to honor troops, we shouldn't "budget" the VA.

[yurbud]

Rather than give them a set amount of money, we should treat the organization at least as well as we do defense contractors.

For defense contractors, they either make a bid or we set a price, and once they get the contract and start doing the job, they inevitably come back and say, "Gosh darn it, we just didn't realize how much it would really cost to do this. We need more money."

And Congress and the Department of Defense gives it to them.

At a minimum, the VA should be able to do that too.

"You want how little wait time? Gosh darn it, we can't do that with the number of doctors, nurse, and support staff we have. If we try to overwork and underpay these people, the private sector is going to get a lot more attractive to them and we'll have even LONGER delays.

We're going to need more money, and seriously, no bellyaching about having to raise taxes on your rich donors. You took care of them when you started the wars that gave our vets PTSD, Gulf War Syndrome, and traumatic brain injuries, and blown off faces and limbs.

If you have the "courage" to start wars, you should have the courage to tax and spend to take care of the people who fight the wars.

If not, please take off your lapel pin flag and stop saying you support the troops.

You don't.

You only support their right to die for your rich friends."

And then Congress should give them what they need and not what they feel like giving them.

[mercuryblues]

1. put it under

the DoD control a percentage of their budget must go to Veteran care. They get everything they ask for without question. The republicans scream "NATIONAL SECURUTY!" in their sleep.

Make no mistake by not properly caring for our Veterans now is a future NS risk. Who in their right mind would want to enlist after they see the veteran non-care for the past 13 years?

[Prophet 451]

3. I was just about to say that

It's the DoD's responsibility to take care of people wounded on it's watch and the DoD gets whatever it asks for (and often, more than it asked for).

[mercuryblues]

7. exactly

They broke it, they fix it. Might just make them think twice before sending our children off to war. When they have to add medical care into the equation for what it will cost to go to war, it just might make some more Americans less supportive.

[Jefferson23]

2. Recommend. n/t

[951-Riverside]

4. I'll let you in on a little secret...

No one in government gives a shit about soldiers who get injured.

"Thank the troops" is just a bullshit marketing scheme to get new recruits to sign up. If you get injured, they kick you out and dispose of you like a rag. They don't even want you working in the Base Welcome Center, they just want you off the base and out of sight.

The reason why treatment under the VA takes so long is because they're hoping injured vets just give up and either die or commit suicide.

Thank god we still have good hearted battlefield surgeons and medics because if it was left up to people in government, they'd rather not have a soldier who is missing a limb or brain damaged in the VA system.

That's the reality of Military life.

[yurbud]

5. It's a trick insurance companies pull on civilians too

"Oh, you want to appeal the denial of your cancer treatment? Okay, let me just put you on hold until you die."

[yurbud]

6. "off the base and out of sight"--that's probably another reason they have a separate system for vets

and active duty.

They don't want guys who are considering re-enlisting sitting in a waiting room with vets with no face or arms.

Hell, probably even talking to a relatively unharmed vet who went through an earlier version of the current wars might be a little too insightful.