The AARP needs reform more than healthcare does

I have never been a fan of the AARP- that massive organization that once meant “American Association of Retired People,” but then drifted down to include age 50 and became acronym only. I have never joined although they have solicited me more than any other group I can think of, usually with one of those letters that pretends you have already signed up and includes a “membership card” with the bill. In other words, a racket.

Not surprisingly they jumped on the Obamacare bandwagon almost immediately because they assumed it would be good for them – a large bureaucratic organization with close government ties. In fact, you could almost call AARP semi-govenrmental. They didn’t bank, however, on the fact that their major constituency, senior citizens, wasn’t particularly keen on the Obama plan. Indeed, seniors are leading the charge against it. The AARP has been hemorrhaging members. Still, they are a mass organization with a creepy sorcerer’s apprentice that manages to keep growing whether they truly represent their constituents or not. Maybe this healthcare bump will be the beginning of their undoing. Certainly they need some competition.