Guess the 2010 Military Raise Percentage!

Happy New Year 2009

January 1st, 2009

Ahh, another year is upon us. 2009 should prove to be one of the more interesting years. The year will start by ushering in a new president, comparatively inexpensive gas prices, corporation bailouts and the potential for more stimulus programs.

I believe 2009 will end with a very interesting 2010 budget battle and the politics of earmarks and such. The subject most near and dear to my heart will concern the military benefits and pay issues. Now that the election is over… I wonder.

Over the last few years President Bush has used the Employment Cost Index (ECI) published by the Department of Labor to determine his proposals to congress for military pay raises. President-elect Obama has yet to demonstrate what his methodology may be. For the last few years, in an effort to close the gap with the private sector, congress has increased each proposal by .5% – but, with the tenuous economic situation in the United States, 2010 will be fascinating to watch. With companies like FEDEX having their employees take a 5% pay cut I wonder if this may be the year we see no raises at all…

I put together basic pay charts showing a 2.9% raise for 2010 based on the ECI. I will of course update the chart to actual proposals as they become available so make sure you bookmark the page and stay tuned here, I love following this stuff. It is better than spending the new year trying to lose weight