Say Bye-Bye, AARP
According to a story in today’s Wall Street Journal, AARP, the long time semi-official defender of seniors’ rights and perks, has now decided not to fight against some cuts in Social Security benefits. No. You haven’t misread that. They are reported to no longer oppose cuts in Social Security benefits. The reason, according to this story, is that they believe these cuts are inevitable, and wants a seat at the table “to minimize the pain.”
Let us forget, for the moment, that these cuts are not inevitable. That there are several sensible and doable alternatives to funding Social Security long into the foreseeable future. Let us focus instead on the matter of how to negotiate successfully anything, anything at all.
First, you don’t enter the negotiation grateful that you have been given a seat at the table. As if the others at the table have a right to determine who, in fact, has the right to sit there with them. Because it you do this, let others determine who qualifies to negotiate, then you’ve already conceded the outcome.
Next, and more important, you never, ever, ever, ever, admit in advance that the other party has a right to do what its wants to do (in this case cut Social Security benefits), and that all you want is to ability to moderate what they what to do — if only they feel generous enough to throw you a fig leaf to cover your weakness and shame.
This AARP approach to negotiation, of course, reflects the one adopted by our President. Which is doubtless why the AARP feels it has to do the same. Mr. Obama caves before arguments on fiscal policies have even begun. Why shouldn’t an organization that purports to defend older Americans’ rights and perks do the same?
Some policy mistakes can be repaired over time. Some can’t. For AARP, this pathetic effort to have a seat at the table instead of fighting like hell to preserve its members most basic government program is the end of the game for this organization.
It will certainly lumber along for a few more years selling various products and services to an ever diminishing membership. But its reason for being has now ended.
Bye-Bye AARP. Older Americans need defenders. Not seat-warmers at the Tea Party’s table. You have been judged and found woefully wanting.
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9 Responses to “Say Bye-Bye, AARP”
Branching out into comedy and parody, or simply whistling past the graveyard?
You beat me to the punch Inde.
I just remember the AARP also being a key player to defeating the (lame) balanced budget amendment. They must have understood where the money was going to come from then, and have figured out that the well is drying up.
“limited” can be a tough concept for some to grasp.
I can’t believe the continued ridiculous claims that some magic will keep the unsustainable going. The denial of unsustainability and eventual failure is stupid enough by now, but to continue silly lefty game-playing, that there is some magic solution, compounds their predicament. (And of course, they never say what any serious kind of solution actually is, which requires facing facts and actually, a rare thing among most farther Lefties in particular, reasoning.)
And is this a silly lamentation of the AARP, writing it off early for no serious reason (silliness, indeed)? This, with no evidence of it, and prior to retirement of the Baby Boomers, some to many no doubt would join that organization, and with or without it would become more politically active later when their own (new) benefits were threatened eventually by demographic and economic realities?
OK, back to lefty silliness, as they probably prefer to stay with that.
AARP and Obama appear sometimes, rarely, to concede to reality.
Any time AARP does something like this (as well as when it advances its own and the senior lobby’s interests) on a particular bill or when a bill is in the works, the nature of their acts are tactical, not strategic.
No, the AARP and Obama, etc., are not washed-up cowards for conceding to reality, and being willingly rarely to negotiate in at least a superficially sensible manner. The far Left misinterprets as well as misbehaves, routinely.
(that was easy)
“OK, back to lefty silliness, as they probably prefer to stay with that.” ~ DLS
I double-dog dare you to come over to the real AARP thread and say that!!!
Well, it comes down to this. Not Refusing to accept the possibility of cuts is really on a concession is you were going to refuses to agree to any changes if they included cuts. If you say you will not consider a possibility that others want to at least consider, then they will not see any point in sitting down with you.
So they gave up the position that they would oppose any cuts, even if it meant not fixing Social Security. This might not be popular with those who would rather see reform fail than see a reform that isn’t “their way”. But otherwise it seems perfectly reasonable to me.
Actually, there may be some sane minds at AARP facing (and conceding to!) reality, which makes the extremists (and if not that, simply parasites) angry.
there’s a press release from AARP tonight, refuting that they said this. Interesting. Google is our friend. Sometimes.
It’s more clear than GOP reluctance to press forward with the Ryan plan.
Now, if they would only face facts about the entitlements. It’s an interesting conjecture: might they concede to reality as unions have, and agree to a “two-tier” system with current beneficiaries (and maybe those closer to retirement, as with the Ryan and Medicare!) enjoying the status quo and reductions happening to the younger.