"What VA? By the time this administration is done there won't be a VA." [View All]

[donsu]

and the aide chuckled

http://www.military.com/opinion/0,,77901,00.html


Dismantling VA

The 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.

-snip-

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.
-snip-
-----------------------------------

I'd bet on privatization

I'd bet the corporations are already lined up just waiting for the word GO, you know:

the builders of arms and legs

big pharma

big pharma/mental health

morturary/cemetary

watching the crumbling of america

did I hear there is now tropical storm 19?

and did you hear of the 200 mile per hour plus typhoon (hurricane) about to hit Taiwan? what will that do to the economy?