Aarp

[arrowsmith]

Now they are jumping on the social security band wagon about how GW's plan is bad and it is ok.

This is 1995 A few weeks ago, just prior to a House vote on the issue, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) suddenly announced it was launching a massive grassroots campaign to oppose Medicare reform proposals in Congress. Media reports indicated that AARP, after months of soft-pedaling on the issue, would be establishing "campaign-style" field offices in "key presidential states," including New Hampshire and Iowa.

Of course the reason congressional liberals can browbeat this powerful
special interest into action is because AARP is a major beneficiary of taxpayer financing. In fact, the $86 million AARP acknowledged receiving in federal funding in 1993 through various grant programs represented approximately one-quarter of its annual expenditures. AARP's sources of federal funding range from programs for the elderly to millions of dollars annually to provide clerical support for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).


The browbeating of AARP into active opposition to Medicare reform symbolizes the arrogance and corruption created by 40 years of taxpayer-funded political patronage. Nobody asked the taxpayers whether they favored the causes AARP or literally hundreds of other groups espouse in their lobbying efforts. Yet, over the decades, Congress has handed them billions in taxpayer funding in ever-increasing increments.