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| LIKE MANY GOOD THINGS THAT OUTLIVE THIER PURPOSE |
| Thursday, December 30, 2004 |
| AND BECOME PARIAH TO SOCIETY AND TO THOSE THEY SUPPOSEDLY SERVE:
AARP corruption unequaled - Ralph Bristol
The AARP is either genuinely evil or stubbornly ignorant. I suspect the former.
The AARP is gearing up to spend $5 million of its members' dues to dramatically increase the financial burden on the members' children and grandchildren without providing even one dollar of benefit or protection to the members themselves. I can't fathom what, other than pure evil or colossal ignorance, would motivate such action.
I also can't fathom what would cause people of good faith to continue to pay dues to such an organization. The AARP has always lobbied for the transfer of earnings from the general population to those in the upper age brackets. That is no different than many other special interest organizations that look out for their own at the expense of others. But the AARP is lobbying to place a heavier burden on today's and tomorrow's working people and tomorrow's retired population with no benefit whatsoever to today's retired population.
Why? Because the AARP is dedicated to the proposition that all of the benefits flowing to its members should come from the earnings of non-members. It is the primary mission of the AARP to use its considerable clout to lobby for taxpayer-financed benefits for its members. Any policy or program change that might benefit future retirees without the need for AARP lobbying efforts diminishes the power of and the need for the AARP itself.
That is why the AARP will spend $5 million in the near future on political advertising to oppose the use of private accounts in Social Security reform. It is purely and simply a self-preservation effort by the AARP.
The AARP ads will attempt to convince older people that the Social Security reform plan backed by President Bush and a very broad, bi-partisan coalition of past and current members of Congress, will threaten their future benefits, even though every proposal put forth has, as its first provision, the preservation of the benefits of current retirees and those preparing to retire.
The AARP ads will also try to convince younger people that such reform is too risky. One advertisement shows a 40-something couple looking at the reader and saying, "If we feel like gambling, we'll play the slots." Another advertisement shows traders in the pit of a commodities exchange. The caption says, "Winners and losers are stock market terms. Do you really want them to become retirement terms?"
Of course there is some risk in investing for one's financial future in the stock market, but the AARP stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the indisputable fact that such risk is drastically reduced by time and diversification. The fact is, among those who have invested for any 20-year period in a portfolio of U.S. stocks that mirrors any of the major indices, there have been no losers, no one - only winners. That is no guarantee that there will be no losers in the future, but there are only two chances that will be the case - slim and slimmer.
Furthermore, the AARP stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the indisputable fact that if Congress does not reform Social Security with private accounts, future generations will - not might, but will - either pay much higher taxes or receive much lower benefits from Social Security. That is not a risk. That is a mathematical certainty.
The AARP is either too corrupt or too obtuse to honestly examine all of the obvious and pertinent facts and probabilities regarding the future of Social Security. It is blinded by self-interest and it attempts to hide that self-interest in arguments designed to generate fear among its members.
Worse, it does this without regard to the hardship it might cause either its members or their offspring. I can think of no more evil or despicable behavior by any special interest group. It's one thing to place the best interest of your constituents before all others. It's quite another to ignore the best interest of your own dues-paying members and their children simply to protect your own power and influence.
One more dime sent in dues to the AARP is an investment that supports a level of corruption unequalled among special interest politics.
Visit Ralph's website at: www.ralphbristol.com
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posted by Jack Mercer @ 12/30/2004 11:29:00 AM   |
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| 3 Comments: |
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Now the AARP is "genuinely evil"? *Sigh* ;-) Any thoughts on where the money is coming from to pay for private accounts?
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Thanks for the comment, Lefty! The AARP is a highly partisan PAC that has used it dues to forward its own agenda more than its constituents. Keep in mind, that the idea and impetus for privatizing some of social security came from Democrats. This isn't a "Bush" idea. The need for social security reform is simple. Either do it, or its gone or it bankrupts the United States. As a former government employee, it has been my observation that anything the government manages they do it for twice as much cost at 1/2 the benefit to society.
One thing of note: I think all Democrats could benefit from changing their strategy. They often call themselves "progressive" and yet they bauk at changing anything in government that is not working. Also, they often campaign from a position of fear, playing upon the insecurities of old people and the ignorant to accomplish what they want. This is a primary reason why they are losing ground. Until they can change their message to one of goal oriented optimism, those who study the issues closely and can see through many of the obfuscatory tricks of the spinmeisters will be further alienated from the party. If a party calls itself progressive, then they should BE progressive--putting SS in a "lockbox" and letting it devalue itself is not an option.
Lefty, here's a parable that may parallel:
Matthew 25:14-30
Thanks for visiting!!
On my fortune cookie today:
There is no wisdom greater than kindness.
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Oh, and I think the point of the article wasn't about social security per se, but the fact that any of the proposed changes made to social security would have NO effect on seniors, but the lack of change would have an effect on their children and grand children if nothing is done (this is fact). Why would AARP be lobbying against the change unless it was trying to justify its own existence?
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Name: Jack Mercer
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Now the AARP is "genuinely evil"? *Sigh* ;-) Any thoughts on where the money is coming from to pay for private accounts?