Spending budget passes meaning troops won't need military payday advance

The United States Congress recently approved the federal spending budget for fiscal year 2011 after a long standoff. Military service members and other federal employees would not have been paid during a shutdown, which would have sent more than a few into debt or seeking assistance from pay day loans or other means. Thankfully, the shutdown was avoided.

How military personnel would have been effect

For Fiscal Year 2011, Congress upheld a bill. There was a lot of stress about a government shutdown during all of this. Thankfully, the shutdown was averted, but it was well known that Congress would have continued to receive their pay while thousands of government employees would have gone on a forced furlough. Even without payment, some would have had to keep working. This would have been mandatory for them. Members of the military, for instance, would not be paid for their work during a shutdown. Federal regulations prohibit service personnel from getting payday loans or similar subprime credit goods, and most service personnel, according to MSNBC, make close to the average wage in America, it would have been a devastating blow to military families.

Getting paid to be in the military

Almost three of every four people in the armed services are in the six lowest ranks and are paid $31,000 a year or less. Mean earnings in the United States was estimated at $44,901 while median earnings were at $36,587, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Military personal are making less than the average person no matter which scale you take. There was a Department of Defense survey done in 2008. It said that families in the military tend to have debt problems, states the Washington Post. Bankruptcy rates for military members might be higher than the general population as well; a 2004 study by the GAO found that 1.2 percent of active duty military personnel file for bankruptcy. Federal court statistics indicates that more than 1.5 million individuals filed for bankruptcy last year, which is 0.5 percent of the U.S. population.

How we treat those defending us

The reward for those who defend the country isn’t very high. There are also incentives to not go into debt; service members can lose their security clearance if they fall into unmanageable debts. With a shutdown occurring, there would have been other possibilities. Luckily, the people don’t have to worry about this. The Naval Federal Member Bank offered low interest unsecured loans to members in case of a shutdown, like other credit unions and banks for federal employees have done in previous shutdowns.

Citations

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/42559366/ns/business-your_retirement/?gt1=43001

Washington Post

washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/military-pay-faces-uncertain-future-troubling-for-financially-strapped-families/2011/04/08/AFHV311C_blog.html

Bureau of Labor Statistics

bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/nctb1346.pdf

U.S. Courts

uscourts.gov/uscourts/Statistics/BankruptcyStatistics/BankruptcyFilings/2010/0310_f2.pdf

Government Accountability Office

gao.gov/new.items/d04465r.pdf

Government Accountability Office

gao.gov/new.items/d04465r.pdf