Say you’re a senior citizen. You’re concerned about the rising costs of medical services, but are not ready to surrender your care to well-meaning but naive advocates of ever-greater government. What to do?
Many seniors belong to AARP, a kind of combination consumer group and political lobbyist association for people age 50 and over. Fifty seems kind of youngish to me to be a senior citi — ow! crick in my back! — but okay.
Members get discounts and also get AARP spokesmen pretending to represent them on political questions. AARP supports a big-government overhaul of medical services. However, they’ve discovered that the issue is touchy. So they have taken pains to dispute President Obama’s recent claim that AARP endorses any particular bill.
Some AARP members fear that Medicare benefits are at risk. Other AARP members and former members just like their freedom.
Thank goodness AARP has competition. There’s a group called 60 Plus, and now a new outfit, the American Seniors Association, is offering a special deal to all seniors who submits a torn-up AARP card with their application.
ASA’s president, Stuart Barton, is blunt: “President Obama must think the American people are idiots. . . .” if he thinks they’ll buy “the idea that health care rationing, restrictions and regulations being debated in Congress will save money and result in better preventative medicine.”
You know what? I’m not even going to wait until I turn fifty. Sign me up.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.