israelisreal

Fair enough, but it's her choice. She is choosing this path largely because she doesn't want to attend college in a traditional setting and deal with the kinds of BS that plague colleges now. My daughter leans hard right, again her choice, and in many ways she is further right than me or her mother. My daughter wants to do things her own way, and the Air Force is the way she wants to do it. Who am I to stop her? She's always been a willful kid and she's always been academically on point. The Air Force way benefits her in numerous ways, not least of which is she keeps her money in her pocket.

The post was meant to state that there are paths that do not require going into mounting debt. The military is a fine path for those who are wired that way. It teaches discipline, team work, being a part of something bigger than yourself, and in return you basically live for free, largely pocketing the lion's share of your income. A young person can get a degree at night in the military (free) and if they like the military after their 4-year enlistment, can become commissioned in 3 months and effectively double their income, all the while spending nothing. It's a win-win. To the leftists that hate the military, nothing will convince them, but they sleep well at night because there are people willing to do so.

You are paying for it by your service, which only 1% of the population serves. I have nothing but respect for the military and those who serve. People need to stand behind the troops or in front of them. People sleep well at night because of the military and their sacrifice.

I agree. I remember those days. At 50, I've been in IT now for 3 decades. The pay in IT has decreased as well. My dad pulled a family of four along on his salary and we were comfortable, but not rich. I lacked nothing. However... when I turned 10, I came home one day from school and there was a brand new mower sitting in the driveway with a gas can and a rope. My dad said, "Son, canvas the neighborhood and charge $5-10 (size) a lawn. That money is yours. Save a dollar for every 10 for gasoline." I was making about $250 a month.

This taught me to get off my own butt and make it on my own, which I have. I paid my own way through college (impossible now), bought my own car, married a woman who did the same. We are largely debt free (mortgage), but will be free soon. Except for property tax, we owe no man anything, and this is the way it should be. Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. Big daddy government is not the answer and technically owes you nothing. As Gerald Ford once said, "A government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take it all away."

Sadly, this young generation has embraced the notion of entitlement. No one is owed anything except human dignity. Americans have lost the sense of doing it on their own. Te military is a great choice for kids who cannot afford college. I'm not babying my kids. They will need to make it on their own. My dad did it, I did it, my wife did. None of us were rich, and by today's standards, we would have been considered poor.

My daughter is going into the Air Force, getting her degree at night for nothing in 2.5 years, going back in as an officer, effectively doubling her income all the while not paying for food, lodging, medical/dental. She plans on doing 20. She'll likely marry an Air Force officer, and two people retiring at 39/40 YO will have a combined retirement of just under 100k (today's money), all the while not wasting precious money on medical/dental. She'll be young enough to have a second career in her chosen field and if the legislators don't screw up SS, she'll have three retirement incomes.