this individual as "the man accused of mass murder" instead of "the man who murdered 13 people in November of 2009"?

These are facts:

1. A gunman opened fire at the Soldiers Readiness Processing Center on the grounds of Fort Hood, a US Army base near Killeen, TX, at about 13:30 CST on 5 NOV 2009.
2. Thirteen people were murdered by this gunman and more than 30 others were wounded.
3. The gunman was shot but not killed.
4. This gunman was identified as Major Nadal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who worked on the base.

So, really, why are we still only referring to him as "the accused Fort Hood shooter" in lieu of "the Fort Hood shooter"?

News reports published in the immediate aftermath did not pull punches. For example, a story published on 5 NOV 2009 by MSNBC came right out and said what happened and who did it.

An Army psychiatrist who opened fire at Fort Hood, Texas, killing 12 people and wounding 31 others, was shot but captured alive, military officials said late Thursday.

The gunman, identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was wounded at the scene but was captured alive and was in stable condition….

What changed? Why did we not call him only "the accused" then but do so now?


It's the American Way
We protect the innocent, sometimes risking not punishing the guilty.

Is it common for the media to refer to those who have been arrested and charged with crimes as "accused" until the verdict is returned? That's possible. But in this case, should they bother? He was caught red-handed! In the act of murdering people!

I am torn because on the one hand, I do not believe that Maj. Hasan is the wrong person. He did it: he murdered those people. Furthermore, on 22 NOV 2009, the AP reported, "John Galligan, the civilian attorney for Maj. Nidal Hasan, said, … 'an insanity defense has to be considered.'” (And I just noticed that, even then, the author calls Maj. Hasan "an Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people".) Claiming a person is insane does not imply the person did not commit the crime for which he was arrested, only that he should be excused from the just consequences. I mean, there is just no way out of the truth that this Muslim murdered those people. I don't like reading all the pussyfooting around the matter.

But, on the other hand, I do believe that the right thing is to call ANY such person "the accused" until they have been judged to be guilty in a court of law. The American justice system ought to be one that favors protection of the innocent at risk of allowing some guilty to go free rather than one that catches all the guilty at the risk of wrongly imprisoning some innocents.

And so, begrudgingly, I concur that we should honor the American Way by continuing to call him "the accused" until he is found guilty in court.


But, wait! Is there more?
Is there more to the matter than meets the eye?

That was where I meant to end this post when I first set out to write it. My initial supposition was that the media is honoring the American concept of "innocent until proven guilty," but maybe I am giving the media too much credit. Should I really trust the media to do the right thing? Do they have some other motive? Are we being conditioned by the media to consider him only "the accused Fort Hood shooter" instead of calling him what he really is, "the Fort Hood murderer"? Does the fact that he is an Islamic extremist compel the media into giving this man special treatment?


What do you think? Is the media no longer blatantly calling Major Hasad "the Fort Hood shooter" out of respect for true American ideals, or is there some other reason?

On Veterans Day 2010

Since 1919, the United States of America have set aside a day each year to honor and remember the men and women of the US Armed Forces—heroes, all of them. What will you do today to remember and honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifices to keep us safe? How will you thank those who were or still are willing and ready to do the same?

As you seek ways to pay respect to the people who deserve it more than any other in your church, city, state, country, and world, here are a couple excellent videos I want to share with you.




Yesterday was the 235th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. In honor of the Corps, and because that's the branch I plan to join, here is another video produced by the same group dedicated to our Marines.


Please consider visiting The Warrior Song Project's website, where you can get various media and apparel. All proceeds from the sale of "The Warrior Song" MP3 are donated to the Armed Forces Relief Trust on a voluntary basis by The Warrior Song Project. A portion of the proceeds from all other sales are also donated to the AFRTrust on the same basis. Those who have or still serve in any of the US Armed Forces can simply email them to receive The Warrior Song for free, and active or retired Marines can also receive the The Warrior Song - Hard Corps for free (details here).

And for those who are active or retired military and are going out to dinner tonight, here are some places to hit up where your service will be honored by offering you free food.

• Applebee's: Veterans Eat FREE November 11th (click for details)
• Golden Corral: Free "Thank You" Dinner Monday, 11/15 (5pm-9pm) for Veterans (details)
• Outback Steakhouse: Free Bloomin’ Onion and Beverage for active/retired military (details)
• Chilis: Veterans eat FREE (details (PDF))
• Famous Dave's: Veterans eat FREE (details)

More deals on things like clothing, electronics, or furniture can be found here.

To my civilian friends, please find ways to join me in doing things that say...

To my military friends, Thank you.