Draining the VA Swamp

Draining the VA Swamp

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President Trump signed a new EO [Executive Order] entitled 

"Improving Accountability and Whistleblower Protection"

at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

This EO addresses a portion of the myriad of bureaucratic issues, and particularly the widespread and embedded corruption documented and reported on for the past eight years, and historically, with no action taken by Congress to reform these problems.

The EO addresses endemic problems in the 150+ VA hospitals throughout the country, many of which have been cited for corruption, incompetent or belligerent staffs, and generally, a failure to provide treatment and support for Veterans.  It also addresses the unwieldy and seemingly ineffective VA bureaucracy which routinely delays and denies legitimate claims because the claims reps simply don't feel like doing their job.  It appears it is much more fun for bureaucrats denying these claims and frustrating Veterans than actually doing their job

VA Waiting List Scandal

One of the biggest opponents of reform in this process has been Senator McCain, but we'll address that issue in a separate blog post as his position on Congressional Committees impacts the Active Military, and importantly, his blocking of data on countless US POWs reportedly alive and officially abandoned in Vietnam.






This EO, to be employed and enforced by the VA Secretary, Dr David Shulkin, will consist of three primary issues:

1)  Creates an office at VA dedicated to "accountability and whistleblower protection", reporting directly to the Director to identify barriers that are "... preventing us from removing employees and people we have identified that should no longer be working at VA".

-- In effect, it's a "You're Fired policy" which would reverse the embedded hatred policy evident in a number of VA regional offices, and at the VA Hospital in Washington, DC where we have witnessed outright hostility by administrative personnel driving Veterans into a rage to force them out of the system -- based on the Veteran's "instability".

    a)  It will also terminate the endless bureaucratic delays by which the VA administrators have created countless barriers to a Veteran claiming benefits.  A personal example involves the VA's demand that we show "documentation of 'BOOTS ON THE GROUND" to claim benefits for Agent Orange, in spite of a four year tour "on the ground" which included a variety of combat medals as well as Vietnam Service medals, and deployment medals.

    b)  Since our Officer Efficiency Reports did not specifically state that we engaged in classified Special Operations in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, VA administrators initially denied benefits.  We requested they obtain our records, and they then sent us a five page document  with the entire content, including VA document number and date redacted.

    c)  Eventually, we overcame much of this bureaucracy, but noted that fellow Veterans without our persistence were left high and dry.  In this process, we spoke with a VA shrink who described a homeless Vet who was denied treatment judged to be crazy because he claimed to have operated in Cambodia; we provided the shrink with a full description of the individual and the classified operation that he worked under -- and he now receives benefits.

    d)  Basically unresolved is the issue of how to guarantee benefits for all combat Vets who operated in covert or classified status since their records do not specifically state [for a reason] where they were operating or when [e.g., Laos, Cambodia, various places in the Middle East and Africa, and on special assignment to deal with Special Weaponry].

22 Suicides per day

   e)  Also yet to be addressed is the massive death toll among Veterans committing suicide, an issue essentially dismissed by the VA, which should be held accountable.

   f)  A footnote, as yet unreported in any detail is the issue of the overworked, understaffed psychiatric doctors and specialists who suffer from overwhelming depression when they are unable to
address the needs of their suicidal patients.
The issue here is that there is a large number of these psychiatrists who themselves commit
suicide when beaten down by an uncaring VA bureaucracy.

  g)  A final issue to examine is what appears to be a VA DEATH PANEL, in which treatment  Veterans is denied or not recommended based on age or severity of illness/injury.  These decisions are made via private contractor consultants who are hired by VA to "... establish claims eligibility"; the "physician" conducting these evaluations are often foreign and have no concept whatever of the Veteran's ailments, and their contract is for simply filling out a VA form.  Among these contractors are Quest and LHI, with which we have had personal experience in this process.

2)    Effective 28 April 2017, the VA will partner with the Department of Health and Human Services to supplement VA medical personnel with medical professionals drawn from the Public Health Service.

3)  An initiative to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse in the VA Department.  

Demoted, but not fired

This initiative follows an 18 month Comey-led FBI investigation which produced no progress in the face of blatant fraud in the VA.

It will be employed and enforced by professionals brought in from both the Private Sector and other components of the government to examine -- with a fine-tooth comb -- major construction contracts, pharmaceutical contracts, track records of questionable health care providers, and administrative delivery of benefits to Veterans.

These professionals will examine the fraudulent contracts which enriched regional directors and hospital administrators, leaving operational equipment and facilities severely lacking.
Some examples found by the new Inspector General so far:

   a)  VA Medical Center in Washington, DC put the 98,000 Veterans it serves at risk stemming from the use of Dirty Equipment, lack of necessary medical supplies, and the possible use of recalled equipment.

   b)  Since 2014, the DC VA had 194 Patient Safety Reports regarding "the unavailability of equipment or supplies."

   c) In June, 2016, surgical staff used expired equipment during a procedure because of "...the lack of an inventory management program".

   d) More than 27,000 items purchased by the facility -- at a cost of more than $150 million -- were unaccounted for as of March, 2017.

e)  The Carl T Hyden VA Medical Center in Phoenix reportedly allowed patients to die while awaiting appointments, while bureaucrats falsified "wait-time" data to collect performance bonuses.  The director of that Center was Sharon Helman, who admitted taking at least $50,000 in contractors' gifts [aka: bribes], was tried, convicted, and placed on two years probation.

Helman accepted these "gifts" from Dennis Lewis, a former VA executive who retired and became a lobbyist, securing millions of dollars in VA contracts from Helman.  Although charged with falsified appointment data, whistleblower retaliation, and falsified conflict-of-interest statements, the Merit System judge dismissed the criminal charges, leaving the US District Judge, Steven Logan, only able to convict/sentence her on the administrative charge.

   f)  In a variety of cases, to include Wisconsin and Texas, administrator violations and corruption have been tied to the deaths of a number of Veterans.


4)  The long range target of this EO is the capacity to hold the three million VA employees and administrators accountable for criminal actions, to include corruption, fraud, negligence, and incompetence -- and to perhaps reform the Civil Service system which provides shelter for these criminals.

We encourage President Trump to fully implement his EO and to pursue all his options.  We quote Jarrett Stepman's American Legislative Exchange Council policy paper.

"By stripping the bureaucratic class of their special protections that few 

other americans enjoy through comprehensive Civil Service reform, 

Trump can fulfill his Inaugural promise, and ensure that when 

the People speak, Washington has to listen!"

Trump's Tax Plan

Today's discussion will focus on the impact of President Trump's Tax Plan.

[We feel qualified to discuss this topic as we maintain advanced degrees in 

Business Administration and Economics from well regarded institutions 

such as Webster, Georgetown, and Oxford Universities, and

we have taught senior level International Business 

courses at the University of Maryland.

We also conducted a NSC/CSIS study of the impact of business

 on local and international economies to assist the 

Reagan Administration develop a strategy for 

International Economic Development.

]

Leftist [e.g., NYT, WaPo, CNN, etc.,] criticism of Trump's Tax Plan worries that it will reduce tax revenues, undercutting the ability of Congress to spend extraordinary amounts of money on pet projects, like the Trillion Dollar F-35, and will benefit "The Rich" at the expense of "The Working Class".

In reality, most economists [including this author] will point out that Economies of Scale play a major role in increasing tax revenues:

1)  The tax base of employed taxpayers expands as jobs are created
      by the return of corporation to the US [inspired by a reduced tax
      rate]; the more taxpayers, the more tax revenue,
2)  Companies previously squeezed by ObamaCare's requirement
      to provide health benefits forall employees, if the number of
      employees exceeds 49, can now return to normal business
      practices and hire more than 49 employees legally; thus, a
      larger taxpayer base,
3)   New companies will be created to meet increased demand for goods and services, no longer
       hampered by the burdensome bureaucratic regulations and criminal penalties buried
       in ObamaCare,
4)   The defunding and termination of enforcement of ObamaCare criminal penalties will end the cost
       of ObamaCare special enforcement units which had hired massive staffs and generated equally
       massive budgets, incurring massive court costs in prosecution of "offenders".
5)  Disposable income of taxpayers will increase, facilitating their expenditures on taxable goods
      and services; the net tax revenues gained through expanded commerce will more than offset
      the reduction in individual tax revenue.

6)  Home equity will continue to increase for
      taxpayers who no longer have to worry that
      Obama or Congress will eliminate the tax
      deduction for mortgage interest and real estate
      taxes; that concept created a negative impact
      on the expansion of the housing industry
      which had begun to contract based on rumors
      from Capitol Hill.
      a)   Home equity allows homeowners greater
             availability of cash through refinancing,
      b)   Home equity translates to more profit in
             the pocket when homeowners sell,
      c)   Home equity encourages new homebuyers,
             expanding the housing market at all levels.
      d)   Housing Market expansion encourages new construction, which employs skilled and
             unskilled labor, expanding the workforce -- and again, expands the taxpayer base,
       e)  Housing Market expansion translates into increased sales of goods and services at all levels,
             from wood, nails, electrical components, stoves, ovens, HVAC systems, etc., all of which will
             both expand as well as create new companies which will hire new workers/taxpayers.
        f)  Housing Market expansion will create new companies which will not only hire new workers,
             but which will increase the business tax base for local and federal taxes.

Individual Reform

1)  Tax relief for American families, especially middle-income families:

     a)  Reducing the 7 tax brackets to 3 tax brackets of 10%, 25% and 35%

     b)  Doubling the standard deduction

     c)  Providing tax relief for families with child and dependent care expenses
     d)  Eliminate tax on individuals earning below $25,000 per year,
           and on couples eating less than $50,000 per year,

2)  Simplification:

     a)  Eliminate targeted tax breaks that mainly benefit the wealthiest taxpayers    

     b)  Protect the home ownership and charitable gift tax deductions

     c)  Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax, allowing standard deductions once again,

     d)  Repeal the death tax, allowing family wealth to be passed directly to heirs

As for business, we've noted the expansion above of Small Business in the economy is of major significance.  Here are the documented facts of the impact of Small Business:

1)  99.7%    of US employers
2)  64%       of net "new Private-Sector jobs"
3)  42.9%    of Private-Sector payroll
4)  46%       of Private-Sector output
5)  43%       of high-tech employment
6)  98%       of exporting firms
7)  33%       of value of exported goods

Notably, the impact of ObamaCare provisions forced many Small Business to shut their doors and cease to operate, laying off employees, terminating their sale of goods and services, eradicating their percentage of the economy of local, national, and international commerce, and thus eliminating the tax revenues previously tied to Small Business.

Most politicians -- and economists -- fail to factor in the impact of ObamaCare on the economy and joblessness rates.  The data above makes it a bit more clear for the uninformed.

As a footnote to this mini-discussion of Small Business. we will point out that such companies as Microsoft, Apple, Northrup-Gumman, Oracle, HP, Google, Amazon, and EBay all began as "Small Businesses" -- none of which would have flourished had ObamaCare existed when these companies were start-ups.

Business Reform

1)   15% business tax rate

2)   Territorial tax system to level the playing field for American companies

3)    One-time tax on trillions of dollars held overseas

4)    Eliminate tax breaks for special interest groups
5)    Repeal the 3.8% Obamacare tax that hits small businesses and investment income

The reform of the tax rates on business is especially significant for large, multi-national corporations [MNC], many of which moved their operations outside the US to avoid high taxes and onerous regulations which significantly increased overhead costs and decreased the levels of profit centers.

Lowering the tax rate will attract these extra-territorial companies back to the US where they will not only pay corporate taxes on their profits, but, they will hire American workers to produce goods and services.  These new hires will pay taxes, and consume goods and services provided by Small Business; they will also buy durable goods such as Appliances, TVs, Electronics, etc., and, they will consume services as they expand and enhance their lifestyles.

The territorial tax system will also make these American-based MNCs more competitive, increasing taxable profits, and expanding employment.

The One-Time tax on the protected overseas assets will generate hundreds of billions of dollars in a single event, which can then be invested in the US infrastructure -- creating more jobs.  It has the spin-off effect of eliminating the burden of criminality declarations against US executives who can better expend their resources on building business enterprises rather than expanding the number of lawyers in their legal offices.

And, last, but certainly not least, repeal of the 3.8% ObamaCare tax which has smothered Small Business enterprise, and stifled investment in publicly traded companies, many of which have gone private to reduce the costly impact of federal restrictions.

Noteworthy of this entire review is the impact of ObamaCare -- which most critics have considered merely a fly in the health-care ointment.  In reality, its impact has affected US commerce in all phases of the economy based on its myriad provisions hidden from view in the thousands of pages of both the original ACA as well as the implementation instructions.  

Eliminate ObamaCare, and we can return to business as normal.
  

Reforming Congress - Drain The Swamp

[Although we are not a fan of Warren Buffett, we recognize that even scoundrels have good ideas.  We have added some additional comments below to support this concept.]

The BUFFETT Rule

Notable pressure points for our elected political representatives. 

Salary of retired US Presidents .. . . . .. . . . . .. . $180,000 FOR LIFE.

Salary of House/Senate members .. . . . .. . . .   $174,000 FOR LIFE.  [????]

Salary of Speaker of the House .. . . . .. . . . .     $223,500 FOR LIFE.  [????]

Salary of Majority / Minority Leaders . . .. . . . .  $193,400 FOR LIFE. [????]

Average Salary of a teacher . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. .  $40,065

Average Salary of a deployed Soldier . . .. . . ..  $38,000

[These are self-imposed salaries,

 voted BY Congress, FOR CONGRESS, 

and the American citizen has no say in the matter]

If you wish to end the deficit, you simply pass legislation that declares that if there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress [including the Senate] immediately become ineligible for re-election.

The 26th Amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only three months and eight days to be ratified! 

Why? Simple! 

The people demanded it. That was in 1971 - before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven took one year or less to become the law of the land - all because of public pressure.

Does your political representative have any value?

Proposed 

Congressional Reform Act of 2017

1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressional Respresentative or Senator will collect a 

    salary while in office and will receive no pay after leaving office; i.e., no retirement!

2. Congress (past, present, & future) must now participate in Social Security.

    a) All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system

       immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and 

    b) Congress participates with the American people. Social Security funds may not 

         be used for any other purpose.

3. Congressional Representatives can purchase their own retirement plan, 

     just as all Americans can do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise 

     by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same

    health care system as the American people - another incentive to end ObamaCare.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they have imposed on the American 

    people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressional Representatives and Senators 

    become are void on the passage of this legislation and its signing into law by the 

    President.

    [There is no existing contract with Congress that such legislation would violate] 

    a)  Congress made all these contracts for themselves. 

    b)  Serving in Congress is an honor, not a lucrative career. 

    c)  The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their 

          term(s) then go home and go back to work.

This amendment eliminates The Establishment and Crony Politics.  Empowering politicians with lifetime careers and constant fund-raising [bribes] by Defense Contractors, Pharmaceuticals, and foreign powers is not acceptable, and has never been. 

Forcing Congress to restrain themselves and to be held accountable eliminates such egregious creatures as Nancy Pelosi, Paul Ryan, Harry Reid, John McConnell, Al Franken, 

Drawing on the words of Andrew P Napolitano, writing for the Washington Times, we have to wonder if there is a difference between Republicans and Democrats; probably not.

The laws they have written are too arcane for the average citizen to understand, and, as with ObamaCare, the law was written into 2,500 pages into which egregious violations of the Constitution were written -- unchallenged in Obama's eight year tenure.  We have to ask why no one in Congress challenged these measures, but we need only look to the Patriot Act or the National Defense Authorization Act, both of which were jammed through in record time to strip the American citizens of their Constitutional rights 

-- to "protect us from Terrorism", which we have created in the Middle East compliments of our "allies" there who created, funded, manned, armed, and are wreaking havoc in formerly peaceful lands -- and now, the Media condemns Trump for taking action against them.

It is clear that our Congress has become a self-perpetuating Self-Licking Ice Cream Cone, it serves itself, and not the voters; it gives the voters limited options for candidates, and if the candidate doesn't suit their tastes -- or dictates, both Parties join together to defeat that candidate, no matter how popular they are.

Cases in point include former Governor McDonnell of Virginia who was scandalized by the Washington Post, tried and convicted of "corruption" in a small kangaroo court in Virginia, and forced out of politics based on a bogus "felony conviction".  In a unanimous decision, the US Supreme Court overturned the conviction referring to as the greatest example of legal manipulation they had ever witnessed.  

                      
Why did this happen?

Governor McDonnell

McDonnell was a Conservative, retired Military officer, dynamic, good looking, brilliant, with a charming, attractive wife, and would have been a shoo-in for the GOP Presidential candidate.  

The problem was, McDonnell couldn't be dictated to, and was thus unacceptable to the GOP.  The Chosen One was Jeb Bush, a limp-wristed intellectually impaired stalwart of the Party who could be depended upon to follow in the path of his brother George W Bush and do precisely as he was told.  Thus, the GOP and the Democrats joined together to destroy McConnell to keep him out of the 2016 election process.  

The American people were so disgusted with the GOP candidates they jumped on the Trump bandwagon because it was clear he would not take orders from the political parties and would march to his own tune.  Trump has not disappointed in that promise although the RepubliCrat Press constantly attacks him.

But, let's take another case which you might have missed in which a highly popular GOP candidate in Nevada was the hands-down favorite among Nevada voters.  She had easily beaten all her Primary candidates and would easily have defeated Harry Reid, the incumbent Democrat Senate Majority Leader.  

But, the GOP had already cut their deal with the Democrats and vowed their support for Reid, even though they officially "condemned" Reid for his corruption and opposition to all proposals made by the GOP.

The GOP candidate, Sharron Angle, as a member of the Nevada Assembly, had challenged GOP Governor Kenny Guinn and filed suit [Angle v. Guinn] against the Legislature to nullify the State's Constitution provision allowing a simple majority to pass the Governor's $836 Million tax increase.  

She carried the suit to the US Supreme Court which ruled against the Nevada Governor's gambit.  The State Legislature then reversed its position and formalized a 2/3 vote to pass tax legislation -- and the Governor was defeated, and highly embarrassed.

Angle further upset the Nevada Legislature by attempting to reform the Nevada Prison System. In 2006, she lost her race for a Congressional seat by roughly 325 votes, and challenged the election since poll workers mysteriously were absent in Washoe County, her strongest supporter.

In 2010, once it appeared Angle was positioned to beat Reid, the GOP joined forces with the Democrats funding TV and Newspaper opposition to her candidacy -- to include was cited by Senator Robert Menendez as "racist and despicable" propaganda against Angle.  Her lead until then was 50% to 39%, clearly a victory; but, instead the GOP had turned against her since she was clearly and independent thinker, and most clearly would not be dictated to in the US Senate by the GOP.  Obviously, a trouble-maker.

Bottom Line on all this is that the US Congress consists of a single Party with two official designations: The Republicans -- who bear no resemblance to the original Republican Party, and The Democrats, who are clearly Socialists/Communists.  

Together, they are the RepubliCrats -- representing only their own self-interests, 
and certainly not Mainstream America.

Trump's biggest challenge will be to 
Drain The Capitol Hill Swamp.

His greatest enemies are Speaker of the House Ryan and Senate Majority Leader McConnell, both of whom have made it clear they will undermine Trump at every opportunity.