Paul Krugman often has touted the Veterans Administration for being a provider of superior medical care, and says that if only government would take over the entire apparatus, then we, too, could have this wonderful state-sponsored gift. We see, however, that the feted Walter Reed Hospital actually is a cesspool of care:

“During earlier testimony, a soldier who said he once lived in a recovery annex at Walter Reed described unfit hospital conditions.

Wounded Army Spc. Jeremy Duncan told the panel he spent some of his recovery in Building 18, an annexed former motel used for Walter Reed outpatients. Duncan said that his room “wasn’t fit for anyone.”

“I know most soldiers that come out of recovery have weaker immune systems and black mold can do damage to people,” Duncan said. “The holes in the walls — I wouldn’t live there even if I had to.”

After taking his complaints through the chain of command, nothing was fixed, Duncan said.

“That’s when I contacted The Washington Post.”

Asked what happened after the Post reported what he had to say, Duncan replied, “I was immediately removed from that room. And then the next day they were renovating the room.”

In his New York Times column today, Krugman declares that, indeed, the reason for the squalor really is who is in charge:

“What makes this a particular shame is that in the Clinton years, veterans’ health care — like the Federal Emergency Management Agency — became a shining example of how good leadership can revitalize a troubled government program. By the early years of this decade the Veterans Health Administration was, by many measures, providing the highest-quality health care in America. (It probably still is: Walter Reed is a military facility, not run by the V.H.A.)”

You see, in Krugman world, socialism works only when it is administered by True Believers.