Yesterday I asked the question, “Who comes first: the vets or the politicians?”
We all know who should come first. And we all know who actually does come first.
The Is/Ought Dichotomy in full view — the fact/value distinction.
America’s politicians have legislated themselves wonderful healthcare coverage. Meanwhile, they’ve legislated something very different for veterans: a huge, unaccountable bureaucracy.
The federal archipelago of substandard VA clinics and hospitals is so ineffective that vets have died waiting for any medical care at all.
The problem isn’t a lack of public support. Americans obviously want to help take care of veterans. The many charities are just one indicator of this.
Instead, it’s an unmistakable sign of how completely beyond citizen control Washington has wandered.
Heads haven’t rolled in the Veterans Administration bureaucracy. Fact. But why not? Because of insider values. Why should congressmen even worry their pretty, little re-electable heads about it? None of their heads have rolled for their incompetence or indifference.
In a Congress loathed by the people, only one incumbent congressman has been defeated for re-election this year — and he was facing a 29-count felony indictment for racketeering, etc.
One might wonder if anything ever happens in Washington other than waste, fraud and abuse.
For decades, the lack of care for vets has been an ongoing scandal. But it’s merely a symptom of a much bigger scandal: our government is out of our control.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
5 replies on “Lack of Care”
Highly fitting commentary for Memorial Day weekend, Paul. You draw attention to what should be a national scandal. And to reasonable solutions that only require the will to effect them.
Since the assinine Democrats voted in Obamacare in the dark of night, without a single Republican vote, they should have to suffer the same miseries as everyone else does on that assinine program. They should also have to pay the high premiums, the high co-pays, and the high deductibles before their coverage kicks in. And since Federal government workers are making on average 40% higher wages than workers in the private sector, they should have to receive their lack-of-healthcare from Obamacare also. Only by requiring Congressional members and Federal workers will anything be done to improve that assinine Control-The-People-Through-Healthcare scheme hatched by Obama and Nancy Pelosi, two of the worst political “leaders” this country has ever been saddled with!
You identiied the problem and skipped over it. The problem is with idiot voters who don’t solve the problem at the ballot box. Or is it possible all the elections are fixed?
i believe an easy way to solve the problem would be to allow the veterans to be treated by any doctors or hospitals of their choice and then have the VA pay those doctors or hospitals. The VA would be acting like a health insurance company.
It would probably be much more expensive, but high expense never deterred the government from any boondoggle; why would it make any difference in this situation? As always, they merely have to borrow or print the money, i.e. press a button on a computer keyboard. Hillary Clinton could show them how to work a computer.
The process is rigged in the sense that almost universally you have no choice of a person who will be truly committed to solving the problem. Once in power they have all the advantages and can stay in power, almost always, by going along to get along. The power of Washington plays a role, the failure of the two major parties to be anything but incumbent clubs is a factor.
Term limits would help. So would making the job LESS advantageous. So that our elected officials would think less, or hopefully, not at all, about getting re-elected to stay in such a terrible job. BUT NOW, being a member of Congress is the best job in the world.