This subject has been mentally fermenting with me for a while, so I thought it was about time to “bottle it” \u2013 so to speak.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve written a short series of articles giving my thoughts on current VA issues – and why they exist.\u00a0 The first part follows this introduction.<\/p>\n
BLUF: IMO the VA today is fundamentally broken. Bluntly, IMO it\u2019s so badly broken and so dysfunctional that as it\u2019s currently structured I\u2019m not sure it can be fixed.<\/p>\n
But the VA nonetheless performs a necessary function. It fulfills a moral obligation our nation has to vets who were sickened or injured in the service of our nation. So we can\u2019t simply throw up our hands, say, \u201cF**k it!\u201d, and disband it either. At least some of what the VA does needs to be done.<\/p>\n
And I\u2019ll give everyone fair warning: as a group, IMO we vets aren\u2019t blameless, either.<\/p>\n
I will absolutely guarantee that at least some of what I say will p!ss off some \u2013 and maybe all \u2013 of TAH\u2019s readers. So be it.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s OK. Freedom is messy sometimes. But I think I can also guarantee that what I say will make you think, at least a little. Maybe collectively we can begin to figure out how to start fixing the problem.<\/p>\n
The first 5 articles will discuss some current issues with the VA. I\u2019ve got those written; they\u2019ll be posted over the next few days.<\/p>\n
The follow-on articles aren\u2019t yet written. In them, I plan to provide my thoughts on how to bring some sanity to the current chaos. Those ideas won\u2019t be painless. They might or might not be half-baked, or workable at all. But hell, maybe they\u2019ll also stimulate some serious thought \u2013 and discussion on how to fix the problem.<\/p>\n
Lord knows, the VA needs fixing. Badly.<\/p>\n
Without more ado, here’s part one.<\/p>\n
VA Issues, Part I: It Ain\u2019t A Resource Problem<\/span><\/p>\n First, let\u2019s discuss what the problem with today\u2019s VA is not<\/span>.<\/p>\n So, tell me:\u00a0 what is the VA\u2019s annual budget? How much do they spend?\u00a0\u00a0 And how much has that gone up since 9\/11?<\/p>\n I ask that because I\u2019ll virtually guarantee we\u2019re likely to see claims from the VA that \u201cwe need more resources to fix things\u201d due to the recent scandals.\u00a0 And as we all know Congress loves throwing money at problems, real or imagined \u2013 even though as a nation we\u2019re already as broke as a young E4 with a nonworking spouse, 2 kids, and a car payment living \u201con the economy\u201d in a high-cost area about 2 days before payday.<\/p>\n The underlying question is nonetheless a fair one: does the VA have the resources to do the job it should be doing? IMO, the answer to that question is \u201cYes \u2013 in spades<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s why I say that.<\/p>\n From 30 Sep 2001 to 30 Sep 2015, the VA\u2019s budget will have grown (in inflation adjusted dollars) from roughly $61.5 billion to nearly $156.7 billion.<\/p>\n That\u2019s an increase of 155% in 14 years<\/span>.<\/p>\n Let that sink in for a moment. Today, the VA spends over 2 and 1\/2 times as much money IN REAL TERMS (that is, after inflation is taken into account) as it did 14 years ago<\/span>. That is a REAL growth rate of approximately 6.7% a year for 14 years.<\/p>\n Has DoD\u2019s growth mirrored that? Has your paycheck grown similarly, in real terms? The answer to the former is \u201chell no\u201d.\u00a0 And I\u2019ll be willing to bet that for virtually everyone reading this, the answer to the second is likely a resounding \u201cno\u201d as well.<\/p>\n If that continues, in another 17 years the VA’s budget will roughly equal – or exceed – that of DoD<\/span>.<\/p>\n That’s not affordable.<\/p>\n I\u2019m sorry, but we do NOT have over 2.5 times as many veterans today than we did in 2001. Nor, frankly, do we have over 2.5 times as many disabled veterans today than we had in 2001.\u00a0 So I’m forced to conclude that the VA gets enough money – or maybe more than enough – to do the job it should be doing.<\/p>\n Indeed, the last 14 years has been the greatest sustained period of massively increasing VA spending in US history. Even the period of US involvement in Vietnam (1962-1975) did not show this large a proportional increase. VA spending during that 14-year period did not double, increasing by only approximately 91.3%. And a helluva lot more people were in the military during Vietnam than has been the case during the last 14 years.<\/p>\n Only the immediate aftermath of World War II comes close. And while VA spending was (in 2012 dollars) huge for about 6 years after the war, it peaked in 1947 \u2013 and declined by nearly 60% by 1952.<\/p>\n The problem IMO is not caused by a lack of money. The VA is now spending close to 1\/3 annually of what DoD spends. And the VA doesn\u2019t employ nearly 2.3 million people full-time, plus another million (or thereabouts) part-time.<\/p>\n And if the cause of the problem isn\u2019t a lack of money, then obviously it\u2019s something else.<\/p>\n \u00a0. . .<\/strong><\/p>\n Notes on Data Sources<\/span><\/p>\n VA Budget Data, 1940-2012: https:\/\/www.fas.org\/sgp\/crs\/misc\/RS22897.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n VA budget data for 2013-2015: http:\/\/www.va.gov\/budget\/docs\/summary\/Fy2015-FastFactsVAsBudgetHighlights.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n CPI Inflation Adjustment Factors for 2013-2014: http:\/\/data.bls.gov\/cgi-bin\/cpicalc.pl<\/a><\/p>\n Inflation for the current year (affecting the 2015 VA budget’s purchasing power next year) is currently projected to be approx. 1.3%.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n