Notmuchlonger
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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- 4,764
Let me guess- this is one handout that you aren't getting?
Was there an option to refuse it?
Retirees and AARP
- Thread starter WilliamG
- Start date
Was there an option to refuse it?
Goonie
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
This may be viewed as a rant...feel free to not read it!
I wasn't going to jump on this train wreck, but I thought "ah, what the heck...I haven't spouted off in quite a while." LOL!
First, I'll preface my opinions with the fact that I'm a member of a few different groups that have been known to lobby congress...for things I agree with of course! I'm a 4th generation Union member, and I'm still very active in the Retirees' chapter of my Union (which is the largest public employees' union in the U.S.) fighting for the rights, well-being, and benefits of workers AND retirees. I'm also an AARP member. And there a few other socio-political groups that I support. And politically, I'm fairly left of center...but not way far-left.
That said, I'm all for the $250 stimulus/bonus/payment/whatever to those on SS. And it's certainly NOT because I qualify, because I don't....I've got over 9 years to go before I can even think about collecting SS. As far as the question of where is the money to pay for that $250 payment going to come from? Does it have to be a deficit give-away? I don't think so. I'm quite sure that our people in congress would be able to find places where they could (should) cut wasteful, unneeded spending. After all, it's really just a drop in the bucket, compared to what we've spent on the U.S. war machine in the past 8-9 years. I won't argue the legitimacy/illegitimacy of wars, because that's not my point....I'm just referring to the fact that they have been able to come up with $$$$ for that, so is there a LEGITIMATE reason why they can not find some $$ for the geezers/geezerettes?
Was it's AARP's idea to dole out the $250? I personally doubt it. Are they wrong to support and/or lobby for it? IMHO, not at all! Do I agree with everything they lobby for? Probably not. But I do agree with most of it, so I support them. Do they represent 100% of the retirees in the U.S.? Of course not! Because as has already been mentioned....there are as many views and opinions as there are retirees...and no way will everyone EVER agree on everything (or in some cases anything ).
A question that I'd have for Scott Burns, since he seems to be so much against the $250 payment, is if the guv't does deposit that $250 in his bank account.....will he write out a $250 check and send it back to the gov't and say thanks but no thanks? I'd bet not! Or better yet, maybe he should voluntarily quit receiving SS and Medicare, as a sign of protest against gov't entitlement programs! LOL!!!
We now return you to your [-]regularly scheduled program, already in progress[/-] more or less normal discussions.
</end possible rant>
I wasn't going to jump on this train wreck, but I thought "ah, what the heck...I haven't spouted off in quite a while." LOL!
First, I'll preface my opinions with the fact that I'm a member of a few different groups that have been known to lobby congress...for things I agree with of course! I'm a 4th generation Union member, and I'm still very active in the Retirees' chapter of my Union (which is the largest public employees' union in the U.S.) fighting for the rights, well-being, and benefits of workers AND retirees. I'm also an AARP member. And there a few other socio-political groups that I support. And politically, I'm fairly left of center...but not way far-left.
That said, I'm all for the $250 stimulus/bonus/payment/whatever to those on SS. And it's certainly NOT because I qualify, because I don't....I've got over 9 years to go before I can even think about collecting SS. As far as the question of where is the money to pay for that $250 payment going to come from? Does it have to be a deficit give-away? I don't think so. I'm quite sure that our people in congress would be able to find places where they could (should) cut wasteful, unneeded spending. After all, it's really just a drop in the bucket, compared to what we've spent on the U.S. war machine in the past 8-9 years. I won't argue the legitimacy/illegitimacy of wars, because that's not my point....I'm just referring to the fact that they have been able to come up with $$$$ for that, so is there a LEGITIMATE reason why they can not find some $$ for the geezers/geezerettes?
Was it's AARP's idea to dole out the $250? I personally doubt it. Are they wrong to support and/or lobby for it? IMHO, not at all! Do I agree with everything they lobby for? Probably not. But I do agree with most of it, so I support them. Do they represent 100% of the retirees in the U.S.? Of course not! Because as has already been mentioned....there are as many views and opinions as there are retirees...and no way will everyone EVER agree on everything (or in some cases anything
).A question that I'd have for Scott Burns, since he seems to be so much against the $250 payment, is if the guv't does deposit that $250 in his bank account.....will he write out a $250 check and send it back to the gov't and say thanks but no thanks? I'd bet not! Or better yet, maybe he should voluntarily quit receiving SS and Medicare, as a sign of protest against gov't entitlement programs! LOL!!!
We now return you to your [-]regularly scheduled program, already in progress[/-] more or less normal discussions.
</end possible rant>
haha
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I believe that some of our younger members are complaining about AARP and the $250 mainly because they actually perceive seniors to a be a fairly weak group. Compare us to military retirees, school teachers, governnent workers, members of large unions like the auto workers, and last but not least Wall Street.
It is just built into people to pile onto vulnerable groups and shy away from confronting the real (and powerful) loads on taxpayers.
Ha
It is just built into people to pile onto vulnerable groups and shy away from confronting the real (and powerful) loads on taxpayers.
Ha
crazy connie
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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- Feb 1, 2006
- Messages
- 1,183
Ha,
Being close to 55 in a few weeks I might be classed as a juvenile here. I gave up on AARP a long time ago when in my 30's and my darling husband got tons o'crap from them. He had sold insurance products before we married and we did some back of envelope comparisons and found that AARP kick-back plans increased the end user costs by over 50%. AARP was early into affinity marketing. Compound that with the level of expense for exec travel with prolonged stays at 5 star resorts and they look like they are trying to compete with the Goldman Gang.
It really annoyed me when AARP has come out in support of this Healthcare thing which has not yet been articulated. It may be great and I would support it but if it hurts seniors why would AARP support it?
I was raised in a strong union family (Operating Engineers Local 324 in Detroit) and have served on many a committee as well as chief steward for a whole lot of years in Communications Worders of America. I too have memberships in social and philanthropic groups who have positions on a lot of items. We all have causes to support, defend or obliterate if we can.
To my way of thinking there is no group with more power than the seniors. Everyone hopes to be a member one day and everyone has a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle who is one. Most times a lot of the seniors sit back and say let the young ones make the decisions now. This issue of no cola for a spell should not be that big of deal for most with the economy we have. The $250 is a cookie for a skinned shin. The Medicare cuts flat stink. The $250 aint gonna make that big boo-boo better.
Out of all the groups clamoring for attention in DC I have more respect for the Seniors but that aint AARP! All I know is everbody can't get everything they want without putting all the taxpayers into the poor house. Wasn't it Margaret Thatcher who said "Socialism is great until you run out of other peoples money."
I just think it's time for a whole lot of folks learn what most of us know. LBYM
Being close to 55 in a few weeks I might be classed as a juvenile here. I gave up on AARP a long time ago when in my 30's and my darling husband got tons o'crap from them. He had sold insurance products before we married and we did some back of envelope comparisons and found that AARP kick-back plans increased the end user costs by over 50%. AARP was early into affinity marketing. Compound that with the level of expense for exec travel with prolonged stays at 5 star resorts and they look like they are trying to compete with the Goldman Gang.
It really annoyed me when AARP has come out in support of this Healthcare thing which has not yet been articulated. It may be great and I would support it but if it hurts seniors why would AARP support it?
I was raised in a strong union family (Operating Engineers Local 324 in Detroit) and have served on many a committee as well as chief steward for a whole lot of years in Communications Worders of America. I too have memberships in social and philanthropic groups who have positions on a lot of items. We all have causes to support, defend or obliterate if we can.
To my way of thinking there is no group with more power than the seniors. Everyone hopes to be a member one day and everyone has a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle who is one. Most times a lot of the seniors sit back and say let the young ones make the decisions now. This issue of no cola for a spell should not be that big of deal for most with the economy we have. The $250 is a cookie for a skinned shin. The Medicare cuts flat stink. The $250 aint gonna make that big boo-boo better.
Out of all the groups clamoring for attention in DC I have more respect for the Seniors but that aint AARP! All I know is everbody can't get everything they want without putting all the taxpayers into the poor house. Wasn't it Margaret Thatcher who said "Socialism is great until you run out of other peoples money."
I just think it's time for a whole lot of folks learn what most of us know. LBYM
A question that I'd have for Scott Burns, since he seems to be so much against the $250 payment, is if the guv't does deposit that $250 in his bank account.....will he write out a $250 check and send it back to the gov't and say thanks but no thanks? I'd bet not! Or better yet, maybe he should voluntarily quit receiving SS and Medicare, as a sign of protest against gov't entitlement programs! LOL!!!
i do not qualify for the $250 and i am against it but if i did qualify i would keep it and that is because i am sure i will be paying more then my purportional share of our national debt, so i need to accept what i can from the government when i can get it.
Notmuchlonger
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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- Dec 20, 2007
- Messages
- 4,764
I'm against it too. Hand out 250 to every member of society. Stop trying to buy votes. Better yet stop throwing on more debt to the younger generations.
haha
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Congratulations Connie! Younger is usually better.
I think that Charlie is the oldest person who comes around here regularly; and I believe that I may be next but lately there have been more and more people who are Medicare or SS elegible.
Ha
traineeinvestor
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
The following is not directed at AARP specifically, but at government spending in general.
All the money for government hand outs has to come from somewhere. While just about everyone can make a claim for "deserving" to receive something/more from the government, the brutal fact is that the money can only come from four places and there simply isn't enough to meet all of the current claims being made on that money (never mind future claims):
(i) current tax payers: who do not pay enough to meet current expenditures (and probably can't even if tax levels are increased to confiscatory levels)
(ii) future tax payers: I have issues with what amounts to taxation without representation
(iii) creditors: easy to do, especially with a stable government and a good currency but high levels of debt often act as a constraint to growth. This is not something that can be done indefinitely
(iv) the printing press: if Zimbabwe can do it, so can anyone else
If the government and the civil servants cannot control their spending the results are usually pretty awful: California, Japan etc come to mind as current examples. History has plenty more case studies to offer.
Hopefully I've managed to phrase this in a non-political manner
. If not, I'm sure the moderators will take appropriate action
All the money for government hand outs has to come from somewhere. While just about everyone can make a claim for "deserving" to receive something/more from the government, the brutal fact is that the money can only come from four places and there simply isn't enough to meet all of the current claims being made on that money (never mind future claims):
(i) current tax payers: who do not pay enough to meet current expenditures (and probably can't even if tax levels are increased to confiscatory levels)
(ii) future tax payers: I have issues with what amounts to taxation without representation
(iii) creditors: easy to do, especially with a stable government and a good currency but high levels of debt often act as a constraint to growth. This is not something that can be done indefinitely
(iv) the printing press: if Zimbabwe can do it, so can anyone else
If the government and the civil servants cannot control their spending the results are usually pretty awful: California, Japan etc come to mind as current examples. History has plenty more case studies to offer.
Hopefully I've managed to phrase this in a non-political manner
. If not, I'm sure the moderators will take appropriate action
Dawg52
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Same here.
mickeyd
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Will there be an option to decline the $250? If so, will you decline it?
No one buys me or my opinions. Save your teabag for another harbor.
Midpack
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I am not trying to pick a fight, but how would you know that for sure?
ikubak
Recycles dryer sheets
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- Dec 2, 2007
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- 482
I can appreciate your honesty and friendly manner in which you state your opinion. I am not always as graceful. In my opinion, the two sentences above are representative of a ideological problem that afflicts today's american society. This $250 payment will only cost the US taxpayer 13 billion dollars...who cares, it's just a drop in the bucket (paraphrasing of course). I read somewhere else that there is bipartisan support to give every newborn in the US $500. Why? To teach them about saving money. What the heck could our government teach anyone about saving money and being fiscally responsible? When we get to the point where everyone is voting in the politicians who will give them the most $$$ (and we may already be there) then we've turned down a one-way street that I don't think we will be able to back out of. I genuinely feel sorry for my son's generation. They have a heavy burden waiting in front of them.
Valid question there. I read it with an open mind, based upon my 20+ years of experience dealing with health insurance companies as a small business owner, the information in the article made sense to me. I will admit to being slightly biased up front, however, as I find talk of "death panels", government funded abortions (illegal by statute), and government support coverage for illegal aliens to be silly. I still run my businesses and we have had to change insurance companies every year in May, on our anniversary, because rates jump 20-30% every time. By switching companies we keep the increases to around 10-12%. Another silly nuisance but I work with reality every day.
No one can buy my opinion but it is easy to hold me hostage. Thanks for asking.
teejayevans
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I'm not getting any handouts, I'm one of the ones that are paying the bills.Let me guess- this is one handout that you aren't getting?
But if they raise my taxes, I may retire earlier than plan just to
stick it to the man
TJ
youbet
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
But if they raise my taxes, I may retire earlier than plan just to
stick it to the man
TJ
I retired earlier to do something for myself. For me, that was much more satisfying than retiring earlier to "stick it to the man."
But, to each his own!
RonBoyd
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Bikerdude
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I see this $250 (besides a vote bribe) as a tax cut (much like the stimulus for workers) for affluent seniors and a charity benefit for poor seniors. So if viewed in this way I have no problem with it or AARP climbing on the bandwagon to promote it.
I will probably spend most of my SS on my child and grandchild anyway never mind the extra $250.
I will probably spend most of my SS on my child and grandchild anyway never mind the extra $250.
Finance Dave
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amen. I'm glad some others see AARP as a liberal lobbyist group rather than the discount group many people see them as. They won't get any of my money, as I disagree with nearly everything they support.
Although I think they do try to protect the elderly, their view of what's "helpful" is very short sighted IMO.
REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
Yep. Nice thing about the centerfold is the crease in the paper seems to disappear among the wrinkles....Ha,
I don't know about you, but I like the AARP magazine for the
hot babes.
Cheers,
charlie
Goonie
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Kind of along the same lines...only not really. Last year (or the year before before) a friend of mine who is younger than me, was telling me how excited she was because she and her sister had tickets to go see Rod Stewart in concert in Chicago. She was just going on and on about how 'hot' she thought he was.Ha,
I don't know about you, but I like the AARP magazine for the
hot babes.
Cheers,
charlie
So the next time she dropped in for a visit, I found the copy of AARP magazine that had an article about Rod in it, and had it turned to that page. She read it, and then asked what magazine this was. I told her it was AARP's, and she wondered why they would even have an article about old 'hot' Rod. I then informed her that not only was he ooooooold, but he was also the headline act for the annual AARP Geezerfest that year!!!
That about took the wind out of her sails.....this younger gal, drooling over a 'senior citizen'!!! Needless to say I don't let her forget it either.....
