Just
The Facts
The VA and the "Big 5"
Veterans Service Organizations (VFW, PVA, DAV, AMVETS, American
Legion) have, over the course of many years, become one of the most
effective lobbying machines that Washington D.C. has ever seen.
They all use the same style of argument to advance their agenda.
By cherry picking data and manipulating
the statistics, they can make themselves appear far more relevant
than they actually are. One tactic is to point out how big they
are, how many members they have. They would make you believe
that among the big 5, they have several million members. The
reality is that the average veteran who is a member of one will be a
member of at least one other.
When the tally is taken
they count the same person two or more times because there is no
efficient way to sort out who belongs to what group to avoid
duplication. The net result of this is that a very small minority
drives the agenda of the entirety. This creates an elite class
that gets very wealthy off of the magnanimous nature of the general
public towards America's bravest. The people who are willing to
sacrifice everything in the cause of Freedom.
So, in
this section, we will present raw data. Just The Facts.
That's it, just proof. We will try to provide links to the data
that we use; However, if there is no link and you would like us to
provide the data that we used, just ask and we will provide it.
As you might suspect, we are very unpopular with the VA, The Big 5, and the politicians that claim to be staunch Veterans Advocates. Why are we doing this? Why are we pointing out these flaws? The answer, basically, is that there is momentum developing that will bring further critical analysis of these groups and will, ultimately, wind up with arrests and convictions of some of the worst criminals in these groups. There has been a sharp increase in critical media reporting, especially since November when the American Institute of Philanthropy released a
that pointed out some pretty serious transgressions.
As a result, there will be a broad backlash against all Veterans Charities. That is extremely unfortunate because there are a whole host of truly extraordinary people who are doing extremely selfless service for our Veterans. We are doing what we can to try and counter the backlash so that some of the best of these Veterans Charities can be viable and some of the very best of these organizations can be returned to glory.
Item 1.) The VA (Department of Veterans Affairs)
Item 2.) The VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars)
(You will have to register with GuideStar to be able to view the report)
(You will have to register with GuideStar to be able to view the report)
We're not sure what they mean by "budget", but the actual percentage of fundraising and administrative is 35 percent of revenue. A million here and a million there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money.
Compare the VFW data with the MERS/Goodwill (A 4 Star Charity) data
VFW = 35%
MERS/GOODWILL = 9% (What most experts would agree is excellent)
"VFW officers annually log thousands of miles throughout the year to
promote the VFW, veterans' issues and quality of life initiatives for
active-duty, Reserve and Guard members. By the time the commander's
year-long term ends, he will have visited every state and numerous
countries overseas."
If you use the VFW as the Power Of Attorney (VSO Representative) on your claim for VA benefits, you are 16% less likely to have it approved than if you did it yourself. Just The Facts.
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My head hurts and my eyes are bleeding.
Analysis by Congressional Budget Office
