GIVING UP AN HONORABLE SECRETARY AS A TOKEN SACRIFICE
(…by tossing him under the wheels of a political bus)
Congressional clamor, especially from the Democratic side of it, has forced the resignation of an honorable Secretary of the VA…by tossing him under the wheels of a political bus. None of that fixes any of these VA problems, of course, but then, this is a mid-term election year, folks, and that’s the way it works back there in DC.
Frankly, this is just giving us a bad case of déjà vu. How many times have we seen this kind of charade play out whenever another VA deficiency pops out of the woodwork and comes to public attention? Too damned many times! And each and every time it happens all our career politicos frantically charge around, put on grand performances of outrage, form special committees to investigate, and otherwise wind up their PR carousels of sincere dismay about such things…just to show we tax-payers how they’re really getting down to the bottom of why things are the way they are with the VA, etc., etc., etc..
We’ve had fifty years of this crappola. Enough already!
Actually it doesn’t matter who’s at the head of the VA, or which party is in power, or who’s occupying the Oval Office. Nothing ever changes. To be blunt about it…none of them give a damn. They’re all quite ready to send our youth off into whatever military adventures they think are needed, but they never want to pay the butcher’s bill for them…afterwards. The only veterans anyone cares about are those who’ve come home in a flag-draped box. The rest can just go suck eggs! They’re America’s “most unwanted.”
Well, here’s what we believe is the only way to change and fix this situation for the better, and for good. It’s really very simple:
- De-commission the VA as it’s now constituted, and replace it with a congressionally chartered VETERANS CHARITABLE TRUST (NFP).
- Draft several dozen of our hotshot multi-billionaires (like those who can afford to piss away 2Billion on a sports franchise) to be its trustees, with each one putting up 2Billion or more into its cash box, and prepared to underwrite any further needs with their combined credit power.
- Contract with that Trust to take over and operate all of the current medical facilities and services administered by the VA, requiring it to provide the same level of medical care as that provided for members of Congress.
- Allow the Trust to use the current tax code to solicit tax-deductible contributions with cash, equipment, or services, to provide such a quality level of care. That is, eliminate the career politicos entirely from the equation, and let the tax-payers directly put their money where their mouths are, about how much they “support our troops”, and, have all those of them who keep saying how much they want to “give back to the community” do so here for “their” veterans, instead of in all parts of the rest of the world. It’s time to take care of our own…first.
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As for the disability claims processing problem, the whole system needs to be redesigned as follows:
- Require the Armed Services to not only certify as to the physical and emotional fitness of those who are entering service, but also, require equally extensive physical and emotional condition end-of-service examinations before being discharged from active service; and, with preliminary determination for any level of disability, complete with unquestionable supporting documentation and medical evaluations to that effect. Something no disability review board or commission could later argue with or deny.
- Where appropriate, given the advances in prosthetic and other bio-medical technologies, veterans who prefer to continue in active service, despite any injuries, be allowed to do so, and assigned to whatever duties they might still be able to perform. That would be a much less wasteful use of existing manpower since it would retain the experience, knowledge, and training such individual service members have accrued. From a purely ROI perspective, the Services would get a much better return that way.
- Require the Armed Services to not only certify as to the physical and emotional fitness of those who are entering service, but also, require equally extensive physical and emotional condition end-of-service examinations before being discharged from active service; and, with preliminary determination for any level of disability, complete with unquestionable supporting documentation and medical evaluations to that effect. Something no disability review board or commission could later argue with or deny.
There’s only one problem with this idea…it makes too damned much sense…so it will never happen. But we can dream…can’t we?
CENTURION