Flame — HabitableZone

Flame » in reply to re: veterans

Lies, damned lies, and statistics
Robert — (archived)

That graph from 2004 shows a nice smooth curve, as if reflecting a budgeting decision made 10 years earlier and embodied in a mathematical formula...probably a COLA adjustment.

So tell me, Tom, where's the sharp discontinuity starting in early 2003? Suddenly there's a war on, suddenly there's a wave of casualties reflecting that war...and VA funding remains on a virtually-flat peacetime track.

Your statistics are from a 2004 partisan campaign piece, but considering a sharp increase in need not matched by an increase in funding, damn straight that that's a virtual "drop" in funding. More accurately, it's a sudden shortfall.

As for your snide comment about Federal funding, we've had only expressions of interest and moral support from the VA, there's no funding coming from them. This is a private university, you know, the kind that doesn't depend on government funding, but makes its way by running as a business. The program development is funded by the university, and we all hope to recoup the investment through student fees.

I'm working at about half my normal hourly rate. I put in lots of extra hours that I don't bill.

Any questions?

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