Well, at least Morin finally got it right, but it’s mostly the inability to fill staffing positions, more than “equipment”. My local clinic has been down three positions for caregivers for almost two years. In part it’s trying to get folks willing to locate to our area.
I’ve relied on the VA as a primary care provider for forty two years. The services delivered have been very good to excellent depending on location and veteran number fluctuations. Wait times do indeed get longer when there’s an influx of returning veterans after major military engagements. In those forty two years there seems to be a correlation between calls for vouchers and privatization schemes in response to discovery of this or that problem within the system. If memory serves, during the “good years” when major issues are not discovered and brought to light it seems the same privatization and voucher folks are the ones who also vote no on budget appropriations for the VA.
The root cause is a lack of funding commensurate with the huge increase in patients caused by ten years of war. The conservatives were focused on budget cutting. It takes time to build up a staff and expand or build new hospitals. They knew the wars were going on but apparently they couldn’t figure out that they would need more care resources. Now all they can do is try to smear the VA and the president they love to hate.
Sigh….again, Paul Bremer was sent to Iraq with $12 billion in cash; told to spend it however he felt was right. Less than a year later it was all gone, and he blamed Iraqi accounting methods. What else could we have bought with $12 billion?
While I agree that no one should be wasting money, and that the fact that others have done it before is no excuse for continuing, your one example is but 4% of mine.
Want more? How about $500 million on tanks that we don’t need, don’t want, and will go directly to a Nevada desert to sit alongside thousands of other brand-new, never-to-be-used tanks? Hey, a few tank-builders in Ohio need jobs. Or how about $5 billion to beef up a missile-defense system on the East Coast that the Pentagon has gone on record several times as saying it is unnecessary? Or even the entire “Star Wars” system, which has proven over and over that it will not work, and is geared to a threat much less likely than someone with a pressure-cooker bomb?
Government waste is legion, and every branch and every party is culpable. We can trade stuff like this every day and point fingers, or we can just tell everyone we’ve had enough.
Chuck Hagel this morning reaffirmed the overriding point of our problems that Morin identifies. He commented that the sequestration, like everything Republicans have done in Congress for several decades, is take the decision making process on spending away from the agencies and departments, like even Defense, who know what they’re doing, and FORCE THEM to spend irrationally on what those idiots representing the benefits to their home districts want, no matter how damaging to the nation. It’s about re-election and sequestering a cushy spot for themselves from which to reign, not serve.
While a high number of egocentrics vie for the Senate (hmm, like Rome), the House has become a playground for petty pinheads out to control the ocean, when they’re (themselves and constituency) not bright enough to stop peeing in their own little ponds. (Like Issa and all the TEA foghorns blaring away.)
A review of voting records and speeches does show that about 40-50% of Democrats are trying to serve the nation, and maybe 15-20% of Republicans do the same, but the REAL constituency they work for; is corporate, for the money.
While true oversight across the board to serve the people IS a good thing, this micro-management is chaos, and costly. The F-22 represented a piece of junk, and expensive one, that NEVER WORKED, but it provided one or two jobs in almost every House district, the money went down the tubes. But what people need to think about is that each of those jobs to produce failed junk, cost the lives of at least five troops dead in Iraq, and more being ill-treated at home, because of false “economy”.
Memorial Day IS the day to remember those who gave their all, and died for their country. WE need to focus, think, and vote with the irresponsible actions of our Congressional representatives who KILLED THEM in mind, and send them to a retirement home, in a dark, wet, cave, suffering like those who’ve survived their irresponsible greed.
I work with vets who are fully or partially disabled mentally & unable to totally care for themselves. I accompany them to their appointments, take them out for lunch and enrichment and work with the professionals that keep their lives on as even a keel as possible.
there is a lot about the v.a. that is wonderful. but, some of what I see at the v.a. is a shame. the dentistry is patchwork, at best. students from the nearby dental school do much of the work under supervision of one practicing dentist. it’s tough to watch – I can’t say anything; I have to leave the room.
the psychiatric appointments are a joke. they call about 15 vets at a time to come in to see the psychiatrist/psychologist/whatever. those vets take a chair, lined up in a row against the back wall about 15 feet from the “doctor. the psychiatrist calls their names one by one and asks – in front of their peers!- “any problems? anything you want to talk about?” yeah. right. there is absolutely NO privacy or personal contact. most of the time, there’s not even eye contact between the ‘doctor’ and his patients. and, what vet wants to spill his guts in front of 15 guys in a lineup? those 15 are herded through in about 1/2 hour. and, the psychiatrist/psychologist/ whatever, is paid by the number of clients that are herded through. not bad wages for no work at all except calling names and logging in that the patient was ‘seen’and jacking up meds.
when one of my vet clients had confided to me that he was having trouble with his anger issues and the meds (ubiquitous meds instead of care, b/t/w) were not working so well, I was not surprised when he responded to the ‘any problems?’ from the doctor, with‘no.’ so, I went to the doctor when the last patient left the room and told him that my client actually needed some help. the doctor said, ‘well, he said he didn’t so what’s your problem?’ I asked if he could spend a little time actually speaking one-on-one with my client but he was too busy.the solution the doc came up with? he just increased the meds instead of seeing how to help him be more productive. I guess zombies don’t make trouble.
this state of affairs has nothing to do with Obama although the knee jerk Obama-haters would have you believe that it is all his fault. the current problems have been seen since the revolutionary war. (see the jon stewart rant of 5/22 I think that’s the date.) but the current lack of care happened under bush when the group in power – read cheney, rove & bush – cut the professionals providing care to the vets returning home so they could hide the actual monetary costs of the wars. the v.a. doctors’ caseloads got bigger and bigger. the care became less personal every day as the staff attempted to cope. at least Obama tried to increase staffing and threw more money at vet care. it’s a shame he’s got to overcome the morass that is the v.a AND fight the Koch octopi.
if you want to see a change, get some guts and forget the repub agenda of ‘hate Obama and make sure none of his programs succeed.’ stand up and HELP improve the situation. you can volunteer, you can stop spewing b.s. fault-finding and actually help make things better. call your local v.a. and find out how.our returning heroes should have excellent care. you can help them. so, what are you waiting for?
Jerry6665: very well said, and what I’ve also observed. Particularly important for many is that issue of “group therapy” VA is forced to, when it doesn’t work for most folks. I went to two group sessions, worthless, but then VA, under Clinton, DID get me into individual therapy, and it was a tremendous help! But you accurately portray the problem, and the real cause.
Dtroutma almost 10 years ago
Well, at least Morin finally got it right, but it’s mostly the inability to fill staffing positions, more than “equipment”. My local clinic has been down three positions for caregivers for almost two years. In part it’s trying to get folks willing to locate to our area.
moosemin almost 10 years ago
Good ’toon. For a long time now, congress has been more pre-occupied with taking than providing.
progressivetexasdemocrat almost 10 years ago
I’ve relied on the VA as a primary care provider for forty two years. The services delivered have been very good to excellent depending on location and veteran number fluctuations. Wait times do indeed get longer when there’s an influx of returning veterans after major military engagements. In those forty two years there seems to be a correlation between calls for vouchers and privatization schemes in response to discovery of this or that problem within the system. If memory serves, during the “good years” when major issues are not discovered and brought to light it seems the same privatization and voucher folks are the ones who also vote no on budget appropriations for the VA.
Theodore E. Lind Premium Member almost 10 years ago
The root cause is a lack of funding commensurate with the huge increase in patients caused by ten years of war. The conservatives were focused on budget cutting. It takes time to build up a staff and expand or build new hospitals. They knew the wars were going on but apparently they couldn’t figure out that they would need more care resources. Now all they can do is try to smear the VA and the president they love to hate.
avarner almost 10 years ago
The people in charge are NEVER at fault. It’s always someone else.
The buck never stops. It’s just amazing.
I Play One On TV almost 10 years ago
Sigh….again, Paul Bremer was sent to Iraq with $12 billion in cash; told to spend it however he felt was right. Less than a year later it was all gone, and he blamed Iraqi accounting methods. What else could we have bought with $12 billion?
While I agree that no one should be wasting money, and that the fact that others have done it before is no excuse for continuing, your one example is but 4% of mine.
Want more? How about $500 million on tanks that we don’t need, don’t want, and will go directly to a Nevada desert to sit alongside thousands of other brand-new, never-to-be-used tanks? Hey, a few tank-builders in Ohio need jobs. Or how about $5 billion to beef up a missile-defense system on the East Coast that the Pentagon has gone on record several times as saying it is unnecessary? Or even the entire “Star Wars” system, which has proven over and over that it will not work, and is geared to a threat much less likely than someone with a pressure-cooker bomb?
Government waste is legion, and every branch and every party is culpable. We can trade stuff like this every day and point fingers, or we can just tell everyone we’ve had enough.
But isn’t it more fun to place blame?
Dtroutma almost 10 years ago
Chuck Hagel this morning reaffirmed the overriding point of our problems that Morin identifies. He commented that the sequestration, like everything Republicans have done in Congress for several decades, is take the decision making process on spending away from the agencies and departments, like even Defense, who know what they’re doing, and FORCE THEM to spend irrationally on what those idiots representing the benefits to their home districts want, no matter how damaging to the nation. It’s about re-election and sequestering a cushy spot for themselves from which to reign, not serve.
While a high number of egocentrics vie for the Senate (hmm, like Rome), the House has become a playground for petty pinheads out to control the ocean, when they’re (themselves and constituency) not bright enough to stop peeing in their own little ponds. (Like Issa and all the TEA foghorns blaring away.)
A review of voting records and speeches does show that about 40-50% of Democrats are trying to serve the nation, and maybe 15-20% of Republicans do the same, but the REAL constituency they work for; is corporate, for the money.
While true oversight across the board to serve the people IS a good thing, this micro-management is chaos, and costly. The F-22 represented a piece of junk, and expensive one, that NEVER WORKED, but it provided one or two jobs in almost every House district, the money went down the tubes. But what people need to think about is that each of those jobs to produce failed junk, cost the lives of at least five troops dead in Iraq, and more being ill-treated at home, because of false “economy”.
Memorial Day IS the day to remember those who gave their all, and died for their country. WE need to focus, think, and vote with the irresponsible actions of our Congressional representatives who KILLED THEM in mind, and send them to a retirement home, in a dark, wet, cave, suffering like those who’ve survived their irresponsible greed.
jerry6665 almost 10 years ago
minute ago
@martens misses all her friends
I work with vets who are fully or partially disabled mentally & unable to totally care for themselves. I accompany them to their appointments, take them out for lunch and enrichment and work with the professionals that keep their lives on as even a keel as possible.
there is a lot about the v.a. that is wonderful. but, some of what I see at the v.a. is a shame. the dentistry is patchwork, at best. students from the nearby dental school do much of the work under supervision of one practicing dentist. it’s tough to watch – I can’t say anything; I have to leave the room.
the psychiatric appointments are a joke. they call about 15 vets at a time to come in to see the psychiatrist/psychologist/whatever. those vets take a chair, lined up in a row against the back wall about 15 feet from the “doctor. the psychiatrist calls their names one by one and asks – in front of their peers!- “any problems? anything you want to talk about?” yeah. right. there is absolutely NO privacy or personal contact. most of the time, there’s not even eye contact between the ‘doctor’ and his patients. and, what vet wants to spill his guts in front of 15 guys in a lineup? those 15 are herded through in about 1/2 hour. and, the psychiatrist/psychologist/ whatever, is paid by the number of clients that are herded through. not bad wages for no work at all except calling names and logging in that the patient was ‘seen’and jacking up meds.
when one of my vet clients had confided to me that he was having trouble with his anger issues and the meds (ubiquitous meds instead of care, b/t/w) were not working so well, I was not surprised when he responded to the ‘any problems?’ from the doctor, with‘no.’ so, I went to the doctor when the last patient left the room and told him that my client actually needed some help. the doctor said, ‘well, he said he didn’t so what’s your problem?’ I asked if he could spend a little time actually speaking one-on-one with my client but he was too busy.the solution the doc came up with? he just increased the meds instead of seeing how to help him be more productive. I guess zombies don’t make trouble.
this state of affairs has nothing to do with Obama although the knee jerk Obama-haters would have you believe that it is all his fault. the current problems have been seen since the revolutionary war. (see the jon stewart rant of 5/22 I think that’s the date.) but the current lack of care happened under bush when the group in power – read cheney, rove & bush – cut the professionals providing care to the vets returning home so they could hide the actual monetary costs of the wars. the v.a. doctors’ caseloads got bigger and bigger. the care became less personal every day as the staff attempted to cope. at least Obama tried to increase staffing and threw more money at vet care. it’s a shame he’s got to overcome the morass that is the v.a AND fight the Koch octopi.
if you want to see a change, get some guts and forget the repub agenda of ‘hate Obama and make sure none of his programs succeed.’ stand up and HELP improve the situation. you can volunteer, you can stop spewing b.s. fault-finding and actually help make things better. call your local v.a. and find out how.our returning heroes should have excellent care. you can help them. so, what are you waiting for?
Kip W almost 10 years ago
The GOP loves disabled veterans. They made so many of them.
Dtroutma almost 10 years ago
Jerry6665: very well said, and what I’ve also observed. Particularly important for many is that issue of “group therapy” VA is forced to, when it doesn’t work for most folks. I went to two group sessions, worthless, but then VA, under Clinton, DID get me into individual therapy, and it was a tremendous help! But you accurately portray the problem, and the real cause.