AARP Ready to Deal on Social Security Cuts

Modifications are not really a bad thing, just depends on who’s talking and what they are proposing.  Now when it comes to charging those in high income brackets higher contributions, that’s a modification that is fair.  To dump and put it on the open market, that’s more than a modification and not where we want to go.  I think AARP has somewhat become a lame duck lobbyists group in the last few years and focuses more on selling insurance than anything else.  They do spend a lot on mailing as I am at the threshold where they can enroll me and I have not done so. &nb

Modifications are not really a bad thing, just depends on who’s talking and what they are proposing.  Now when it comes to charging those in high income brackets higher contributions, that’s a modification that is fair.  To dump and put it on the open market, that’s more than a modification and not where we want to go.  I think AARP has somewhat become a lame duck lobbyists group in the last few years and focuses more on selling insurance than anything else.  They do spend a lot on mailing as I am at the threshold where they can enroll me and I have not done so.  

Besides I don’t want the coupons that come along with all of this as who knows if they are tracking and selling data too, I wouldn’t be surprised if that were true.  They do work on projects with Walgreens and send fleets of buses out which is a good thing but Walgreens said their business of selling our data is worth $800 million to the retail drug chain by selling our purchase and prescription data, so is Grandma under the Walgreens bus to speak of?  There’s more information on the program at the link below and the video from CBS covers their statement today. 

AARP and Walgreens Sending Out a Fleet of Buses to Offer Free Screenings

Back in 2009 AARP was under Congressional investigations for their health insurance sales tactics and over 60,000 people had cancelled their insurance so this was a big battle going on. At any rate, the video below gives a little history on the situation and even then it was not firm on how they actually stood so this announcement today seems to be more of the same and they talked in circles at that time.  No word on what the “other” group that people changed to, The American Seniors Association is saying about this, no mention, but again maybe they are just there to sell insurance.  The reality here I think is that Senior support for lobbying is pretty weak, sad to say.  BD 

Algorithms, Formulas and Investigations leads to AARP suspending sales of some health plans

Watch CBS News Videos Online

The nation’s most powerful senior’s group telling the Wall Street Journal it was ready to deal on cutting Social Security benefits. The AARP’s policy chief John Rother admitting “some of our members will no doubt be upset.”

So upset that within hours the AARP was insisting this was always their position, CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes reports.

“We can make changes that are modest and we can make changes with a great deal of lead time so we don’t need to affect anyone who is currently retired today or near retirement,” said said David Certner, AARP’s legislative policy director.

AARP sounds alarm: Social Security must change – CBS News