In push for more Ukraine troops, city of Moscow hikes pay for contract soldiers to $60,000 a year (www.reuters.com)

submitted 3 months ago by LaFinlandia@sopuli.xyz to c/ukraine@sopuli.xyz

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[-] ThrowawayPermanente@sh.itjust.works 19 points 3 months ago

That's a lot of money in a country like Russia

[-] LaFinlandia@sopuli.xyz 32 points 3 months ago

If they ever get a dime of it.

[-] Sibbo@sopuli.xyz 11 points 3 months ago

Maybe they just print the money. Isn't that what dictatorships often end up doing?

[-] halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 13 points 3 months ago

Yeah but if they send these troops to the areas that are most deadly, then they don't have to pay them for very long in the first place.

No need to print the money if you're not actually spending it.

[-] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I invite them to do that. I'm sure the oligarchs will love having their local savings massively devalued, and won't support a coup of any kind. /s

[-] smokeysnilas@feddit.org 1 points 3 months ago

As much as I would love that, probably they don't have their fortune in cash savings but most probably put it into diversified investments of some sorts.

[-] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I'm guessing both, so they get returns and still have an "oh shit" fund. I doubt it would be good for the oligarchs, at the very least.

Venezuela can do hyperinflation because they have a more ideologically driven elite who will ride out the turbulence. No such luck for Putin; he's a neofeudal lord and has to keep palms greased like it.

[-] TheFrirish@jlai.lu 6 points 3 months ago

I wonder who would down vote this comment like I want to know if anyone really believes that any of these soldiers will receive even a penny? please feel free to embarrass yourselves trying to prove me wrong.

[-] ThrowawayPermanente@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 months ago

Yeah true

[-] dwindling7373@feddit.it 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

According to this: https://www.worlddata.info/average-income.php

It's around $360,000 in the US.

[-] Rose@lemmy.world 10 points 3 months ago

Average is a poor metric, as it accounts for the rich who steal like there's no tomorrow in countries like Russia. Go by the minimum.

[-] dwindling7373@feddit.it 2 points 3 months ago

The minimum what? I'm pretty sure the minimum is 0 in both places. The minimum salary mandated by the government? That's just a policy, it says nothing on how realistic, widespread or sustainable it is within the two countries.

Either way I'm sure there's a perfect metric for a comparison, probbaly the kind of lifestyle you can attain with that income, but I'd be surprised to find it significantly different than this rough estimate.

I also don't believe people attracted by this prospect are economists...

[-] ThrowawayPermanente@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 months ago

Not to underplay how bad things are in Russia, but the gini coefficient is actually a bit higher in the US

[-] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Huh, look at that.

That's income, though, which is correct for this discussion. It's the same colour on the wealth map, and I can only imagine how skewed the raw data is with all the hidden wealth.

[-] sunzu@kbin.run 0 points 3 months ago

Do the rich not steal in US?

[-] sunzu@kbin.run 1 points 3 months ago

That's above median individual income in the US

Our troops get paid less too

[-] slumlordthanatos@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

We also don't send them to die en masse in human wave attacks.

[-] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 3 months ago

True, and when they do get deployed, there's, like, a McDicks and a Pappa John's that deploys with them. And all the equipment is up to date and works (which is something even by Western standards).