https://twitter.com/boobricahrd/status/1350072752313569281?s=21
:geordi-yes: "We must secure the existence of Taco Bell and a future for grilled potatoes"
You're right in the specifics but there's a lot of truth in the idea that higher wages, universal healthcare, free college etc would definitely help dry up the military recruitment pipeline.
It also ignores that for a lot of communities there really aren't other options than the military.
so, while i agree with you :10000-com: on everything you said, and that it in no way absolves those that choose to murder others on behalf of capital
it is important to aknowledge the lean that the military industry does on poor communities to propagandize enlistment as being synonymous with opportunity where there otherwise would be none.
that 17.3% black ratio should tell you exactly how hard a lean it is
edit: theres a reason the percentage of white kids enlisting in the military is lower than the percentage of america thats white, but the percentage of black kids enlisting has like a 33% boost over the population percentage.
targeted propaganda in action
I remember enlisters chilling at a fast food join i worked at especially when the high schoolers were there.
No rent, no utilities, free healthcare, free food, you get extra pay if you get married, you get a month of vacation every year. There's also a lot fringe benefits within the military lifestyle that you don't realize you had until you get out - for example, if you have a doctor's appointment it's expected that you'll go in during working hours, and not on your free time. Mid-level leadership (Sergeants) also have a lot of leeway to let people leave early if they have a good reason to, something you don't see in corporate culture at all.
Basically, all of the things that a functional state would provide to everyone as a baseline, is provided to the military as compensation. The pay that you get is basically 100% spending money - that's why so many kids get a Camaro at an unreasonably high interest rate, because it and their phone are their only expenses.
Shit like that makes it so tempting to join, but I know a lot of folk who have been seriously harmed both physically and mentally from their service.
Any worker at taco bell (or any fast food place) is braver than the troops
Active duty pay way less in taxes also. My salary is a lot higher than my husbands was in the military, but my take home is still a little less.
Not to mention the healthcare, potentially free housing, GI bill, etc.
As long as they keep denying basic rights to normal people, they’ll have no problem getting people to enlist.
like also if the american army existence was not morally wrong you could JUST RAISE THEIR WAGES TOO LIKE YOU CAN JUST PAY THEM MORE ALL THESE PROBLEMS ABOUT WAGES BEING TO LOW IF YOU RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE CAN BE SOLVED BY JUST RAISING THEIR WAGES YOU COULD DO ALL WAGES RELATIVE TO THE MINIMUM WAGE AND EVERY TIME IT GOES UP, IT GOES UP FOR EVERYBODY
i just never got to see the american wage discussion like i am this time and it just frustrates me to no end, americans seem unable to understand that you could just raise the wages, like the brazilian minimum wage when lula was the president would raise every year above the inflation margin it just works it means there is more money on the market so people waste more money and that is good for the economy
There’s something deeply broken in the American psyche when underpaid people see other underpaid people might get paid more and get mad at that, instead of getting mad at the people who are underpaying them.
i saw a dude that works at an amazon warehouse saying that working fast food is unskilled labor and they should not get to receive the same wage as he receives AND I AM JUST IN AWE OF HOW HE COULD JUST SAY THAT WITHOUT THINKING "wait a second, a lot of people would probably argue the same about my job"
it is such a loser mindset if you think that you deserve to be paid more than the minimum you probably should try to get raise on the wages you receive like maybe ask them to stop doing the instant combustion jet or some shit and pay you
i was talking to my dad about the f-35 the other day and he was just in awe learning about the great jet that can't fly it is such a funny detail about america
Is that the same one that’s literally invisible or is that a different one
f-35 is the jet that has the nasty habit of just fucking becoming a fire ball after trying to take off
« Why would anyone wanna join the military if working at Taco Bell pays more? »
Damn... so close to self awareness...
We're a country full of hateful scumbags. I think I need a political break.
It's not supposed to be a jobs program. It's way less productive than a jobs program at that.
It would be better if we had people digging holes and filling them back in.
the same petit bourgeois assholes who condescendingly lecture you about "competition" and "supply and demand" will clutch their pearls in horror when an employer might be forced to compete on wages
That's 30k a year net cuz you ain't paying for anything else in the military other than the corvette you just purchased
