She was a waitress back home in Texas without a high school diploma. She heard about well-paying jobs in Iraq from a friend. She went to the KBR (Kellogg, Brown & Root) website and filled out an application. Now she has a cushy job helping out at the fitness center at one of the U.S. Army bases outside Baghdad. KBR pays her $67,000, tax-free. She hands out towels to soldiers who stop in to pump some iron and relieve stress. These are the same soldiers who are going over the wire daily, putting themselves in harm’s way. Most of these enlisted men and women make less than $25,000.At a marginal tax rate of 25%, $67,000 is equivalent to a before tax income of $89,333. This seems like a huge pay disparity between the skilled soldiers who put their lives at risk, and the unskilled contractors, who largely stay safely on the bases. Why does this compensating wage differential seem to have the wrong sign?
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Hey, wanna’ make $67,000, tax-free?
Dispatch from Willy Stern, embedded journalist (Runner’s World) in Iraq with the First Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood , Texas
At least the US soldiers get an interesting benefits package. The international mercenaries hired as contractors may make half their income with no benefits.
ReplyDeleteI first left the Marine Corps in late 2003. My understanding at the time was that my unit (2d Marines) would not be deploying to Iraq to support the conflict. Since the Corps was preparing to initiate a Stop Loss program I left to spend more time with family and begin a civilian career. Within a month of my actual separation date, 2d Marines was activated and not 2 months later the unit was driving towards Baghdad. These were all of the men I had trained with for the previous 6 months.
ReplyDeleteA deep sense of regret and emptiness began to build during the course of the year. I felt that something significant in my life had passed me up.
In early December 2003 I called a recruiter and ask to be assigned to a deploying Infantry unit. At the time I was making a very good living, had adjusted well to civilian life, and my wife was expecting our 4th child.
I was given recall orders and told to report to my unit at Camp Pendleton by January 20. My wife was due to give birth on January 22. We convinced her doctor to induce early. I spent 7 amazing days with my new son then joined my unit in Southern California. Less than a month later I was standing on an Air Strip at Al-Asad.
This brings me to my point:
Money does not motivate a Marine or Soldier. There is a much higher calling. Those who have served in any branch of the military understand, from the beginning, the risks involved.
A civilian, however, does not understand. The higher calling does not apply to an individual who hands out towels at the gym, which is why there is a need for significant pay to do menial tasks.
Would service members like to get paid more? Absolutely!! But we would be getting paid more for something many of us would do for less, so where is the business sense in that?
An accurate list of military pay can be found at the below link:
http://www.dfas.mil/militarypay/2006militarypaytables/2007MilitaryPayCharts-1.pdf