On Friday, President Trump and Republicans enacted a VA reform bill. The bill makes it easier to fire underperforming employees, allows the VA to deny bonuses to disciplined employees, and strengthens the protection of whistle blowers. These are good efforts, because the unions and government bureaucracy have protected underperforming teachers, government officials, and workers for far too long.
But they miss the fundamental point.
A true reform would get at the root problems, such as removing a lethargic bureaucracy that doesn’t serve its community and giving vouchers that would allow veterans to get care at private sector facilities.
Trump promised to be a transformative figure that would drain the swamp. Yet this bill does little more than provide more stringent rules for the crocodiles. Being able to fire somebody is a basic power to private sector employers, and it helps ensure the quality of the work force and the product being delivered. Yet this bill only streamlines the firing process, which means the VA still doesn’t match the private sector.
The bill protects whistleblowers but does nothing to stop the root causes of those abuses. Free market forces demand that a company adapt, improve, innovate, and deliver quality goods at a quality price or fade away.
Read the rest of the piece at OpsLens.
Morgan Deane is an OpsLens Contributor and a former U.S. Marine Corps infantry rifleman.
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