The Off Topic Topic

[CountDeMoney]

Yeah, Pete's one of thes "well, if teachers and nurses do it for the love of the job, they really don't need to be paid so much" crowd.

Nurses do it for the love of the job? 

Do doctors and engineers "deserve" to make double what teachers do? Perhaps not. But then neither do teachers "deserve" to make three or four times what grocery store checkout clerks do. Artificially inflating the cost of one sector of the labor market doesn't create fairness, what it does is create a glut where qualified and willing candidates can't get jobs.

OK, Ryan Budget Man.

[Eddie Teach]

I'd say our military tends to be more overpaid than our teachers. 

[Sheilbh]

Nurses do it for the love of the job? 

Generally yeah

[Syt]

It seems my grandad is all cancery and is going to die.
Which sucks.

[Barrister]

I love my job.  If I was independently wealthy I'd do it for free - but I'd take a lot more vacations...

[Grey Fox]

I love my job.  If I was independently wealthy I'd do it for free - but I'd take a lot more vacations...

[Eddie Teach]

Nurses do it for the love of the job? 

Generally yeah

It's a terrible job.

[Admiral Yi]

I'd say our military tends to be more overpaid than our teachers. 

I think it depends on the state, but agree generally that the military is overpaid.

Unfortunately, cutting military pay is essentially politically impossible.

[Sheilbh]

It's a terrible job.

Exactly and they're not well paid for it.  Generally, at least in my experience, nurses do it because they want to be nurses.  The caring role matters to them.

[Valmy]

Well these days in the US nursing is a rather high paying job so you have alot of people going into it for the money.  Not sure if that leads to more competent nursing or not.

[Valmy]

I think it depends on the state, but agree generally that the military is overpaid.

Unfortunately, cutting military pay is essentially politically impossible.

The military blows money like it is going out of style.  We train fighter pilots, totally worthless in today's military reality, for thousands of dollars a minute of air time.  Heh.  And of course things like hundred dollar hammers and other waste is everywhere.  And cutting any of it is politically impossible.

[Admiral Yi]

The military blows money like it is going out of style.  We train fighter pilots, totally worthless in today's military reality, for thousands of dollars a minute of air time.  Heh.  And of course things like hundred dollar hammers and other waste is everywhere.  And cutting any of it is politically impossible.

Disagree.  There's a natural constituency on the left of the spectrum for cutting weapons programs and training and bases and stuff.

But the Democratic party has made such a huge concerted effort to portray themselves as caring as deeply about individual soldiers as Republicans that they can't initiate or vote for a pay cut.

[Malthus]

How much do people in the military make? My impression was that the pay sucked (but that there were great benefits).

[Valmy]

But the Democratic party has made such a huge concerted effort to portray themselves as caring as deeply about individual soldiers as Republicans that they can't initiate or vote for a pay cut.

The high pay is sort of a mixed bag.  It should make soldiers more resistant to corruption and less likely to be lured away by private contractors and foreign governments.  On the other hand, since alot of the soldiers are young and rather easy marks, it means military towns are just crawling with people trying to take advantage of the military personnel.  The level of debt some of those guys have, despite living on base, is just ridiculous.

I also think, despite there being a constituency for it, it is too dangerous an issue for the Democrats to touch.  The Republicans would hammer them for it.

[Admiral Yi]

How much do people in the military make? My impression was that the pay sucked (but that there were great benefits).

I think a captain makes somethig like 140 large if you add in all the allowances and benefits.