Posted on 01/23/2005 9:59:48 AM PST by ReleaseTheHounds
The American Association of Retired People is the biggest obstacle to President Bush’s plan to modernize Social Security to include individual savings accounts for younger workers. The Wall Street Journal recently wrote that the AARP is “dead set against” Social Security reform. AARP has already launched a $5 million plan to scare older Americans into believing that the President’s proposal is dangerous and will steal Social Security benefits from current retirees.
But this is a misleading argument at best. President Bush has explicitly stated that he will not cut benefits for current retirees. Current beneficiaries have nothing to worry about from President Bush’s Social Security reform proposals. Still, that hasn’t stopped the AARP from waging a campaign to mislead citizens and rally its’ 35 million members.
So why does the AARP oppose Social Security reform? It seems that the AARP has a single public policy agenda – to lobby Congress to provide ever more subsidies to the retired community. What that really means is transfer wealth from the young to the old.
Is that what most of our older Americans really want? Is that what’s really best for our country? Certainly many older Americans would support President Bush’s proposal to give young Americans a chance to own their own retirement savings – a chance to pursue the American dream of savings and accruing wealth over the course of their working life.
Here’s what you can do. Visit www.NoThanksAARP.com and sign the petition, stating that you pledge to never become a member of the AARP.
Once you’ve signed the petition, we urge you to educate current AARP members about the facts on Social Security reform: educate them about how the AARP is trying to stop the President Bush’s reform proposal. Tell them how AARP is trying to kill a reform that will improve the lives and futures of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
You can also tell them to quit the AARP by Calling 1-888-687-2277: Urge them to: “Tell the AARP that I no longer want to be a member of the AARP since they oppose Social Security reform. Tell the AARP that I care about the future of your grandchildren and great-grandchildren!”
The goal of this petition is to show the members of Congress that Americans are sick and tired of the AARP’s scare tactics. President Bush has courageously decided to strengthen and modernize Social Security to provide a better deal for young Americans. We can’t afford to let the Greedy AARP stop this important initiative!
BUMP for more signatures!!!
Actually, there is NO PROPOSAL yet. The president has said he won't come out with specifics until there's been a chance to debate the matter.
I'll be retiring in 3 years with a good pension from the state of OR. For myself, I think we should do three things now:
1) means test SS benefits for current retirees;
2) increase the retirement age;
3) start the process of privatizing SS for younger workers.
It's the only way to deal with the problem & be fair.
I'm okay with the first two suggestions. WRT the third, that's where the money comes in we've been talking about - $2 Trillion.
What if that money gets tacked on to the federal deficit? It would start costing us interest, and could, in the long run, cost us more than the shortfall itself. Yikes!
Just thought of something.
I'm not one of them, but a lot of people disagree with the means test because they contributed over the years and thus feel they should collect at retirement. It would be a really tough sell.
Probably #2 would be the easiest to pass, especially since medical improvements are making us live longer anyway.
My mom cancelled her membership. All they do is send duplicate membership forms begging for money.
I've already dropped my and my wife's memberships because of AARP's stand on gun control. It boils down to the fact that they want to disarm us older citizens, apprently because:
a. they don't think we have the mental capability to use a firearm and are afraid that we may hurt ourselves, and/or,
b. they think "sensible gun control" will cause a drop in crime. They don't bother to define "sensible".
AARP apparently doesn't read the papers: crime in the States which have Concealed Handgun License laws have lower crime that the States which have strict gun control--a perfect example is Washington, D.C.
Ask AARP about their gun control policy. Read it and weep for us Old Folks.
2) increase the retirement age
How old are you?
FMCDH(BITS)
What part of "set a date" don't you understand? Did you think I meant "set a date" 20 years in the past? Duh.
The greedy geezers would sell their very souls to save $5 on a motel room.
Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations (i.e. The Baby Boomers) are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.
Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.
Signed it, ReleaseTheHounds:
I turned 50 in June. Been getting all kinds of propaganda and junk mail from them. Even though I tore up and tossed out my initial registration package.
I find it amusing that AARP is supposed to be one of, if not the largest lobbying group in politics. While constantly being slapped back into place for the past fifteen years by one of the smallest. The NRA.
Jack.
Great. So I should settle for similar treatment, then? Or am I supposed to wait until you die, so I can make the same demand of someone else down the road? I'm going to get screwed out of several years worth of SS taxes as of right now, and if they keep raising the retirement age,my hubby will get screwed out of more money than you probably will. But that's okay, so long as you get yours?
The whole thing is unfair, and needs to be scrapped. I'm not gonna sit there and take it just because you got ripped off, too. Any solution is going to make someone unhappy, but let's get real here. You wouldn't get everything back, and neither would younger folks than you. It's no excuse to keep throwing good money after bad.
This, "SHow me the money" crowd.. will not allow the federal government to be downsized.. Don't matter, white, black, latino, women, men, poor or rich.. These people would sell their future for a government CHECK.. I be one of their generation(s) myself.. its true.. They are mostly ALL government WHORES.. and the foundation of the Washington D.C. whorehouse..
You're not alone, the plan to reform Social Security is a very bad idea.
The problem with setting a date to dissolve Social Security is that no matter what date you set, the same situation exists. People will have contributed a lot of money, and they will be told they will get nothing in return. The only way to resolve that injustice is to give them back their money. That would be prohibitively expensive, and for that reason I would not personally support it.
The evil of Social Security is that now we've got it, we can't get rid of it without causing severe pain to alot of people, including taxpayers in general who are not even in Social Security at all.
Are you under the impression that you have any legal right to the money you've contributed to Social Security? If so you're mistaken, a Supreme Court case whose name escapes me settled that years ago.
My point is that whatever the solution is, it needs to be fair to everyone, including younger workers.
I'm not as old as you think - I just started work young. I get screwed big time because I'm not scheduled to retire until well past the last of the baby boom. So assuming that I'm gouging everyone else to get mine is just plain wrong.
How is it fair to stick the post baby boom with $2 Trillion in (intrest compounding) debt?
I'll answer you because I've been through this process before.
When I started paying into social security, they talked about the baby boomers but nothing had been done. Eventually they came up with the fix to end all fixes and raised the retirment age. Everyone screamed, pols got booted out of office, but it stuck because it was the fix to end all fixes.
Now here we are again, looking for a fix.
Why would I support the fix that didn't work last time rather than the current proposal? Because I personally feel the alternative will cost us more and give us less in return, and deep down inside based on what I've seen I think someone is crooked and trying to screw us. They need a better proposal before I'll support it.
The legal right I have to the money is the right I have to vote.
If they take my money, I vote 'em out. End of story.
Your mileage may vary.
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