Culture of Dependency

Nothing says Democrat more strongly than a government program. They build their base by taking our tax dollars and providing bread and circuses in return. Somehow they ignore the simple truth that if we kept those dollars we could buy our own bread from the free market baker and spend our recreational budget on the entertainment we chose.

Possibly no cause can be more heart-tugging than the support of our veterans. People who have given up a portion of their lives in service to their country deserve special consideration. Government is more than willing to provide particularly if it can be done through creation of a massive bureaucracy. Witness the Veteran's Administration healthcare system.

Just south of Alamo North where I live is the congressional district of Democrat incumbent Chet Edwards. In the five years I've lived here I've had the opportunity to listen to his campaign ads a couple of times. He is a sleaze-bag of the first order. I would love the opportunity to do a line-by-line dismantling of his blather but apparently it sells well in his district. He's at it again and this time he really looks threatened.

Here is one of his issues:

Don't Let Them Privatize Your Vet Care

First, let me stipulate that as a military retiree I operate under a different system. I qualified for Tricare, a managed care insurance plan, until reaching 65 and now I receive Medicare and Tricare-For-Life. The double coverage program provides me excellent benefits.

Veterans healthcare is offered to any who have served in the military, even those who did not stay for an entire career. There are catches, however.

Like all government benefits, availability is limited. You must register in the system and be qualified. There are a range of priority levels to allocate care. Combat disabled vets are priority one, as they should be. POWs are at the top of the list as well. Vets with partial disability incurred in combat are at the middle of the priority list, but are guaranteed services...EXCEPT you must first offer full financial disclosure during your registration.

The lowest priority are simply those who have served. If they can demonstrate financial need, they move up the list. I'm priority four, meaning partial disability from combat activity, and I don't require financial need to be demonstrated, but I still am asked to disclose my finances and assets. I refuse. I don't need them. It is none of their business.

You don't have to be a vet to be aware of the massive VA hospitals and medical centers. The ones like Walter Reed and Brooks Army Medical Center are doing a great job helping our wounded warriors through recovery and rehab. But there is a dark underside to VA medical services.

You don't have to look to hard to find people who have been harmed by incompetent care. Infections and botched surgeries are common. Abuse and neglect of hospital patients are readily encountered. Long delays for services and referral to unqualified practitioners is the norm. Like virtually every large government program it is inefficient and poorly administered. It is a money pit dedicated to self-preservation. It is the program that Chet Edwards is protecting against Bill Flores' suggestion.

Privatization of veteran's healthcare is not denial. It is enhancement. Easier access, better providers, increased convenience and patient choice at lower cost are not something to avoid. They are a better way of dealing with the issue.