$3.2 Billion Well Spent to Help Vets
Sometimes you just gotta do the right thing. Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Eric K. Shinseki announced the Federal government will spend $3.2 billion to rehabilitate 154,000 homeless veterans. This includes $2.7 billion on medical services to treat the debilitating depression and PTSD often caused by war. The remaining $500 million will be spent on homeless programs.
Will this help the economy get back on its feet, create jobs or increase GDP growth? We will never know. The results may never be measured. As discussed by Riane Eisler in her book The Real Wealth of Nations, GDP doesn't measure at-home child care, the cost to dispose of plastic or the misery of a veteran living on the streets. If it did, our society would change. Which is exactly what she argues. Until then, sometimes you just gotta trust your gut and know when its time to do the right thing.
The VA plan makes even more sense when you compare it to the cost of waging war - $700 billion in FY2008, and $600 billion budgeted for FY 2009. The VA budget for those years? Between 5-8% - $39.4 billion in FY 2008 and $44.8 in FY 2009.
What It Means to You
I don't know what the economic impact is of this spending. I also don't know how it would impact you in a financial sense. Whether you are a hawk or a dove, I only hope you feel that helping homeless vets is a good use of your tax dollars. I invite you to comment - let me know what it means to you.
Related Articles
- U.S. Federal Military Budget
- VA Plan to End Homelessness Among Veterans from About.com Guide to U.S. Government Info, Robert Longley
- The Real Wealth of Nations
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(Photo Credit: Chris Hondros /Getty Images)
Comments
Kimberly,
The cost to rehabilitate 154,000 homeless veterans is $2.3 billion. But over the life time of these veterans, what are all types of costs that result from of doing nothing, and who will bear all of these various costs, and how much money will these costs represents, and for how many years will we bear all of these costs?
Aside from the cost of doing nothing, there is an intangible cost for not addressing the needs of these veterans. It is a loss of national honor for not attending to those who answered the call of duty and paid a price.
A common business metric is Return On Investment (ROI.) It is used to measure the money gained or lost on an investment, relative to the amount of money invested.
Addressing social pathologies requires an ongoing financial investment. I propose that a metric be created to measure the increase or decrease in tax money that is expended on programs that address social pathologies: Return On Social Investment (ROSI.)
For example, what is the ROSI for teen pregnancy prevention and high school dropout prevention programs? What investment is required to realize a $1 million savings to taxpayers?
If a programs has a negative ROSI, then consider another, more cost effective program.
JK
Kim,
What about vocational rehabilitation services to turn these vets into working, tax-paying citizens?
I have been doing vocational evaluations for vets with service-connected disabilities for 10 years.
In many cases, these individuals could work again with proper supports, training, etc. That should be in the mix as well.
Ron
These are both great comments. I think society should take into account the hidden costs, and hidden benefits, of taking care of our vets.
The economy is a reflection of our values. If it does not measure the things we feel are most important, what does that say about us and our values?
Kimberly