This topic contains 1 reply, has 2 voices, and was last updated by Peter Barclay 9 years, 8 months ago.
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VA Healthcare ????
Started by Jere Beery
“The federal takeover of our nation’s health care system is only the largest of many health policy challenges facing our state.”
So Mr. Abbott, I guess talking about the VA Healthcare System does not concern you at all. Your stand on attaching to a veteran’s disability compensation to pay alimony and child support speaks volumes about your anti-veteran campaign and agenda. You realize you are speaking about American Tax Dollars designated for the combat disabled veteran’s needs diverted to third parties and their attorneys. Between the VA letting veterans die waiting for healthcare and the epidemic of veteran suicides, you plan on creating a situation where if the disabled veteran cannot afford to care for their own needs and are jailed because they cannot pay what the court has ordered them to, they simply put a gun to their head and pull the trigger. Mr. Abbott, do you really think that would be in the best interest of their child??? Has someone told you that disabled veterans receive a pot of gold and more than enough gold to support two families while attempting to start a new relationship? I’ll bet it was an attorney that told you that. They love to steal American Tax Dollars. And the ABA knows the disabled veteran cannot afford to hire an attorney to fight any court order, and the ABA likes it that way. What happened to; “There is no way we can repay you for your service to this country. Thank you for your service.” It is not that the disabled veterans do not want to take care of their child/children, its that they live on very limited funding by the VA. If you really wanted to help both the combat disabled veteran AND their child/children, you would adopt increasing the dependants compensation to a realistic and current living standard and allow that money to follow the child no matter where the child ends up. That is money that the VA pays the veteran as long as their child/children live under the same roof. Once custody has changed the VA cuts the dependence’s compensation off and the disabled veteran loses that money. Right now it is just over $100 a month for a single child. If that amount was increased to a realistic COL amount, no one would suffer. You should also object to a disabled veteran paying alimony to an able body ineligible ex-family member in the form of alimony from their disability compensation. To consider ANYTHING else would only do 3 things; 1.) Make the disabled veteran homeless. 2.) Put the disabled veteran in jail. 3.) Bury the disabled veteran after they blow their brains out. You must remember that VA disability compensation does not belong to the veteran, it belongs to the American Tax Payers. It is awarded to the disabled veteran to care for their own needs, not to get you elected. I do not understand why so many people want to punish the combat disabled veterans for a failed marrage. It appears to me that the disabled should recieved support payments. Good luck Abbott, you’re going to need it.You will need to login to join the discussion.1RepliesPeter Barclay, 10 years ago
People are often mislead to believe the use of entitlements of veterans in spousal and child support awards is morally appropriate. This is not true, it’s discrimination. This is my attempt to explain the feelings of betrayal a veteran experiences at the hands of the system they helped protect.
A boy and girl fall in love in high school. They get married at 18. The husband gets in a car accident and is permanently disabled. His loving wife stays to take care of him. Because of his loss of abilities, the man applies and is qualified to receive SSI, HUD and Food stamps. He gets more than just an individual because he has a dependent wife.
10 years later, he and his wife want children and she gets pregnant. Because the wife is pregnant she is now part of a special demographic. She has increased nutritional needs and receives an added food entitlement under the WIC program. She will have the nutrients for the child to grow inside her and also to produce breast milk.
The “Birth” of the child is a legal change and a new dependent increases entitlements. The family now receives the HUD entitlement of a 2 bedroom apartment and additional food stamps. 10 years more go by and the child is in school. Kids have additional nutritional needs. Because they are on food stamps the kid receives free school meals.
This is when life goes bad and the wife and husband don’t get along any more. They are getting a divorce. The mom moves out and because of whatever reasons she gets custody. The divorce causes a legal change and dad no longer has dependents. He is reduced to a one bedroom and receives less in food stamps and other programs.
Do you think the court is going to use the dad’s entitlements to create a child support case and award? Do they strip the man of the needed entitlements and convert them to income and a support award? Mom deserves them as a support award, doesn’t she? She took care of him for 20 years. The child deserves to be cared for by the father? He has family obligations doesn’t he?
No, they don’t do that because the man is getting entitlements. He can’t even care for himself. They would never do that to a civilian. They only do it to “service connected” entitlements. That’s because “service connected” is proof the person was injured in the act of being a murderous war monger. Service connected disabled veterans receiving entitlements are being singled out. They are being treated as if the court is run by the West Bureau Baptist Church.
Fortunately for this couple, they are not veterans. The woman is sent to the TANF office because she has gone through a legal change. She is no longer a dependent spouse but instead the primary head of house hold. She get’s TANF, HUD and Food Stamps for her and her dependent child, who still gets free school meals.
Let’s examine this with some numbers and simplify it to just food stamps. A single person gets $200. $100 is added for each additional dependent. Dependents do not get $200 because it’s more cost effective with multiple people. The family receives $200 for dad, $100 for mom and $100 for the child for a total of $400. However, after the divorce, mom is now head of house hold getting $200 for her and $100 for the child. Dad living separately gets $200. That is a total of $500 in entitlements because it is no longer as cost effective and they live separately.
This is also how it is suppose to apply for veterans. The VA benefits are intended for both the veteran and family and only about $100 is added for each dependent because it’s cost effective living together. After a divorce, the VA benefits are still intended for the veteran and the children. However, the VA benefits are not intended to be the only benefits needed to care for the entire need of the child. They are not living with the veteran and it’s no longer cost effective. The child needs to maintain their entitlement eligibility to cover all of their needs.
Mom also need to be handled as the new head of house hold so all of her needs are met. On top of that, the mom will also get educational benefits. She is no longer working to take care of a husband. She now has the ability to leave that career field and go to college and learn something new. Once able to learn a new skill, she can eventually get off the entitlement system. She is able to move forward with her life and hopefully with a new high paying job with all that education.
But this is not how they are treated. The benefits for the veteran are reduced because a spouse no longer exists. The remaining benefits are then carved up and a large piece taken. While it’s large enough to cause major harm to the veteran they are not enough for the mom and child. They are no provisioned as entitlements but awarded as income. This income is then used to deny the former spouse and child from receiving the additional benefits they need to survive.
Even this story can not explain the betrayal. That’s because most people are only conditioned to say “thank you for your service and sacrifice” and have no clue what they mean. They also don’t understand the definition of the word “entitlement”. It means “the right to access”. It does not mean you have a right to things like benefits, it means you have a right to have them available and access them in times of extreme need. Most importantly it works both ways.
SERVICE – Military members volunteered because if they didn’t, being the military would be mandatory and required. Equal rights dictates that every man and woman is under Constitutional requirement to be able to be called for service. If America’s need is great enough, we can draft a person with flat foot or woman. The need is simply defined by eligibility. The Uncle Sam sign was created to encourage volunteers because with rights comes responsibility. The USA is ENTITLED to your service.
The fact that people have access to entitlements but they haven’t been required to serve is ONLY because someone volunteered for them. The only reason people are ALLOWED to go directly from high school to college is because someone volunteered so they didn’t have to go into the military. Without an all volunteer military, we would have an all mandatory military. Volunteering does not guarantee benefits. It only ensures America’s right of access and need of service members is met.
SACRIFICE – This is the one that usually shatters brains. The sacrifice every military member is the protection of their rights. Everyone is born with rights and then given the Bill of Rights to protect them. A military member sacrifices their Bill of Rights when they join and they NEVER get it back. The Bill of Rights is only a shield to protect rights and not the actual rights themselves.
We like to refer to an amendment when we talk about rights. When military members do this to describe their protections, it’s just slang because otherwise most people would never know what they were talking about. Military members, past and present, have a different shield and it’s defined under Titles 10 and 38 of the federal laws. You can’t be in the military without making this sacrifice. The Bill of Rights was written to protect the people from the government AND the military. Because this one is so hard for people to grasp, I made a whole series of images to explain different rights.
Military members volunteered to serve for civilians. They sacrifice their Bill of Rights regardless of IF they become injured and eligible for benefits. When soldiers come home after serving and they’ve lost abilities from an injury, they can qualify for benefits under the entitlement system. They are specifically for veterans. Just as a pregnant woman has additional nutritional needs, veterans have special demographic needs too.
When a civilian becomes disabled from a car accident, that it typically the extent of their injury. When a soldier is in a car accident, it is more likely to be from an IED. They have multiple injuries like PTSD, having shrapnel or exacerbated earlier small injuries. Each injury is rated separately and then a “combined rating” in given. The individual ratings are combined to consider how they impact each other. A person with 5 injuries all under 30% each might receive a combined rating of 30, 40 or at most a 50%.
Veterans have a unique system because of the nature of their “Service”. It is legally a separate federal department because of their “Sacrifice”. When a veteran’s entitlements are used in a support award, it’s not just against the laws that require them to be treated as entitlements. The veteran’s “right to access” is being stripping away.
On top of all this, their child’s “right of access” is being stripping away. It’s hurting the former spouse and the veteran’s child. The support awards are used to disqualify people from benefits. Neither the child nor the mom is getting enough for their needs. You are hurting a veteran to further harm the child and former spouse. It’s true, most people in a divorce become very self focused on their pain. Many veterans are heard screaming about the pain caused just to them.
However, even if the child and former spouse where getting all of the benefits and enough for their needs, you’re still hurting the veteran. The nasty aspects and images of dead beat parents is how they justify discriminating against the veteran versus the civilian. No one makes a claim the injured civilian is not being responsible for family obligations. Claiming pain from the loss of VA benefits appears the veteran wishes pain on the child. The veteran is immediately demonized versus being seen as the person who is suffering.
