BoycottAARP

November 3, 2009: Democrats trounced in New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial elections.

November 4, 2009: AARP leadership endorses Pelosi/Congressional Health Bill anyway.

If anyone was still wondering just exactly who AARP represents, the verdict is officially in.  They represent the interests of those who seek the entire nationalization of the United States of America: Congress and the Obama White House, and certainly never, ever do they represent the interests of the twenty-eight million members who pay AARP’s yearly dues.  But then, isn’t this standard procedure in Washington D.C.?   Those inside the beltway need our votes and our money, and then they go on their merry way doing exactly as they please with nary a concern for those who “brung ‘em to the dance.”  But why shouldn’t they do as they please?  We keep “bringing ‘em back to the dance,” don’t we?

Everyone with half a brain knows that these health care bills—the Senate one, the House version, the one President Obama claims to own that no one has ever seen—are a dumb idea.  What is even dumber is the fact that the day after the Democrat Party took such a drubbing in Virginia and New Jersey, the AARP leadership team chose to sign on to the Pelosi/House of Representatives’ proposal.  Cynics might ask themselves, “What did this group of sycophants get in return for supporting a proposal that is at best, on life-support?”  Another question that might be queried is, “Why are these over-paid, overly arrogant, out of touch ‘leaders’ still allowed to ‘speak’ for everyone over the age of 50?”  Both are great questions, but neither can be answered by any of us as long as the gravy train continues to pump millions into their coffers each year.  What we can do is boycott the AARP.  Quit them and find better, less expensive alternatives in cost saving insurance plans, coupons and other “benefits” that AARP promises in exchange for your names, your numbers, and if they get their way, your blood.

So, now that we realize that we face a dumb health plan and an even dumber AARP board of directors, only one question remains: who are the dumbest ones of all?  Those who push legislation that destroys America, those who openly support it in the face of overwhelming opposition or those who continue to let the above continue to get away with it?  Let’s boycott AARP.  We don’t need them; they need us.

Bill Lewis

Executive Director

Imagine receiving this in the mail from AARP:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Senior Citizen:

Gasoline just went up by $1.00 a gallon, your electricity bill has increased by 50% and at least one of your children—probably the one with the most grandkids—just lost his job and the whole family is moving back home…with you!!  To make matters worse, your monthly bank statement says that $1,761 is missing from your account.  We at AARP could have helped to prevent all of this, but frankly, Mr. and Mrs. Senior Citizen, we didn’t give a damn!

Is this what AARP means when it claims to represent the interests of seniors in Washington D.C.?  Well, this would probably be AARP’s response if it were being honest as to its opinion on the Waxman-Markey Cap and Trade Bill that congress and the Obama administration are threatening to unleash on the American public.  Cap and Trade hasn’t received much attention recently, because Obama’s health care proposal is currently on center stage.  Nevertheless, we haven’t yet heard the last of this very dangerous scheme to substantially raise energy prices and in turn, destroy jobs.  Figures vary, but according to President Obama’s own Treasury Department numbers (released through the Freedom of Information Act), the Cap and Trade energy tax will amount to $1,761 (and go upward from there) per year, per (four-member) household.  According to the Heritage Foundation, Cap and Trade will also destroy 1.1 million jobs in 2012 and rising to 2.5 million jobs lost by 2035.  And this doesn’t touch on other impractical legislation that mandates new “green products” like mercury-laced light bulbs that become poisonous—especially to seniors—when broken, and safety-challenged, lightweight automobiles that few grandparents would want to drive when hauling precious grandchildren around town.  Since AARP gets so heavily involved in some legislative battles, isn’t it logical to ask why they aren’t coming to the aid of seniors on this one—as if they take the correct side on most issues?  Of course we know the answer.  AARP is AWOL!

Perhaps the AARP leadership team is merely brushing it all aside by claiming Cap and Trade is not an issue that affects seniors.  “After all,” they might argue.  “We only get involved on issues like Social Security and the Obama health care overhaul.”  But job-killing legislation is a concern for all seniors.  Many routinely help their children with financial aid, so further job losses in the workplace only puts added pressure on everyone.  Second, many seniors are being forced back into the workforce (and having a difficult time doing so), due to severe economic times, and finally, any future job-killing legislation is only going to expedite that eventual day of reckoning when the unfunded Social Security “fund” is totally wiped out.  Hey!  Those sound like issues that affect seniors.  So, where is AARP on this vitally important Cap and Trade Bill?  AWOL of course!

Then we have recent Heritage Foundation estimates that Cap and Trade will raise the cost of energy-based utilities by $829 in 2012 and rising to $1,500 in 2035.  So how will paying more money to cook food and keep lights on at night help senior citizens, especially those on fixed incomes?  If AARP cares about the health of seniors, as they claim, then how do they explain their near-silence on a bill that is guaranteed to substantially raise the cost of air conditioning during sweltering heat waves and heating during those winter freezes?  Doesn’t AARP recognize that seniors without proper heating and air conditioning are the ones most harmed by extreme weather conditions?  And before we enter into a debate on “global warming,” even Cap and Trade proponents admit it will do virtually nothing to alter future weather conditions if China, Brazil and India don’t follow our lead—which they categorically will not!  So where is AARP when it comes to the health, and even the survival of their constituents?  If fairness, ARRP did pay a lip service to the most indigent Americans on this issue earlier this year, but in total, AARP is deliberately AWOL!

AARP is AWOL because AARP’s allegiance is with those who take them to fancy dinners at exclusive restaurants in Washington D.C., pass legislation that puts extra millions into their coffers each year, and even discourage investigations into their possible “conflict of interest” allegations.  Mr. and Mrs. Senior, on the other hand, are expendable.  We could accept all of this if AARP remained neutral on all issues of a political nature, but they don’t.  In 2008, AARP spent nearly $28 million for lobbyists and lobbying efforts on a variety of issues.  AARP is a tremendously large organization claiming to speak for more than 40 million seniors. A nation of that size would rank 33^rd in the world, just below Argentina, and larger in population than 191 other nations.  With those staggering numbers they cite daily, AARP really doesn’t need to concern itself with the mundane finances of individual retired and soon-to-be retired Americans.  AARP is AWOL because they really “DON’T give a damn.”

Bill Lewis

Executive Director