We could show tangible gratitude towards our veterans (as opposed to repeating the meaningless platitude, "Thank you for your service" that just reminds me how much thought and meaning the Americans give their veterans) by very simply giving any vet with an honourable discharge free health care for life.
Now hear me out, lurkers who will react with a "socialist!" epitaph without thinking this one through.
These people wrote a cheque for the people to cash, "Pay to the order of (in this case) the People of the United States, my life". They deserve more than the years of being ignored at worst and considered "damaged goods" at best that is their lot in America. They just do.
That said, it is quite possible there is a helluva savings for the taxpayer in this notion.
First, we are talking a mere 6% of the population. That's it. I don't have to go into what an abysmal percentage of the population that enjoys the benefits of citizenship make this sacrifice to serve in the stead of the other 94%. For the purpose of this, however, the important number is that 6%.
Where the tangible savings might really be is the ability to pretty much eliminate a huge percentage of the Veteran's Administration, specifically the legions of administrative slugs and troglodytes who exist to deny applications for care, prolong the process, both initial and resubmissions, all hoping we might succumb to our ills before the process lets us in. If you've never dealt with VA, you don't realise how demeaning the entire exercise is, how slow, how hidebound, and how negative the experience is.
The VA system further lets down the veteran simply by not taking into account the truth that military service, especially in the combat arms, does add some wear and tear on the body (and mind) that a person can't lay at the feet of a single service related injury or event. Good luck selling that to the denial clerks at VA, even though that form of wear is probably far more common, just waiting to make itself known when you get a bit older; worn out knees and ankles, arthritis, back degradation, a rotator-cuff here and there.
This army of people who live to deny, then live to prolong appeals for years and years could be made to go away just by requiring a discharge paper at any physicians office or hospital. Their being made redundant would at least go a long way to paying for this richly deserved tangible thank you if it didn't actually save money beyond the cost of implementation of this simple policy. No VA health infrastructure required anymore.
We then look hopefully at the talent out there who might suddenly have a very different view of service. This is purely intangible at this point, but I can't help but think this would be a tickmark in the plus-column of the "do I serve" chart. It certainly would be more of an incentive than the privilege of dealing with VA!
So, how about a real "Thank you" from what should be a grateful nation, a thank you far more meaningful and tangible than a precanned platitude on November 11th? And especially one that actually might save the 94% some tax money, or at least take the sting out of the cost by eliminating the lions share of one of the most embarrassing travesties of a government organisation ever to impose death-by-bureaucracy on a class of people who deserve far far better.
You want to say, "Thank you for your service" and swear you're really being sincere about your saying it? Pass this around instead. Send it to your elected officials, Congress, the Commander-in-chief even.
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