Saturday, May 31, 2014

Shinseki: Sacrificed for the Status Quo


Shinseki: Sacrificed for the Status Quo
P. Schultz
May 31, 2014

            And so it came to pass that Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki was sacrificed to preserve the status quo. As is often the case, such resignations are a way of moving an issue from the front page to the back page, as it were, and from there people lose interest and genuine reforms are stymied. But by then no one really notices or cares. And so ABC news reports:

“In this crisis, it became clear to the White House that the solution to the problems identified in news accounts and in a damning report from the VA's inspector general were endemic and would take time to turn around, let alone correct.”

            Ah yes, those “endemic” problems that “take time to turn around” and “correct.” So, the message is: Don’t expect anything much to happen with regard to genuine reform at the VA. After all, the problems are “endemic” and we all have some to know that government and our politicians cannot deal with such problems, to say nothing of solving them. You would think, though, that after awhile people would catch on and replace those politicians who treat problems as “endemic.”

            But, hey, we know that administration is trying. For, after all, Shinseki has been sacrificed despite the facts that he “is a very good man," Obama said . . .”I don't just mean he's an accomplished man. I don't just mean that he's been an outstanding soldier. He's a good person who's done exemplary work on our behalf." Oh, isn’t life so demanding at the top?


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