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Dismantling The VA
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#1
- Grand Poobah
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- Posts: 2,656
- Joined: 05-July 05
Posted 02 October 2005 - 08:56 AM
Larry Scott | September 29, 2005The Senator's aide chuckled rather loudly and said, "What VA? By the time this administration is done there won't be a VA." Our conversation had begun with a discussion of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA's) healthcare budget, and quickly came down to a single, simple point. VA is being dismantled.
Three reasons why the administration would want to dismantle VA immediately come to mind:
VA is a large-scale, publicly funded healthcare system that works: VA works so well it has been used as a model to push the case for nationalized healthcare; something that strikes fear in the heart of every Republican.
Recent studies by the Rand Corporation and the University of Michigan , working with UCLA, prove the point that VA is efficient and provides healthcare that meets the highest standards. If it can work for millions of veterans, it can work for millions of Americans. That concept is antithetical to current administration thinking.
In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina we learned that VA was the ONLY healthcare organization that managed to save ALL patient records. This is because VA uses a computerized system that was backed-up on a regional level and put back online in a matter of hours. Now that system is under attack by Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs . Rep. Buyer wants to eliminate regional control of the system under the guise of saving money.
VA is ripe for privatization: And that spells profits for private corporations. The latest move in this direction happened last week on Capitol Hill where the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs approved S. 1182 (see Sec. 10) which would spend money from VA's healthcare budget to study outsourcing jobs of VA healthcare workers. The study, with VA healthcare funds going to private consultants, could cost over $140 million and lead to the loss of up to 36,000 VA jobs. Democrats opposed it, but Republicans pushed it through.
VA is part of BIG government: And that's something this administration abhors. GOP strategist Grover Norquist says he wants the government shrunk down so he can “drown it in the bathtub.” The problem with this is that smaller government means fewer services as well as the much-touted lower taxes. And the jobs that are spared are outsourced and cost more to maintain because private corporations have to build in a profit margin.
http://www.military.com/opinion/0,,77901,00.html
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Posted 03 October 2005 - 12:56 AM
QUOTE(justaposter @ Oct 2 2005, 08:56 AM) 
Larry Scott | September 29, 2005The Senator's aide chuckled rather loudly and said, "What VA? By the time this administration is done there won't be a VA." Our conversation had begun with a discussion of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA's) healthcare budget, and quickly came down to a single, simple point. VA is being dismantled.
Three reasons why the administration would want to dismantle VA immediately come to mind:
VA is a large-scale, publicly funded healthcare system that works: VA works so well it has been used as a model to push the case for nationalized healthcare; something that strikes fear in the heart of every Republican.
Recent studies by the Rand Corporation and the University of Michigan , working with UCLA, prove the point that VA is efficient and provides healthcare that meets the highest standards. If it can work for millions of veterans, it can work for millions of Americans. That concept is antithetical to current administration thinking.
In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina we learned that VA was the ONLY healthcare organization that managed to save ALL patient records. This is because VA uses a computerized system that was backed-up on a regional level and put back online in a matter of hours. Now that system is under attack by Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs . Rep. Buyer wants to eliminate regional control of the system under the guise of saving money.
VA is ripe for privatization: And that spells profits for private corporations. The latest move in this direction happened last week on Capitol Hill where the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs approved S. 1182 (see Sec. 10) which would spend money from VA's healthcare budget to study outsourcing jobs of VA healthcare workers. The study, with VA healthcare funds going to private consultants, could cost over $140 million and lead to the loss of up to 36,000 VA jobs. Democrats opposed it, but Republicans pushed it through.
VA is part of BIG government: And that's something this administration abhors. GOP strategist Grover Norquist says he wants the government shrunk down so he can "drown it in the bathtub." The problem with this is that smaller government means fewer services as well as the much-touted lower taxes. And the jobs that are spared are outsourced and cost more to maintain because private corporations have to build in a profit margin.
http://www.military.com/opinion/0,,77901,00.html
the GOP approach to the VA mirrors it's true party values. eventhough it was lincoln who started the VA, it's his own party that seeks to sell it off to the private healtcare industry, which would have the double effect of both lessening the quality of care for veterans--because profit would become the reason for the VA's existence instead of caring for veterans--and cutting even more decent paying jobs. instead of using that 140 million to upgrade VA medical centers, the GOP use the money to plan for the auctioning off of the VA. thanks GOP, for putting veterans and working people last again, but why should we expect anything less from the party which handed the biggest tax break to the most wealthy americans while they couldn't even send a few buses to new orleans to rescue poor people from a natural disaster. looking into undermining the VA at a time when veterans need the VA the most (during a war), that's GOP values for you.
#3
- Grand Poobah
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Posted 03 October 2005 - 09:31 AM
QUOTE
VA is a large-scale, publicly funded healthcare system that works: VA works so well it has been used as a model to push the case for nationalized healthcare; something that strikes fear in the heart of every Republican.
This is about the funniest thing I have read in a long time. The VA may work, but it hardly the model of efficiency. The VA is riddled with fraud and abuse and it is a broken system that is need af an overhaul. I am not saying that I am for or against privatizing the VA, but to say that the VA is a system of efficiency is a joke.
"If winning isn't everything, why do we keep score?"
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and
degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling, which thinks nothing is
worth war, is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing
to fight -- nothing he cares about more than his own personal safety
--is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free unless made
and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself "
John Stewart Mill
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and
degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling, which thinks nothing is
worth war, is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing
to fight -- nothing he cares about more than his own personal safety
--is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free unless made
and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself "
John Stewart Mill
#4
- Grand Poobah
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Posted 03 October 2005 - 10:36 AM
QUOTE
VA is a large-scale, publicly funded healthcare system that works: VA works so well it has been used as a model to push the case for nationalized healthcare; something that strikes fear in the heart of every Republican.
This is a beautiful example of how the dems/left/liberals can flip 180 degrees in the blink of an eye. To them, the VA system is only 'a model of efficiency' if they can use it to demonize and villify the Republicans. In Kerryesque style, in one breath they claim it is in diasaster and the next breath (out the other side of their mouth) call it a model of efficiency. This is laughable on so many levels. Think about it. Why would the Republican want to alienate their largest support group? Veterans and military are the backbone support of the Republican party.
This post has been edited by Buck Jackson: 03 October 2005 - 10:45 AM
#5
- Liberal is a Mental Illness
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Posted 03 October 2005 - 10:47 AM
QUOTE(Buck Jackson @ Oct 3 2005, 10:36 AM)
Veterans and military are the backbone support of the Republican party.
There are alot of Liberal Republicans that haven't figured that out, starting with Arlen Specter.
"Wasting Bandwidth for a Better Tomorrow"
-- author unknown
-- author unknown
#6
- Grand Poobah
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Posted 03 October 2005 - 03:14 PM
QUOTE
VA is part of BIG government: And that's something this administration abhors.
This is possibly the most erroneous thing ever posted on this board, and that is saying something. This administration is spending money like no tomorrow, and not just on defense. They are shoving $billions at the worthless Dept's of Education and Energy, creating new welfare programs and increasing the fed's role in health care. It is out of control.
Conservatives abhor big government, but I don't see any in the White House.
"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence." --John Adams
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