Obama wants insurance for everyone except our wounded vets!?

[Flashman]

Senators slam plan for wounded vets to use private insurance! (http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/10/veterans.health.insurance/)

:shocked:

[volchef]

Grrrrr. We'll give people a check for doing nothing, but we make boys pay for losing an arm or a leg? What has happened to this country? My sister's brother in law is in the Navy and on FOOD STAMPS. It's not right.

[humbletx]

Grrrrr. We'll give people a check for doing nothing, but we make boys pay for losing an arm or a leg? What has happened to this country? My sister's brother in law is in the Navy and on FOOD STAMPS. It's not right.


Basic oversimplification. The "we'll give people a check for doing nothing" - has no place in these types of discussions.

#1 thing to consider is availability of VA hospitals/services to veterans.. Access in other words. And we're talking about service related injuries & illinesses. Any veteran with lost limbs is disabled and receiving a check. The issue is readily available medical care if it is needed.

#2 - Food stamps and its not right. There are a couple options available - increase the rate of pay to enlisted men. Get on the phone with elected officials - that is how one corrects the situation.

As to the "what has happened to this country" regarding veterans. Hoss its always been that way - and isn't about to change. Hell my generation of vets were tossed aside like last weeks garbage - Ignored by many - hated by a few..

[ZippyVol]

Basic oversimplification. The "we'll give people a check for doing nothing" - has no place in these types of discussions.

#1 thing to consider is availability of VA hospitals/services to veterans.. Access in other words. And we're talking about service related injuries & illinesses. Any veteran with lost limbs is disabled and receiving a check. The issue is readily available medical care if it is needed.

The VA sucks, at least from my experience in dealing with all those (unsuccessfull) AO claims recently. I dont see how any system set up for everyone else could be anything short of an improvement.

Of course...never say never and all that, any socialized healthcare system is going to suck balls. But I'd certainly rather give them better treatment than worse rather than just push all the costs off to the VA, wounded vets deserve options for their care IMO

#2 - Food stamps and its not right. There are a couple options available - increase the rate of pay to enlisted men. Get on the phone with elected officials - that is how one corrects the situation.

Well, yes and no. Soldiers have never been all that well paid, at least not the low men on the totem pole. Historically speaking its either been a job you took because there was nothing else, or its a job you were ...uh... given through conscription. Either way, comparing pay scales/earnings for soldiers vs the general (private) population is a relatively new thing. The food stamp deal sounds bad, but we dont know everything. We dont know what's forcing the food stamps, for example. Does he have 15 kids? Child support payments? Etc etc.

Not to try to disparage a soldier, of course. Just sayin': Grunts are not supposed to be, and will never be, wealthy. If you want to make more money, move up the chain of command like anyone else in the private sector. I know alot of people working private entry level jobs who are also on food stamps, section 8 housing and the like. I also know a few guys in SF, one of which just got a 150k bonus for resigning & heading back to Iraq (soon to be Afghanistan: personally, I dont think it's enough money but he's happy with it).

As to the "what has happened to this country" regarding veterans. Hoss its always been that way - and isn't about to change. Hell my generation of vets were tossed aside like last weeks garbage - Ignored by many - hated by a few..

From what I can tell, it's actually slightly better for the guys now than it was for you all after Vietnam....which is pretty sad.

[humbletx]

The VA sucks, at least from my experience in dealing with all those (unsuccessfull) AO claims recently. I dont see how any system set up for everyone else could be anything short of an improvement.

Of course...never say never and all that, any socialized healthcare system is going to suck balls. But I'd certainly rather give them better treatment than worse rather than just push all the costs off to the VA, wounded vets deserve options for their care IMO



Well, yes and no. Soldiers have never been all that well paid, at least not the low men on the totem pole. Historically speaking its either been a job you took because there was nothing else, or its a job you were ...uh... given through conscription. Either way, comparing pay scales/earnings for soldiers vs the general (private) population is a relatively new thing. The food stamp deal sounds bad, but we dont know everything. We dont know what's forcing the food stamps, for example. Does he have 15 kids? Child support payments? Etc etc.

Not to try to disparage a soldier, of course. Just sayin': Grunts are not supposed to be, and will never be, wealthy. If you want to make more money, move up the chain of command like anyone else in the private sector. I know alot of people working private entry level jobs who are also on food stamps, section 8 housing and the like. I also know a few guys in SF, one of which just got a 150k bonus for resigning & heading back to Iraq (soon to be Afghanistan: personally, I dont think it's enough money but he's happy with it).



From what I can tell, it's actually slightly better for the guys now than it was for you all after Vietnam....which is pretty sad.

1) VA medical care does vary - and unfortunately widely. What is a great need are well staffed "clinics" for routine care/rehab. The problems with a number of service related injuries - the public sector is as ill equiped to deal with the injuries as most VA hospitals.. A good example are the head injuries our men and women have experienced in Iraq/Afghanistan. (Nevermind the survivor rates - in Vietnam many of these wounds would have lead to death - now they can get'em off the battlefield in to hospitals in Europe within 24 hours.)



2) As to the soldier deal - of course comparing private sector jobs to the "military" is difficult to do. Its a career for some - and the ability to advance may be a bit easier than in the private sector. (Side note - there are certain sectors within the military where a majority of the enlisted men have college degrees - undergraduate and graduate. In other words becoming wealthy isn't one of their goals)

3) Not to be cynical - but our men and women today, don't have that hate directed at them as did the Vietnam veteran, but the out of sight, out of mind attitude remains in place. Attmepting to understand both the short and long term needs of our wounded is difficult - that makes it ever more difficult to secure the funding needed.

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Lets get this straight.......Obama wants military wounded to pay for their own treatment of combat inflicted injuries but he wants you and I to pay for bad housing loans to people who did not properly and often did not legally qualify for bad house loans.

[humbletx]

Lets get this straight.......Obama wants military wounded to pay for their own treatment of combat inflicted injuries but he wants you and I to pay for bad housing loans to people who did not properly and often did not legally qualify for bad house loans.

Many of those "wounded vets" are no longer on active duty tootsie.. To somehow put yourself in to paying for housing loans made made during the Bush Administration - leaving out said vets is what one would expect outta your pea brain..

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Oh Texie, my pea brain bows down to your enlarged cranium.

[Polemicvol]

Obama has never said that he wants Veterans to pay for their own service related injuries, nor has he ever said that he wants to force them to use private insurance to pay for said treatment.

Apparently someone at the VA has studied or put forth such a plan. But that doesn't make it Obama's plan. And it's apparent that Democrats in Congress aren't going to allow anything like this to occur.

Much ado about nothing and a complete misrepresentation.

[semcclarin]

Many of those "wounded vets" are no longer on active duty tootsie.. To somehow put yourself in to paying for housing loans made made during the Bush Administration - leaving out said vets is what one would expect outta your pea brain..

The housing mess was started by the one Bill Clinton....1995....read your facts before you slam someone...

[semcclarin]

Senators slam plan for wounded vets to use private insurance! (http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/10/veterans.health.insurance/)

:shocked:

I served in the US Navy under the Carter Admin....dems dont care about the military for the most part...While I was in, the Military was at a low point under the Carter Admin. Our Squadron HAD ONE THIRD of our aircraft out of commission because Washington would not give the funds to fix them....UNDER the Leadership of our Commanding Officer at the time Sen. John McCain he was able to convince the powers that be to give the money to fix them....by the time I left the Navy under President Reagan.....ALL Aircraft were air-worthy...the moral of the military shot up and raises were given to military personnel...