Dear President,

Over the past couple years I have noticed that famous people, mainly athletes are starting to make their statements about their wealth. Why is it that men and women who are serving our county are paid less than a famous athlete? My research shows that an active Army Soldier with a rank as high as an E-6( Staff Sergeant) make anywhere from $30,000 - $37,000 a year with six years of experience. From my personal experience, my father is currently an E-6 in the U.S. Army with over thirteen years of experience, with two combat deployments to Iraq and he literally lives paycheck to paycheck. He does not always get to do the things he loves or get to expensive trips. For example, since my parents divorce in 2006, i spend every summer with my dad. During my summer visits in the past, he could not always afford a plane ticket or the drive to pick me up. For me, i believe no child wants to see their parent stress or worry about how they are going to pay the bills or how they will get groceries for their families. Its upsetting to know that a man or woman fighting for my freedom, your freedom, or better yet this country’s freedom only make enough to pay their bills. Meanwhile, a famous sportsman can make anywhere between 1.9 - 5.15 million dollar a year just by playing a sport. In the past, pay increases for the military have not been passed by the Senate or the House of Representatives and i feel this is something i would like to be improved on during your administration. meanwhile , your senate and House of Representative approve raises for themselves.

When I think of someone risking their life to make sure we have our freedom, i think of the U.S. Military. They continuously barely make it by from month to month while athletes continue to make millions. I understand that athletes have fans, sales tickets to stadiums and they put themselves/their families out there. I also understand that this is how they make a living and how they are prone to get seriously career ending injuries.

To alleviate this problem i have mentioned above, i would propose that you approve salary increases for all service member to make it more comparable to that of some professional athletes. I believe this would help thousands of Military personnel with the same problem and this would have a positive impact upon our nation.

Thank you.

Avery