> How do you spin the shifting of a big chunk of the VA budget onto the > veterans through increased fees, copayments, etc.? The increases are far, > far more than inflation would account for. There is no change in how the > money is spent, only who it is collected from. How do you justify that? > Especially during a war? > > We support veterans... just not with money. Phooey. >
Nick, it's not really that simple. My dad and uncles were vets, and I grew up with their views of the VA. Ending up in a VA hospital was considered a very bad thing at the time. The VA administration was considered as a last resort. It wasn't that the nation wasn't spending money on the VA. It's been a hard to reform bureaucracy for ~60 years now. Weber's law (a bureaucrat will work for his own ends not the ends for which his job was created) has had years to rule. Anyone who tries to cut waste is accused of "attacking our Veterans." Back in my dad's day, there was a unhealthy co-dependant relationship between some of the vets and the VA. I suspect the same still exists. What is really needed is someone with the political courage to reform the VA system....but that won't happen because it would almost automatically guarantee they will lose the next election. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
