In today's Orange County Register, Michael A. Pacer, a Vietnam veteran, sent in a letter to the editor that I think merits posting here.
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POMONA, Michael A. Pacer: The VA scandal has finally surfaced, and Americans will now see how poorly veterans have been treated by our government.
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POMONA, Michael A. Pacer: The VA scandal has finally surfaced, and Americans will now see how poorly veterans have been treated by our government.
From World War I (the Bonus Army), to ignoring Korean veterans, to spitting on Vietnam veterans (of which I am one) and now to the VA hospital scandal, this country has a terrible treatment record in regard to our veterans and active military.
The Obama administration treats illegal immigrants with more concern than our returning veterans, and the Department of Homeland Security, under President Barack Obama, lists veterans as possible domestic terrorists, along with gun owners, Christians and constitutional conservatives.
How did this happen? I believe this is happening because those same people who spit on me in 1970 when I was in uniform are now in power in Washington, D.C. This should not be tolerated.
This is a sad and shameful time in American history, and those who have treated our veterans with contempt should be removed from any position of responsibility before they do any more damage.
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You nailed it, Mr Pacer. Thank you for this and thank you for your service in Vietnam.
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You nailed it, Mr Pacer. Thank you for this and thank you for your service in Vietnam.
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5 comments:
What pathetic political opportunism. Oh my God, a federal government bureaucracy is malfunctioning, part of that big bad government we want to shrink until it is small enough we can drown it in a bathtub, and IT'S ALL THE PRESIDENT'S FAULT FOR ADVOCATING BIG GOVERNMENT!!!
Who do you think you're fooling, you and your useful idiots in congress?
The VA has been underperforming for decades, taking flak for decades, and a good part of it is because its underfunded. Someone has been trying to shrink the VA until it is small enough to drown it in a bathtub. (Yes, I hate to tell you, the VA is part of that big bad federal government you want to shrink).
No doubt there are also demoralized staff, incompetent staff, bad leadership on many levels in many places... but if you want to set things right, make a list of all the equipment and supplies needed, the staff needed, the credentials needed for that staff to do their jobs reliably, add up how much it will cost and then (gasp!) raise the necessary revenue to fund it properly!!! (And to pay the people properly who are entrusted with the care of our veterans).
You might even have to raise taxes a little. We can't have the debt or deficit going up now, can we?
Congress reps in both parties are all too ready to pass laws mandating things that really should be done, mandating high standards, then try to short change what it will cost to do the job right. Highways, the VA, the armed forces, diplomatic security, Head Start, you name it, until we face up to the necessity to pay the bills, we will continue to have scandals like this.
I say give vets an ID card. If they can't get the care in a VA facility they can use that card to get care in the private sector.
Oh, but that makes too much sense.
It makes a lot of sense. Merge the veterans into the health care provided by the Affordable Care Act.
The point is to make sure the veterans get the health care they need (often, although not always, contributed to by war time experiences, which can take years to manifest). E.g., William Jenifer Powell, one of the early black aviators, died in 1942 from lung injuries inflicted by German gas attacks during WW I.
The point is not to provide a segregated health care system where veterans take whatever they get.
I suppose at one time the point was, a large part of the population doesn't get much health care, but let's provide a system where at least the veterans will be prioritized. But it seems to be working the other way now.
There will, of course, be questions about which procedures are approved, in what circumstances, what co-pays to charge, if any, etc. etc. etc., as with anyone else who has an ID card to receive health care in the private sector.
And big bad government will still have to tax its way to the necessary revenue to pay for it.
I think the vets are already in the ACA system-or a reasonable facsimile. Their experiences are a forerunner of what we are all in store for.
A facile characterization, Gary, sound and fury signifying nothing.
Didn't they teach you in the DEA that when you make a factual assertion, you have to have evidence to support it?
I'm under the Affordable Care Act, and I'll be the first to admit I'm getting much better health care than what the VA seems (from the headlines) to be delivering.
Didn't we just have this discussion in the context of 'what Paul Krugman really said'???
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