“Who rules America? AARP.”
When I saw that headline of Robert J. Samuelson’s Washington Post column, I laughed.
Samuelson contends that AARP runs government budgetary policy, not presidents or congressional leaders.
“AARP sets overall priorities,” he said. “Its power derives from the fear it inspires in senators, representatives, presidents, and political candidates. They worry that they'll be assaulted and rejected by hordes of angry seniors infuriated by any possible loss of benefits and mobilized by AARP.”
With the billions that corporate lobbyists spend on manipulating Congress and the financial mess the country is in due to Wall Street and corporate greed, it’s ironic that Samuelson says AARP is in charge.
In a response that also appeared in The Post, AARP President W. Lee Hammond said Samuelson attributes almost mythic powers to AARP in his column.
“While that headline may be laughable, what is of concern is his notion that older Americans don’t care about our nation's fiscal problems. Our polls and countless conversations show they care deeply. But they and all Americans also deserve a public debate on how to improve the health and financial security of ordinary Americans, and one not just focused on budget bottom lines.
“Mr. Samuelson needs to remember this is about real people, not just budget numbers. Social Security and Medicare keep millions out of poverty, enable them to see their doctors, pay for prescriptions, and afford heating bills in the winter – in short, achieve a measure of security in retirement after contributing to these programs over their working lives.
“The benefits that Social Security and Medicare provide are not ‘middle class welfare’ as the writer stated – they are earned ‘middle class lifelines.’…
“One out of three retiree households, aged 65 or older, who rely on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income. Or the average senior, with $18,000 in annual income, just trying to make ends meet.”
Hammon adds that Samuelson “fails to mention, for example, that a key culprit driving future government deficits is the relentless rise of costs throughout our overall health care system – not the number of seniors or the nature of their benefits.
“If AARP truly ruled America, we would make sure this important debate focused on the health and economic security of average Americans, despite the demagoguery of those whose futures seem most secure,” he said.
“AARP will continue to work with political leaders on both sides of the aisle to focus a national dialogue on the health and retirement security needs of current and future generations,” Hammond concluded.
While Samuelson’s column provided a chuckle, it’s disappointing that that older Americans are being blamed in such an important forum for our budgetary crisis while Wall Street and corporations do business as usual.
