I saw the headline and snippet earlier but didn't have time to open the article. I will tonight. But the little I read sickened me.
Poor? How about stupendously stupid. I think I know what he thought he meant, that being that wait time should not be the only measure of success -- there are only so many doctors and staff to go around and wait times may be long depending on who you need to see. But with that astoundingly tone-deaf and callous sounding comparison, he killed any chance at any other part of his message being heard. No wonder people think this administration doesn't care about veterans, and never mind that the problems we hear so much about these days actually go back decades (ask any Vietnam or Gulf War I veteran).
There is no way that equivalent arguments can be made to remove this as an issue. Simply, we contracted to provide for those in need and we are not living up to the contract. IMO, the only way this is going to be corrected is for someone, with backbone, tell unions and PC to get the hell out of the way and provide the agreed service - timely. None of these people who made the sacrifice should remotely be asked to take a number and wait for service. If you cannot provide the services, pay a reasonable fee to those in private practice who will do so. Enough of the excuse making that it is nothing new. Today is the first day going forward. Old practice is drop dead - today and for evermore. New practice is to aggressively remove backlog. Set a definite date for accomplishment. Failure to achieve gives leadership roll to whomever can do job.
We agree on one thing: If the VA hospital or clinic doesn't have staff available to provide service in a more timely manner (two weeks or less), then provision must be made for veterans to get needed care on the economy. Ric Shenseki tried "setting a date" for removing the backlog, and all that happened was staff at VA facilities started fudging records to make it appear as if that were happening, knowing that veterans weren't really being seen. So he was forced out and this bozo McDonald has the job. Congress wants to focus on firing VA officials when they should be mandating -- and funding -- the solution we agree on while at the same time finding a way to help the VA fill the thousands of vacancies in the VA for doctors and specialists. Unions and PC, whatever that means, has nothing to do with this.
Falsifying records had a penalty of money and time when I was obligated to file their forms from the business world. Prosecute those who falsify. Most white collar people like freedom of movement.
OK, exactly how much personal experience do you have with the VA? You say the department has become a ********, and don't want to hear the reality that it has been a ******** for decades for a variety of reasons -- none having to do with unions or the civil service except in the sense that pay caps make it unattractive as an employer for doctors and specialists, which is why the VA has so many vacant positions. You can't clear up a backlog unless you have either (a) staff to provide care or (b) authorization to refer patients to private providers. Option B costs money that Congress doesn't want to appropriate -- hell, they're looking for ways to cut benefits. I agree that everyone who falsified records and everyone who ordered records to be falsified should at a minimum be out of a job. It's too bad that the appeals board reversed the firings that already had happened.
I don't know what "personal experience" you are asking for. I am not an employee of VA nor have used their services. That has not prevented me from learning about the organization. I have family and friends who have been exposed though.