Sunday, October 23, 2011

The Truth About The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) is running TV commercials stating that there are 50 million Americans that paid for their Social Security and Medicare benefits and that they expect to get them OR ELSE; the implication being that they will vote against any candidate that proposes cuts to these benefits.    AARP purports to be the champion of senior citizens, which is only true in that they want seniors to get their Social Security benefits so that they have more money to buy services from AARP.   The reality is that AARP is one giant insurance broker, travel agent and service company earning hundreds of millions of dollars each year in all sorts of commissions and advertising fees for selling insurance and services to senior citizens.   AARP is often positioned as a non-profit organization when they are anything but non-profit.

After the NEA, the National Education Association, representing teacher unions, AARP is the most powerful left wing lobbyist in Washington DC feeding at the trough.   AARP supported ObamaCare even though it cut $500 Billion from Medicare and eliminated the Medicare Advantage Program for 22 million senior citizens because AARP will make hundreds of millions of dollars selling Medigap policies to these very same seniors that will have to buy more insurance to cover expenses that Medicare does not pay.   Shame on AARP for betraying senior citizens, their very members, to earn big bucks.   

Here is the truth about Medicare and Social Security.   The average American, with their company contribution, paid for perhaps 50% of the Medicare expense by the time they retire at 65 years old, that will be expended on their behalf during their life time.   As a result, in view of our National Debt, it is perfectly reasonable to means test Medicare.   It is already happening; but for those on Medicare that can afford to pay a bigger share of their health care expense, they should be paying even more.  It is another left wing BIG LIE to run adds saying that senior citizens paid for their Medicare benefits.   It turns out that on average that is only half true.  In fact, since there is no limit on Medicare contributions, only the "rich" that Socialist President Obama always demonizes actually paid for a life time Medicare benefit through payroll contributions.  Lower and Middle income wage earners certainly have not paid for a life time Medicare benefit. 

Social Security too is not actuarially sound.   Since people are living so much longer, it is very likely that most senior citizens that have been on Social Security for years will get back far more than they paid in at the expense of their Baby Boomer children.   It is the 78 million Baby Boomers that are likely to face cuts in their Social Security benefits because beginning in 1965 politicians of both political parties stole the money from the Social Security Trust Fund and spent it on new entitlements, including higher Social Security benefits and wars to get reelected.   The Social Security Trust Fund is left with IOU's from the federal government that are not included in the current $16.7 Trillion National Debt.  There is perhaps another $60 Trillion of unfunded liability to cover Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid and federal pensions sitting out there like a time bomb waiting to explode on the American people.   Of course, you will never hear any of this from AARP because AARP supports big government Socialists that allow them to continue feeding at the trough.     

So senior citizens, when you send in your $5 to become an AARP member, just know that you are going on a huge mailing list designed to sell you various insurance products and services.  Senior citizens are not AARP members; they are instead AARP customers to be sure.  AARP is not the friend or advocate for senior citizens; but rather just another insurance broker out to make a big buck at senior citizen expense.   And, generally though AARP is supposed to be non-partisan, more often than not AARP covertly supports Socialist candidates for office by running issue ads that are implicitly anti-Republican.   AARP, like all lobbyists in Washington, is feeding at the trough.  AARP is in business to make money on the backs of senior citizens.  Sadly, it is what it is no matter what anyone says to the contrary.      

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