Does the USA government look after it’s veterans?

20 comments

1. Well that really depends on what you mean by “look after” vs “minimal support”.

   There’s a robust GI Bill for education, the VA system for health care may not be perfect but it certainly exists and provides care for thousands of people daily, as well as [many other benefits](https://www.va.gov/service-member-benefits/) from home purchase assistance to burial services.

2. Not enough and there are glaring issues, but “the VA covered my service-related condition and I got my promised benefits” does not make for good TV, so take a grain of salt whenever you try to guess the frequency based off pop culture.

3. Very, very complicated issue.

   The government *generally* takes very, very good care of veterans. But the ways to get all the help available can be so bureaucratic and complicated that a lot of vets don’t get the help they’re owed simply because they can’t fuggin’ figure out how!

4. – Over 67,000 veterans are homeless.

   – Over 968,000 veterans lived in poverty in the last year.

   – 20,000 veterans with government sponsored mortgages lost their homes in 2010.

   – 76% of homeless veterans experience alcohol, drug, or mental health issues.

   – 30.2% of veterans ages 18-24 are unemployed.

   [source](https://themilitarywallet.com/homeless-veterans-in-america/)

5. According to my boy who’s a disabled vet….It’s really hit or miss. Some VA hospitals are fantastic. Others are dog shit. There’s no real rhyme or reason to it.

   Far too many vets are homeless and far too many commit suicide. The root of it isn’t as a cut and dry as it seems. I still have to believe the govt could do more in that space.

6. Not really. I grew up in a military family before leaving home and becoming an EMT. Both experiences have shown how little the government cares about veterans. Long story short, I’ve had LOT of conversations about this with vets. Half the homeless I dealt with were veterans and even the veterans who were somewhat better off were doing so more from family support than any government help. There are a lot of people in the VA system who really do care, but there is so much beaurocracy and reliance on outdated technology that it barely functions even with the best of staff. Kinda sad considering how much we spend on military.

7. More today than they ever did from previous Wars.

   After previous Wars you’re only put on disability if you can perform no manual labor.

   Today you could be 100% disabled and work 60 hours a week on a manual job and receive lifetime pension and free healthcare.

8. No. Not in any way shape or form. They create the illusion of caring, but generally leave veterans to fend for themselves.

9. There like a zillion ways they are helped. College, home loans, pensions, small business support and loans, almost every town has veterans services, disability housing, generous aid for those with things like PSTD, etc. Things Americans who didn’t or couldn’t join would never get.

   Basically any government job — veterans get in before a non veteran. Cops, Firefighters. etc.

   These jobs have great benefits and pension. Many people come out with 2 pensions.

   Outside of the government? There are about 25,000 organizations that donate things like houses, vacations, etc to veterans.

10. VA mental health is an absolute joke, but there are a lot of nice benefits.

    I also figure since I signed up and got paid for a job they don’t owe me all that much. Whenever I hear “ty for your service” my immediate answer is “well, they paid me”.

11. I think for the most part Vets are taken care of. For every horror story you hear there are 100s of Vets that are getting everything they need. The healthcare can vary on quality depending on location. A lot of people point to the homeless vet problem. There are programs to get homeless vets off the street. However there are a lot of vets who go through the programs and couldn’t stay clean from drugs or do things to get evicted once they are housed.

12. The VA exists to serve the disabled veterans. For other vets, there is care but on a sliding scale to pay for it, and of course the non-disabled are at the bottom of the pile, priority-wise. The VA is notoriously underfunded, not part of the defense budget at all, so every year they have to crawl to Congress, cap in hand, to beg for money.

    There are benefits like the GI Bill, but when I served, you had to sign up for it, a tiny amount was deducted from your paycheck every month for a year, and it was to be used after you left the military. VA home loans are great, 5.3% interest rate is tough to beat. Preference in hiring for civil service positions, but there again, the disabled vet takes the lead.

13. Contrary to popular opinion, we got it pretty good

14. In the words of Dr. Farnsworth “oh no it’s cheaper to just let you die”

15. 22 veterans a day commit suicide. What do you think

16. I get great treatment from the VA other than Mental Health (that is a sad joke). The problem with the VA is the administration of benefits and getting compensation. I would bet they reject a certain number of initial claims out of hand.

17. The GI bill is excellent. Free college tuition, books, ect and they give you a cost of living allowance.

    The VA ranges from pretty good to pretty bad. In my experience it’s been pretty good.

18. I have a couple veteran friends. They no longer use the VA because the waiting list is too long. My one friend waited 2 years for his surgery.

    Now I know someone is going to say their VA is awesome, apparently consistency isn’t the VA’s strong point.

19. No

20. As a veteran, I think we’re amazingly taken care of relative to most of the world.

    Veterans are a really diverse group. The military attracts a wide range of people. A lot of troubled people drift toward the military. Sometimes they get discharged before they qualify for any benefits.

    The VA is mostly great, but there are issues you can expect from a massive bureaucracy. It’s been life changing for some people that needed help, I don’t want to downplay that. It needs reforms to cut past some of the bureaucracy and incompetence. But what it offers when it works is amazing.

    It’s really hard to connect young veterans with their benefits. It takes some motivation and homework. When I was in, I think the Army was getting better with guiding its separating soldiers.

    We had a lot of classes helping guide us for transition back to civilian life and how to maximize our benefits. But a bunch of 22 year olds might be yawning through the classes and just waiting to gtfo and be free.

    I got pushed through all the classes, and I was required to see the VA. My reps were amazing and got me set up to review my medical records and get me in touch with a doctors office back home that would review my records and see if I qualified for anything.

    Some guys I know didn’t get guided as well as I did and had to do more of the legwork on their own when they got out. It’s as frustrating as trying to get through to any large government bureaucracy like the DMV or unemployment. But once you tap in, the benefits are amazing.

    I got *paid* to study for my Masters. I got a 0 down VA Home Loan. I got compensation for the rest of my life for injuries. I’ll always be able to use the VA for medical care if I need it. They’ll pay for job training if I ever need it.

    The VA is great, it just needs to make itself more efficient and veterans need help getting connected.