Posted on 03/30/2005 2:56:29 PM PST by Crackingham
A new survey shows six in 10 AARP members oppose President Bush's proposal to carve out private investment accounts from the nation's Social Security program.
The poll by the nation's leading lobby for elderly citizens found that 46 percent of members strongly oppose creating private accounts that would divert money from Social Security and another 13 percent oppose private accounts altogether.
The survey also found that nearly half of members age 50 and older believe Social Security has flaws that require an overhaul, but the majority believe in reforming the system rather than replacing it with something else.
``AARP members not only dislike private accounts ... they really dislike them,'' said AARP research director Jeff Love, who released the results of the national survey at a news conference here Wednesday.
The release of the poll coincided with Bush's visit later for a town hall forum on his Social Security plan.
Bush has made fixing Social Security one of his top domestic priorities and is touring the country touting his plan for revamping the system by allowing participants to divert a portion of their Social Security tax into investments such as stocks and bonds.
Experts predict the retirement program will begin paying out more than it takes in by 2017 and go broke by 2041, prompting calls by the president and others to overhaul the program immediately.
But the survey found that the more AARP members learned about the President's plan, the less they liked it. The poll shows 29 percent initially favor diverting up to $1,300 into private accounts, but nearly half of those change their opinion after learning about the possible side effects of the plan.
Love said a potential cut in future benefits and the costs associated with implementing Bush's proposal — costs that would add to the national debt — were the leading reasons members opposed private accounts.
Bush has said his plan would not lead to a cut in benefits, while critics have claimed that transition costs could add more than $2 trillion to the national debt.
The survey also found that nearly 60 percent of members would vote against a lawmaker who voted in favor of Bush's current proposal.
Survey: at least 6 in 10 AARP members believe the soundbites and rhetoric they hear from the MSM or similar sources.
Not surprising. I've seen AARP's commercials; they are inflammatory and misleading, if not downright lies.
That's odd, a poll last week said that AARP's own members disagree with the AARP on this issue.
This is news cause????
6 in 10 have been purposely kept ignorant about the fact that private accounts for younger workers doesn't affect them.
Fact: 10 in 10 AARP members won't be affected by it anyways.
And I bet 9 out of 10 couldn't even tell you what his plan is. He has repeated over and over that it wouldn't even affect people 55 or over. People are idiots.
What do they care?
It won't affect them anyway.
After reading the MSM's selected solutions to discredit Bush's plan!
Nobody asked me!
Sounds like the AARP needs an IRS audit. Time to play hardball.
No surprise..
Tho' if I were them I'd be more worried about things like judges being able to order their deaths.
Those who have been propagandized.
Hello, k2blader-!
I've been saying what you're saying for a long time, and very, very, VERY few old folks believe what I am saying!
They simply cannot believe their government will allow them to be harmed....!!!
New flash for old folks: The Judge IS the government!
Just as a possibly relevant historical note, Albania essentially ceased to be a country for awhile a few years back when their lower level invested pyramid scheme members where informed that they might not get paid. It was only with great effort that their economy managed to hobble back but at a great price.
No kidding! If you are aold enough to join the AARP, the Bush SS plan dosen't affect you in any way.
These old fogeys need to get back to their bridge games and shuffleboard.
I oppose Bush's Social Security plan as well.
Per my Tag Line.
That's odd, Fox just showed that AARP members, 50% of them say SochSkurity needs to be FIXED in some way or another...
Liars again in the MSM...
I'm surprised it's so few. I would have thought a larger fraction of AARP believes what they are told to think. Guess Bush's plan has a chance after all.
Yesterday I attended a townhall meeting, sponsored by my local Congresscritter to air concerns on Social Security. A cluster of about 20 people wore matching T-shirts emblazoned with social security card images and AARP logos and caused complete disruption of the entire meeting reading off talking points and yelling-down anyone who expressed a genuine interest in reform.
I spoke to one of these characters because he had used the term "opt-out" during the public comment session. I told him opting out of the system would be my first choice, and private accounts my second choice.
I was then told I should "just get out of the country!"
Pretty funny. As I watched these folks leaving, I realized none of them were likely to be holding a job. And then, of course, it dawned on me that they were core Social Security Disability pensioners.
I don't know how the pensioner/Democrat/AARP nexus works, but it definitely exists.
I throw away all of their junk mail. What a scam. Maybe the ACLU should set up such a scam.
I'm starting to believe that old farts are selfish and greedy.
Where is the AARP in the Terri fight. These are the ones who are most at risk for having the tube pulled.
6 in 10 didn't listen to the question because the caller interrupted Lawrence Welk.
I am/was AARP member and still getting their lying email screeds. It is remarkable the way they are playing the issue - they should be sued for something (lying?) -
Last one I returned asking how they could possibly in good conscience tell members that investing is a bad thing (not mentioning the fact that none of the members would even QUALIFY for the investment accounts due to age) when AARP itself sells investment plans (crappy) and makes a tidy profit -
Evidently different when the President suggests it - the money must be a different color or something.
In any case, I have not received an answer. I probably deleted the emails but if I can locate one of them I will post some of the pertinent garbage they are spewing.
Amazed to find that one very intelligent, astute elderly lady I know who is NINETY-FIVE YEARS OLD is opposed to the Bush plan. She's afraid she's going to lose her Social Security check. It's hard not to be rude and laugh when I hear this. How on earth do such elderly people suppose that the changes are going to affect them? They're all going to be dead.
Another lie from the Anti-American AARP. They did not survey me or my wife or anyone else I know. So their survey must be a fake.
There's enough idiots to go around. AARP members pay dues and so by definition are not the lowest income of the senior crowd. These folks are the ones who join to get motel discounts etc. They are also the ones who are being fed the notion their bennies will be protected after 2008 regardless of what the rest of us do. But it is the same pot of money that is running out now. Sad fact is the fedgov has been living off excess FICA payments since LBJ started robbing the fund to pay for veetnam. It is the regular, non-social sec., part of the budget that will start starving the day the first boomer starts drawing. NEW INCOME needs to be created for any guarantee 55 or otherwise to be honored.
Lest anyone misunderstand I'm old enough to draw but do not---so I can speak freely. You oldtimers have got to get a grip! The system has to be changed, the sooner the better, or shortly after 2008 your check might not show up in spite of democrat guarantees. Wringing your hands isn't going to get it. This is self evident and easy to understand and my biggest bitch is that no one in the fedgov including GW seems capable of explaining it.
AARP thinks it is 'remaking' itself by putting such posers as Richard Gere on their magazine covers. But it won't work: those of us approaching retirement aren't going to swallow that crap.
Here's something that amazes me. People are falling for the rhetoric that SS would be "unfunded", blah, blah, blah. If I understand the mindset correctly, these folks would rather give their money to the government and hope it is given back to them later, as opposed to just keeping it in the first place and investing it themselves, with the added benefit of full ownership of the assets. SS benefits are not guaranteed, and a simple change of the rules might mean that all the money you "invested" in SS is gone forever (as far as you are concerned).
That's okqy I oppose all of them. PRIVATIZE SOCIAL SECURITY!
It's easy if you use Perot style pie charts going about 4 decades back and forward. The charts need to show FICA as part of fed income then SSN payments as part of fed expenditures---the graphic will be impressive and will stop everything but the sniveling.
I'd sure like to see the questions that were asked in this new poll. Probably something like "do you support diverting your benefits to private accounts?".
The AARP doesn't exactly represent the future of America.
Love said a potential cut in future benefits and the costs associated with implementing Bush's proposal — costs that would add to the national debt — were the leading reasons members opposed private accounts.
Bush has said his plan would not lead to a cut in benefits, while critics have claimed that transition costs could add more than $2 trillion to the national debt.
That is utter tripe reporting by AP, who should be embarrassed to have such work attributed to their organization. The pollees are lied to by telling them that this plan could entail cuts of current recipients' benefits. That is simply not true, as is mentioned in the very next paragraph.
Why? Don't these "idiot six" understand that they will experience NO change in their benefit due to the carve out?
What have they got against their children and grandchildren being able to afford food in THEIR retirement years?
6 out of 10 AARP members have dirty underwear
Well, I'd guess that of the "Boomers" now part of the AARP. The older members are just confused and scared.
I'll keep trying 'til I get to ream out some idiot's ears.
After I started sending all their mail back with messages that said I wasn't interested in joining their un-American communist organization and I would be contacting my lawyer if they continued they finally quit sending their junk to me.
Let's see, a "poll" by the AARP concludes the AARP position! Give me a break.
Fox News last week showed a poll (I don't remember the company) that polled on private accounts and specifically asked if they were members of AARP and found something like 52% of AARP members favored private accounts as proposed.
AARP has the largest membership of any single institution in this country except the Roman Catholic Church. They are all retired Teamsters and other Unions and like the deal they got--don't change anything.
"I was then told I should "just get out of the country!"
I fear many of our corporations facing excessive costs from regulations and all of these taxes.. are simply doing that. SS alone adds 10% to the cost of all labor in America, with no return for the corporation.
"I agree with your wish that the IRS would yank AARP's nonprofit tax status."
I dont' get how they can be a non-profit group.
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