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Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mr. Sunshine who wrote (14564)	10/27/2003 4:21:53 PM
From: Don Green	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 306849

Steve "Since you feel the Navy is underpaid, perhaps you could explain to the board some of the benefits most civilians do not know about, such as: tax free housing allowances; 30 days paid leave (vacation)per year; 50% retirement after only 20 years (many military retire at age 38 to 40!); lifetime medical benefits; discounted recreational facilities; free schools and training that is argueably the best in the world; and job security." A reservist, wouldn't that be kind of like a part time real estate agent? Wow, military life certainly sounds like a great deal! Should you also consider how many years of that 20 plus, military members spend thousands of miles from their loved ones. How often those military families are moved, often without a choice in the matter to locales where the housing allowance doesn't come close to the cost of living in that area? How often a member has to leave home for a 6 or 7 month deployment, a few days before his wife is going to have a baby. How about all of the military members receiving food stamps. Being on a ship for months at a time, working,living and often sleeping next to people you really dislike. You can't go home at night, leave work after a bad day and have a cold beer to relax. There is no escape. You can't tell your boss to pack it or quit. Yes there are a few benefits, but if they were so good there wouldn't be a need to pay bonuses to try to retain the best and brightest. I don't see anyone waiting in lines to join! It is a hard life as anyone who has ever served, let alone made a career of it can relate. But I must also say I have seen a great deal of ex-housewives apparently prospering in the real estate business? Hmm? BTW I am lucky enough to have totally retired after the service and enjoy raising my children. Certainly a rare situation for most who have served. Most retire with little savings and must try to find a new job often with little success. In this day and age starting a new career at 38-45 isn’t an easy task. But with that said, I think society makes it's biggest mistake by totally underpaying workers who work in some of the worst working environments. Food handlers and health care workers! As we should all realize safety and health conditions are only as good as their “weakest link”. Next time you visit your favorite restaurant or food store look around at the food handlers there and try to imagine their working conditions and how much they are getting paid and how much of a problem there could bring to your health if they are having a bad day. Regards Don

To: Mr. Sunshine who wrote (14564)	10/27/2003 4:45:55 PM
From: Wyätt Gwyön	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

i am surprised anyone in the military can afford to buy in San Diego except on a base. how do you buy a 400K house on a 22K salary...i guess the answer is obvious: lots of leverage. oh, i forgot, some of the higher-ups may make as much as 30K or more... perhaps you could explain to the board some of the benefits most civilians do not know about such as: you forgot to mention the opportunity to go get killed for low pay in Iraq. something more and more enlisted and reserved will get the chance to do. i heard today that without a new conscription, every current member of the armed services will need to do a 6-month tour in Iraq every 2 years. since this is just an average, it means a lot of poor schmoes are pulling 12 or 15 month tours. so you forgot to mention giving up all your rights to the US government, run by people who never went to war but want to send somebody else to fulfill their GI Joe fantasies. retiring at 40 does not mean much if you get killed at 19.