Should Military Members Are Be Payed For Their Service?

The argument of whether or not military members are being fairly compensated for their service has existed for a long time. Some people claim that it is absurd that entry level military positions can pay the same or less than civilian jobs and others believe that the military is being paid more than enough already. Many have argued that if soldiers are willing to risk their lives for the good of our country, then our country should be able to provide extended compensation and that offering higher wages would persuade more people to join. It is true that members of the United States military put a lot on the line when serving our country, but their work is not going unrewarded. Salary and benefits received combine to reward and acknowledge our
By signing this contract, recruits are expressing that they believe that the compensation they will receive is worth the work that they will be performing. Everyone in the military has signed this contract and knew what they were signing up for. At the end of one's service they may decide whether to continue or not. 30-40% of people decide to continue on(MLDC), often receiving “reenlistment bonuses of up to $90,000” (Cornell). Receiving a bonus at the high end of the allowed amount would cause the service member to have earned more than double the average American yearly income (Department of Labor). In addition to the signing bonus, the member also receives their salary and military benefits. With all compensation considered, the total income for the year would put the service member into the classifications for “upper class” based on the 2016 US Census Bureau. If Military members viewed this payment as unsatisfactory, reenlistment rates would not be nearly as high because nothing is forcing them to
However, in a study conducted by Gallup researchers in which the correlation between salary and job productiveness was analyzed the conclusion was reached that “if we want an engaged workforce, money is clearly not the answer”. When it comes to our country’s military, quality of work should be more important than quantity of people. Although, increased pay may attract more recruits, it might not help our military become any better because of the lack of true motivation to be