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Someone Calculated How Much Back Pay The U.S. Government Owes Captain America

I wish I had this much time (and money) on my hands

Captain America arguably had the biggest reality check of all the superheroes, since he fell "asleep" in the 1940s and woke up in present day. But since he was technically never relieved of duty during his superlong nap, the U.S. Government owes their captain some serious change.

Reddit user anon33249038 decided to calculate the exact amount Steve Rogers is owed by Uncle Sam — and it's definitely enough for him to proudly select the "priced high to low" option when online shopping.

According to anon33249038, "The O-3 pay grade in 1945 for someone with two years or less experience was $313.50 a quarter." (FYI, O-3 refers to captains in military officer ranks.)

"If you had specialized training such as parachuting and Special Operations (which he does) you received an extra $100 per quarter," the Reddit user continued. "Plus a quarterly living allowance without a dependent of $82.50. That comes out to $496 a quarter." Multiplying that number times four and then tripling the sum, Rogers ended up with $5,952 for his first three years.

Paramount Pictures/Marvel/Disney

Captain America

Factoring in the "biannual increase of pay for service with a pay cap at 22 years with no increase of specialized pay or living allowance," and assuming they kept Rogers at the pay scale in 1945, that earned him $81,684. Add that to the $5,952 just mentioned and Rogers is looking at $87,636.

But wait — there's more! Anon33249038's final calculation involved more speculation, basing his math on if the military kept their captain's pay scales the same for 66 years. After finding Rogers and thawing him out of his deep sleep in 2011 — the year Captain America: The First Avenger premiered — and "adjust[ing] for inflation," the U.S. Government owes Rogers a whopping $3,154,619.52.

Disney/Marvel

Captain America

H/T Reddit

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