Republican Hypocrisy on the VA Scandal
Republican hypocrisy is popping up again with the recent Veterans Affairs scandal. The VA scandal surrounding the mistreatment of veterans waiting for medical care is a major piece of national news and congressional Republicans have taken every shot at Democrats and President Obama possible.
The abuse of the VA scandal in a midterm election year to “rock” the anti-Obama vote is entirely disgraceful. The issue of VA bureaucracy is one that has existed for decades now, and while President Obama hasn’t done enough to solve the issue, pinning the fault entirely on the President is plainly wrong.
From 1921’s Veteran’s Bureau collapse, to unpaid revolutionary soldiers, to today’s waiting lists, the issue of how we treat our veterans is one that needs an open national discussion, not a finger-pointing series of aggressive speeches and letters.
Speaker Boehner is currently pushing President Obama to be “held accountable for the VA scandal”. Perhaps the Speaker should as well be held accountable for not proposing legislation to solve an issue that has clearly existed before it had an electoral benefit, or perhaps be held accountable for having house republicans vote against adequate VA funding.
The recent series of attacks from republicans on the VA scandal proves that congress simply has no current interest in solving issues, but would instead prefer to pander to the electoral politics that will win them another term. Glad to see the vicious cycle of abusing our veterans instead of treating them like they deserve will continue.
An interesting CNN article on the history of some VA issues: CNN Article
A quick addition to the end of this as well. Secretary of Veteran Affairs Eric Shinseki has announced his resignation.
Tags: Featured, Hypocrisy, Republicans, Veteran Affairs
The VA was a thankless job. We talk about a big game about taking care of vets, and rarely follow through.
Eric Shinseki was an honorable guy who first got kicked out of DC for telling the truth about what the invasion of Iraq would cost in terms of the #’s of troops requited post invasion.
Bonuses and perks to executives who hit their numbers is stupid. Your reward people for achieving their goals ,which are negotiated fairly and willingly, with continued employment, regardless of whether it is the private or public sector. You might reward people for legitimately exceeding their numbers or goals.
We wouldn’t need a separate veterans healthcare system if we had universal, single-payer healthcare for all Americans. But I dream.
The best solution is to give all of the qualified veterans Tricare, without copays if they are indigent, and get them out of the VA system altogether. Of course the VA had stretched out appointments: that’s what every single-payer system in every developed county does, because it’s a cost-cutting measure. In the private health care system, if one doctor cannot schedule an appointment for you reasonably soon, another one can.
Mr Merriman is mostly right, but I fail to see why any federal employees should be eligible for such bonuses. Federal employees are already more highly paid than average, and the bonuses being talked about are restricted to those near the top of the federal pay structure. If those employees believe that they are being paid too little, then they always have the option of trying their luck in the private sector.
The current VA problems show exactly why the universal, socialized provision of medical care will not work. As the number of patients increases, such a system has no incentive or flexibility to adapt accordingly. The budgeting process is long and complicated and the bureaucracy involved will invariably restrict any decision making to the slowest possible crawl.
On the other had, a free market driven, pay for service system can adapt quickly. Private investors can raise large sums of money to buy expensive medical equipment & open new facilities swiftly and at no risk to taxpayers. If a sufficient number of patients exist, paying for staff overtime or hiring more is a non-issue.
Most importantly, patients can seek out care that is best and most convenient for their needs. For example, several years ago, I needed a minor surgical procedure. My local doctor told me that it would take 6-8 weeks to schedule the procedure. A couple of phone calls later, I was able to schedule that same procedure at a nearby PA hospital for early the next week. As a bonus, my new surgeon was the department head at that hospital.
Don’t our military veterans deserve this same level of care?
Federal employees are already more highly paid than average,
Data please.
Because the Feds (civilian and military) that I deal with on the daily are definitely paid quite abit less than their counterparts in my industry.
@c “Data please.”
Yes. Federal employees are better paid, on average. They are also much better educated.
But if you compare wages for the SAME job, like practicing medical doctor, then the wages for the federal employee are consistently lower than the private sector.
That particular Republican cry is a canard designed to mislead.
Federal employees, are not overpaid… not by any honest accounting.
Yep. Every other country in the world manages to do it, but we just can’t.
American exceptionalism at work.
Thanks, LE. Averages don’t mean much since the Feds will have people doing jobs that aren’t done in the private sector. The C4ISR complex built at APG was put up by Project Management and Engineers in the Army that are certainly not paid what their counterparts in the firm that constructed this building made. You can pick any weapons system — the folks in the DOD managing, engineering, supervising are not making what their counterparts in the firms building this stuff make. If you think about it, this is why the revolving door exists. Retire from the Feds, then run off to the people who you worked with in the private sector to make LOTS more money with less BS.
as a naval vet with a service connected injury I have use the VA for years and find that it has provided outstanding treatment