Veterans Deserve Better than State Honors

Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) proposed a budget with extensive cuts to all sectors receiving pay-outs from the state, including veterans.

Those who serve this country deserve the best treatment possible. The Federal Government cannot do that.

Any state agency will falter under its inherent power to force revenue and dispense with it without accountability.

Consider the fate of the Walter Reed Hospital, an medical facility which fell into long-term neglect and disrepair, where medical personnel were reusing medical instruments without even sterilizing them! Government (mis)management provided a corrupt facility for men and women who deserve much better.

Then there is the lack of security. The fallout from the Fort Hoos Massacre alone should be enough to review the current security which veterans enjoy when undergoing medical care.

Besides, is it in any person's best health interests to receive unending benefits from the state? Have we not reconciled ourselves to the fact that after extensive health-care provision, unending handouts simply create unhealthful dependence on the government? Why should any veteran be forced to expect a well-deserved reward from an institution which routinely fails to pay its own bills?

Veterans deserve all the care possible to facilitate their integration back into civilian care. They deserve respect for the sacrifices which they have made for this country. Yet would it not be better if U.S. Veterans received block grants, a permanent tax write-off, or another emolument which will enhance their independence from the state, and relieve future tax-payers from onerous and ultimately wasteful financial obligations? Veterans deserve the best care. To ensure that they do receive what they deserve, they should be allowed to choose where they meet their medical needs. An open marketplace would permit this, as opposed to limiting veterans to VA facilities which do not have to compete and do not undergo adequate scrutiny to improve overall care for their patients, unlike private hospitals throughout the country.