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Comment by renewiltord

11 hours ago

VA disability is one of these big scams. People have gotten pretty good at transforming brands into money these days. So socially respected groups like firefighters or military use the chance to extract massive wealth from productive society.

19 comments

renewiltord

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9x39  9 hours ago

I agree with you about the VA, although everything I know is secondhand.

I make two generalizations from veterans I know: one type accumulates injuries throughout service (neck, knees, hips, shoulders, back, toxic exposure) but being the walk-it-off types, never documented much because they were often deployed and didn't bother with paperwork. Bitterly complains about the VA and their limited or temporary disability ratings despite grinding pain and difficulty in later life.

Second type is similar to the first type, but played the 'game' optimally, documented, documented, and documented. While you can absolutely get some of the same injuries, I was surprised to find things like mild sleep apnea and male pattern baldness helped get someone a permanent 100% disability rating. No doubt life isn't easy, but to think this individual is 100% disabled is a bit of a stretch when they also work full-time for .gov doing project work.

My point is that like a video game, people are very good at finding the optimal or 'meta' path to maximizing outcomes in a set of rules, and outcomes from a system can be different than what casual observers might think is the intended purpose of the system.

  • trogdor  9 hours ago

    > male pattern baldness helped get someone a permanent 100% disability rating

    I find that very hard to believe. Do you have evidence that this is true?

    • roarcher  7 hours ago

      As a veteran I haven't heard of that particular one, but I've heard of disability ratings given out for trivial enough things that I think it's plausible. I knew of one guy who got it for PTSD after being stationed in Okinawa doing an office job for 4 years. And I know another who has a rating for migraines, which he freely admits to not having and lying to the VA about.

      I never applied for disability of any kind, but it would seem that the VA examiners question nothing and hand out ratings like candy. According to the migraine guy, it's one of those situations where they have to find things to spend their budget on or they lose it next year. I'm of the opinion that if they can afford to spend their budget supporting freeloaders and liars then perhaps it would be better used by some other office, but I digress.

vkou  10 hours ago

Have you made any VA claims, or have you worked for the VA?

I know people who have done both, and profligacy is not something either would accuse the organization of.

  • the__alchemist  10 hours ago

    I know a lot of 100%-disabled vets who had desk jobs while in, who are healthy, rock-climb etc. It's absolutely an abused system. Basically, you claim various categories, and get 10% disability for each category you claim.

    edit: They usually have full-time jobs too.

  • vjvjvjvjghv  10 hours ago

    When I lived in DC I knew several vets who received disability payments, worked well paid full time jobs at defense contractors and otherwise lived normal active lives. It definitely looked a little questionable

  • missedthecue  9 hours ago

    There are entire online communities around gaming the system. On how to report pre-service injuries as service related. On how to deliberately build a huge medical file while you're in to support your disability claim later. On where to go and when, in order to get your highest possible rating. Things to say and not to say. There is an entire industry of paid consultants that help you get the biggest claim possible.

    It's a big issue. Over 30% of vets today have disability compared to 15% in 2008. 3% of federal revenue goes to paying veteran disability alone and it's climbing. No politician can talk about it because campaigning on taking money from disabled veterans is the best way to nuke yourself in the polls.

  • nullstyle  10 hours ago

    I recommend you search youtube for “va disability 100 percent” and witness the staggering number of channels clearly teaching people to game the system, complete with shush face thumbnails. There seems to be some profligacy from that angle.