Those pirates over at USPA/IRA (then "First Command", and maybe rebranded as something else by now) preyed on military personnel for years with high cost products and tremendous front end loads and fees. There were plenty of retired senior NCOs and retired officers who participated in the fleecing of junior folks. It was an outrage, but there were some people who at least did get the idea of saving as a result of this, and they are probably better off than if this outfit had never existed. That doesn't mean that it is an honorable business or a net "plus" to society.
I think Edelman is better than that crew (which isn't saying much), and provides the handholding that some people need. But it comes at a tremendous cost, and others do provide the same thing at much lower rates.
I'd list Rick Ferri among the "good guys," too. He's written lots of books on how to do your own investing, and he shares his knowledge and reserch online for use by DIYs. If you want, he'll
do it for you for a fee of .37% per year, but he never pretends he's doing anything that clients can't do for themselves.
On the positive side--Edelman runs a long radio show on the AM news station in my town, so I guess he's helping to keep that radio station in business, which is good for me.