Give War Zone Troops a Bigger Raise...$8.00

I am baffled at the reality that our government is only considering giving combat troops a raise. What is our government thinking!!!! Isn't it bad enough that we have troops that serve in combat that are paid a pittance for their duty, but yet the government needs to think about whether or not they should increase our soldiers combat pay. Our troops are putting their lives on the line for our freedoms. How ruthless can our government be? Obviously .......very ruthless.
"At issue is a proposed $150 pay raise in January for combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, versus an across-the-board increase that is slightly bigger than the White House’s proposal, which would boost the pay raise of a young grunt by little more than $8 a month." (MilitaryTimes.com)
So what this says to me, is that we can continue to hold extravagant dinners, overpay government officials, and read about all the misappropriations of  millions of dollars of funds at the Naval Academy, but we are going to go above and beyond and maybe give our combat soldiers an extra $8.00 a month. But hey that is a little bit more than what the White House proposed, so thank you congress for that extra dollar.
What could the solution be? I don't know, but as I continue to muse over what monetary value the government places on a soldiers work and their life, all that seems to come to my mind is $8.00.

$8.00 - Maybe three gallons of gas
$8.00 - An extra large value me at McDonalds
$8.00 - A gallon of milk and a box of cereal
Get the picture because I am!!