"The Nuka System of Care is vastly overrated."
Why? because you said so? How do you come to this conclusion?
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"Why is US taxpayers' money funding a whole dept devoted to promoting Nuka"
They aren't, US tax payers help fund the care of customer owners. This was a settlement agreement by the US and Indian tribes. SCF has multiple revenue streams, some of which aren't government subsidies. The subsidized monies are tracked and documented to go where they were designed for.
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"travel around the world to attend conferences talking about Nuka."
Although, this is none of your business, when they travel "talking about Nuka", they are compensated via speaking fees. They also learn how other companies solve some of their problems and bring that information back to improve on their system.
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"Are they taking vacation time when they do this"
Not when they are working.
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"A quick google search ..."
So what, maybe you should move into a successful, fulfilling career too.
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"How fun for them!"
Yes!!