My blog about military housing being substandard has pushed me to write a blog about something I was planning on doing anyway, just sooner than I expected.
To every problem lies a solution, if your willing to try. In concerns to military housing, their is definitely an easy solution. The United States Military is the only Federal Organization that forces employees to live inside government housing. Minus, married couples and certain ranks of course. If your single or below Staff Sergeant you have absolutely no recourse but what the military deems for you.
My solution is simple, pay everyone housing allowance and give everyone the choice to live or not to live in base housing. It’s already a solution for some of those in the military, and it should apply to everyone. If your married, by law the military has to give you, your own house to live in with your family, or you receive a housing allowance and can live off base. Officers and senior NCOs also have this privilege. However, single lower enlisted (which make up the majority) are forced to live in barracks.
By allowing lower enlisted the right of off base housing it opens up a free market solution to many problems.
1. If Soldiers aren’t living in barracks, then, we don’t have to build new barracks. Saves the government loads of money in huge projects.
2. If Soldiers aren’t living in barracks, then, their is no issue of barracks being substandard or dangerous.
3. Right now, the US Government is a Slumlord. The military isn’t a big enough voter base for radical change to take place; the status-quo will continue.
4. If Soldiers are living in their own houses or rentals then the government can get back to doing what they are supposed to be doing, enforcing health standards. When it’s the government that’s breaking the standard it just leads to cover-up.
5. Hey remember that housing market crisis thing… Well if you put about 1 million troops into the housing market; It can only be a good thing, right?
Now, I don’t believe that the on base housing should be completely removed. What should happen is everyone should be paid basic housing allowance and if someone chooses to live on base, then they should have to pay a rent fee just like the rest of us. This should stimulate better on base housing; if the government wants some of it’s money back then they have to get people interested in living on base.