First of all , the Congress every year has added a half percent to whatever recommendation the president and I have made for increased military pay. And, you know, over time, that adds up to real money.

Could you explain "real money"?

My comments:

Here, "real money" is a colloquialism that means "a lot of money".

From context, we infer that Congress has been increasing or trying to increase military pay over the years. A half percent increase this time, when considered alone, may not sound like much, but several such increases have been made over the years. Several such increases in a row, one on top another and when considered together, add up to a large amount.

In other words, it's serious money. It's for real.

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本文僅代表作者本人觀點，與本網立場無關。歡迎大家討論學術問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發布一切違反國家現行法律法規的內容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin（張欣） has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.