Benefits for a beating

Hey, get your benefits. Get your benefits here. Free money. Free healthcare. Free insurance. Free pension plan. Get’ em while they are hot!

“Here’s the carrot that cost us 5 cents (of your money) we’ll give it to you for free if you just sign right here! It’s fast, easy, convenient don’t miss out on the free goodies everyone else is getting! (and you’ll pay for it multiple ways forever)”

Can you say snake oil salesman?  Or maybe it’s just your local government? Don’t think I’m down on government, I’m not. We get the government we deserve. Demand more from the government and the government will demand 10 times more from you. For every benefit you received you will pay 10 times whatever that benefit is worth in additional taxes, bureaucracy, loss of freedoms and then pass on a worse off country and ever growing debt to your children.

I have to ask, is it really worth it? Have we become so manipulated by our greed, our fear of missing out on the goodies and lack of personal responsibility that we no longer can stand on our own two feet and must (or expect) to be nursed cradle-to-grave by THE government?

They offer a carrot on a stick. We grab it. Then they beat us with that stick for YEARS to come, sucking the money out of us over and over for that one, little carrot. Is that really a good deal?

Of course it’s always sold under the guise of safety, security, convenience and avoiding liability for our own actions. We think we give them liability then we’re shocked when they try to pass on the liability too.

There was a fun movie a few years ago called “The Incredible’s”. The main character was a superhero forced into retirement and became an insurance company adjuster. But because he had morals and integrity he actually helped people actually successfully get a claim from the insurance company instead of giving them the runaround doing everything to deny the claim. He was chewed out by his boss because only his clients seemed to know the little hidden secrets, forms or steps to actually get their claim paid.

It seems that the insurance companies aren’t the only ones playing the game of making it tough to get paid out on a claim. Canada’s veterans benefits program has just been found as inadequate in actually helping people get disability benefits and their failure to justify their decision making process. Does that sound like any other government agencies???

So what was the claim made by the military to the people going into the military who are risking life and limb in dangerous tasks around the world? Part of the claim was they would be taken care of, if in the performance of their duty they were injured and required disability support.

There have been lots of news items about US military not taking care of its wounded as well, the problem seems to come home to roost in Canada also. If there is actually any need whatsoever for military, which in today’s world seems a small requirement, the least we could do is take care of the people who risk life and limb for the rest of us.

Once again our government falls short of taking care of it’s responsibilities by trying to evade taking care of those disabled veterans, which were promised care.

Here is the CBC news article and see for yourself.

The ombudsman said military veterans have a right to know why and how decisions that affect them are made by the department.

“Our review uncovered a pattern of letters that provided information to applicants about decisions made, the legislation, policies or evidence considered, without providing an adequate explanation of how the decisions were made,” he wrote in a letter to Veterans Affairs Minister Stephen Blaney accompanying the report.

“It troubles me to think that many veterans may be wrongly assessed and do not pursue the matter further because the letter did not reveal where the department’s decision might have been flawed,” Parent wrote in the report.

“It is equally unacceptable for veterans to exercise their appeal rights without having been provided with a clear explanation of the decision.”

Specifically, the report says that of the letters reviewed:

• 15 per cent just stated the assessment result.
• 65 per cent gave a minimal explanation by stating the assessment result, and referring to legislation, assessment tools and supporting documents.
• 20 per cent listed detailed information on legislation, assessment tools and supporting documents that would likely let recipients infer “to some extent how the decision was arrived at.”

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Parent said his report is the start of a wide-ranging look into problems plaguing veterans’ care.

“There are so many systematic issues in dealing with Veterans Affairs Canada, it’s a good question to say where to start,” he said. “We needed to start somewhere, and I think this is a good point.”

The government’s position on this demonstrates complete concern for the situation and promises prompt action. Have you ever heard this line before? And has anything ever gotten better before?

The following statement was issued later Monday morning:

“Cutting red tape and providing hassle-free services to our veterans is Minister Blaney’s top priority. The minister welcomes the recommendations in the ombudsman’s report and intends to act quickly.”

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originally posted Feb 21, 2012 @ 15:03