The Plan to Privatize the Veterans Administration is a Money Grab

By M D Mitchell - October 13, 2018 Leave a Comment

The Veterans Administration was started in 1930 by a Republican administration. It was created to address the significant, underserved, and unique needs of veterans. It has been supported by both parties throughout its existence. Make no mistake, the current administration’s latest action is not about quality care or efficiency, it is a money grab to take public funds and give them to private medical concerns and the already wealthiest individuals in society.

This is not about truly caring for veterans. This is about the continuing dismantling of American institutions for the profit of a privileged few.

The current president, not a student of history, who insults and demeans veterans, and uses them only as political pawns, fails to understand why the VA even exists.

Veterans often have unique health care needs and problems that are not well served by the general medical population. Congress understood this when the VA was created. The VA is not merely a place to go for a doctor visit, it is to care for veterans in need beyond a single specific medical condition.

There is no substitute for the VA’s experience in dealing with the needs of the veteran population.

Please follow and like us:

About M D Mitchell

M D Mitchell, known by his friends as "Mitch", was born in 1967 and today lives by the ocean in the state of Maine. He served in the Maine Army National Guard as a Combat Engineer, retiring at the rank of Major, and served two tours of duty in Iraq, as well as humanitarian work in Guatemala. He was also a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State, serving in Washington D.C., Brazil, and Guyana. Prior to that, he was the Director of Education at the Wolfe's Neck Farm Foundation, in Freeport, Maine. Mitch was also a classroom teacher who taught U.S. History, and English to speakers of other languages in Maine and Japan. He lives with his wife and has two adult children. He is passionate about remaining true to the founding ideals of America, the ones written on paper about a "more perfect union", although, sadly, not always as practiced in reality.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Practical Democracy: The Next Step in the Evolution of Democracy

Practical Democracy is a bottom-up process that lets every member of the community participate to the full extent of each individual’s desire and ability. The process corrects the flaws in the present system.

Poll Shows Fargo Residents Support Approval Voting 2:1

By Aaron Hamlin

We’re all curious how approval voting stands in Fargo for the upcoming ballot measure. So over the last week, the Center for Election Science contracted a poll with Prime46, a local polling agency in North Dakota.

Postal Benefits for Blind Voters Can Improve Democracy For All

By Andrew Straw

If you are a candidate and want to make sure that all your blind voters get to the polls early or vote early, you can mail a free no-postage postcard primarily in braille and provide a URL to your website that also is accessible to blind individuals.

How Blockchain-Based Voting Could Save Democracy

Fair and tamper-free elections are perhaps the primary way a political system can be “inclusive”, and this can be enhanced using a blockchain system. Yet, it is precisely why blockchain voting might encounter resistance.

Standing In Line To Vote: The Kids Aren’t Alright

By David Anderson, J.D.

Here’s a big problem, a BIG problem if you’re on the left: “kids” don’t vote. If more millennials voted, with their tattoos and ironic haircuts the Republicans would be out of business forever. It’s that simple.

Petitioning by Mail and State Voter Registration Webpages

By Andrew Straw

States need merely take the inexpensive step of creating an e-signing page that only registered voters can use, with a dashboard showing how many signatures each candidate has at any given time.

A Review of the Controversial New WWII book: The Phoney Victory

By Dr Nicolas Lewkowicz, PhD, FRHistS

The Phoney Victory raises some interesting propositions regarding the participation of the United Kingdom in World War Two. However, it fails to consider the alternative geopolitical outcome.

Can Democracy Hold the Military Accountable for Poisoning Its Own?

By Andrew Straw

Camp LeJeune is where I was born. It is currently an EPA Superfund site, and one author has described it as a “toxic hell,” the worst water poisoning disaster in U.S. history, worse even than Love Canal or rivers catching fire in the 1970s.

A New Way to Encourage Political Participation By Design

To create a bottom-up arrangement that lets every member of the community influence political decisions to the full extent of each individual’s desire and ability, the people must be invited to participate in the political process.

MORE FROM OUR AUTHORS

Taylor Swift Teaches Fans How to Vote Early in Instagram Post

This follows last week with the first-ever political endorsement from the famously apolitical popstar Taylor Swift made via an Instagram post.

Hungarian Migrant Champion Wins Human Rights Award

Márta Pardavi is being presented the William D. Zabel Human Rights Award for her work as an ardent defender of the rights of refugees in Hungary.

Jennifer Lawrence Backs Memphis Instant Runoff Voting in Video

Jennifer Lawrence is getting involved in local politics by posting a video seeking citizen support for the Memphis instant runoff voting system.

Rapper Kezang Dorji Connecting Bhutanese Youth With Democracy

Bhutanese pop-star, Kezang Dorji, has brought together artists to create a music video encouraging youth to vote ahead of the National Assembly’s elections.