{"id":49224,"date":"2014-06-03T08:00:27","date_gmt":"2014-06-03T12:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=49224"},"modified":"2015-01-14T09:37:59","modified_gmt":"2015-01-14T14:37:59","slug":"va-issues-part-ii-who-is-the-vas-boss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/?p=49224","title":{"rendered":"VA Issues, Part II: Who Is the VA\u2019s Boss?"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Part 2 in a series. Part 1 can be found here<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

OK, now it’s time to start p!ssing people off.\u00a0 (smile)<\/p>\n

IMO there\u2019s another basic problem with the VA, too. Who does the VA work for?<\/p>\n

I don’t mean who heads the agency.\u00a0 And I don’t mean the POTUS, who in theory at least is responsible for all executive agencies of the Federal government.<\/p>\n

What I’m asking is:\u00a0 as an agency, who does the VA work for?<\/p>\n

If asked, I\u2019d bet long odds that most would say that since the VA \u201cexists to care for and serve veterans\u201d, that vets are the VA’s \u201cboss\u201d. This will p!ss off a lot of folks, but I hold that is 100% wrong<\/span>.<\/p>\n

The VA indeed exists because of vets. It indeed exists to provide specified services to vets. However, the VA does NOT work for us vets<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0 We vets are not the VA\u2019s \u201cboss\u201d.<\/p>\n

Rather, the VA works for the US taxpayer<\/span>. Not for the Congress, not for the POTUS, not for themselves (though some certainly act as if that’s the case), not for us vets. The VA works for the US taxpayer.<\/p>\n

Why? Because it\u2019s the US taxpayer that pays for every damn thing the VA does<\/span>. The VA thus owes the US taxpayer \u2013 not<\/em> us vets \u2013 its primary loyalty.<\/p>\n

It seems to me that at times, the VA forgets that simple fact.<\/p>\n

Today, vets are only a rather small fraction of US taxpayers.\u00a0 In 2012, only a bit over 21 million of the US’s population of over 300 million were vets.<\/p>\n

The VA is charged with providing specified services to veterans, while also being \u201cgood stewards of public resources\u201d. The first half of that is the part everyone loves – and hates, when it’s being done poorly.. When done successfully, it makes the American public (and US politicians) feel good; it p!sses those same groups off when it goes awry.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also an easy sell to those paying the bills. After all, what could be an easier sell than \u201chelping those who\u2019ve defended the country\u201d?<\/p>\n

However, that second part \u2013 “good stewardship of public resources” – is equally important. But it\u2019s not as much \u201cfun\u201d, and doesn\u2019t make people feel as good. Indeed, doing that (being a good steward) means you have to tell some people, \u201cI\u2019m sorry, but you just don\u2019t qualify for that benefit.\u201d Yet that too is sometimes necessary if the VA is to faithfully serve and protect the taxpayer\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n

And when the media, the public, or politicians hear about such cases, well . .\u00a0 out come the knives. \u201cHow dare they mistreat those poor veterans! They served!\u201d<\/p>\n

To an extent, the same is true for any government agency. Any government agency does (or is supposed to do) precisely two things: (1) provide a clearly specified public service of some type, while simultaneously (2) ensuring public funds are efficiently, effectively, and legitimately used. The VA is no different.<\/p>\n

This in turns yields a certain internal conflict within the VA. The VA exists to \u201ccare for veterans\u201d. But they also have a duty to ensure that public money is spent wisely \u2013 and legitimately.<\/p>\n

People want to help. That\u2019s natural. They want to see people get \u201cwhat\u2019s coming to them\u201d. And most VA employees are no different in this respect than anyone else.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a danger in being overly \u201chelpful\u201d when spending (or approving\u00a0 spending) public money, particularly when it\u2019s being done to \u201chelp people\u201d.\u00a0 Because where there\u2019s money to be had, there always will be those who try to get some of that money any way they possibly can.<\/p>\n

Lord knows we\u2019ve seen that enough times here at TAH. I\u2019ll spare you the examples that come immediately to mind; search this site if you need a few.<\/p>\n

So part of the VA \u2013 the part that determines eligibility and ratings \u2013 IMO absolutely has to be cold-hearted, ruthless, and cynical. They have no other choice. Why? Because they\u2019re the gatekeepers that prevent fraud. In military terms, they\u2019re the perimeter security.<\/em><\/p>\n

Yet there\u2019s pressure for the VA not<\/span> to emphasize that role, or to do it at all.\u00a0 That pressure comes from multiple sources.<\/p>\n

The media loves to write about \u201cthose poor, mistreated veterans who are getting ignored by the VA\u201d \u2013 regardless of whether those folks are truly getting screwed, or are even actually veterans at all. (Read Burkett and Whitley\u2019s book Stolen Valor<\/span> if you doubt that \u2013 or just spend an hour or two poking around on this website.) Ditto the American public, and Congress.<\/p>\n

Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) similarly lobby for their members to get them benefits.\u00a0 Got turned down?\u00a0 Get a VSO to help.\u00a0 Better yet, get them to help in the first place!<\/p>\n

VSOs are quite good at this.\u00a0 They’re also good at lobbying for new bennies for vets.<\/p>\n

Did I mention that we vets are a pretty vocal group, too?\u00a0 And we can be pretty demanding?<\/p>\n

Further:\u00a0 Congress loves to throw money at things.\u00a0 For the VA, this has come in the form of new benefits, liberalization of criteria, and a general push to “make it easier” for vets to “get their due”.<\/p>\n

And I won’t event touch on the issues of dirty insiders and institutional corruption. Both exist, and both cost Uncle Sam a pretty penny.<\/p>\n

Hell, part of that pressure is even internally generated. Why? A growing number of vets \u201chelped\u201d means more justification for the VA\u2019s budget in future years. So there\u2019s huge internal pressure working in favor of passing out more money or doing other stuff to \u201chelp veterans\u201d with only a cursory examination of the individual’s application.\u00a0 More bodies helped (or waiting to be helped) means more justification future budget.<\/p>\n

In summary: at least part of the VA needs to behave as if it\u2019s an IRS auditor looking over Al Capone\u2019s business records \u2013 because they are protecting the US taxpayer from being robbed, and there are those who will try to steal the US taxpayer blind given half the chance. But there\u2019s a great deal of pressure on the VA to act instead like a cross between Mother Teresa and Santa Claus with a full wallet after he\u2019s had half a dozen stiff belts from his hip flask. And for some parts of the VA, that mindset is appropriate.<\/p>\n

The VA\u2019s boss \u2013 the US taxpayer \u2013 demands and deserves both, simultaneously. That\u2019s a damn difficult thing to make work.<\/p>\n

It’s even more difficult when an agency doesn’t really understand who they work for, and neither do those who depend on that agency’s services.\u00a0 And when no one seems to want to hear the words, “Sorry, but you don’t qualify” spoken about anyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Part 2 in a series. Part 1 can be found here.) OK, now it’s time to … VA Issues, Part II: Who Is the VA\u2019s Boss?<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":623,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,143],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-veterans-issues","category-veterans-affairs-department"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/623"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=49224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49224\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=49224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=49224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=49224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}