Me and the AARP

What does the AARP want with me? For some of you younger folks that stands for (American Association of Retired Persons), in case you are not aware of this organization. We get literature from these well meaning folks on a regular basis, the only problem being, we are not retired. We are not old enough even for social security, much less have the means to “retire”, as in a private retirement account.

Fact of the matter is, I don’t have plans to retire, even if there are “benefits” left in the social security fund when I reach a qualifying age, which I notice is a moveable number. Depending on how much of the funds “Big Brother Government” has raided and how fast we die off, they might have to adjust the age at which we can begin to receive social security benefits, always up of course. Now I am aware that this is a sensitive subject with most working class people. It was with me too, that is until I decided to forget the ideal of receiving any social security.

You might assume a couple possibilities when hearing someone say they don’t plan to retire. One, they have an easy job that age does not affect, after all, Andy Rooney worked until he was 92 years old! Then conveniently ’kicked the bucket’ within a few weeks of retiring. Two, they are independently wealthy and plan to have all the money they need without social security. A third possibility is they are just “stupid”, maybe I should leave that one off the list, because the first two are certainly not true in my case! I am neither wealthy enough to retire, nor is my job easy on the body, better known in my vocabulary as my “carcass”.

Here is the reason for saying I don’t “plan” to retire. A “plan” means I would expect to be able to retire, but since I like living in “reality”, there is no way on earth that I can imagine the government having the means to send me a check every month, nor is it possible that I could send myself a check, at least not one the bank would cash!

I have come to look at the matter from a different angle. I hate disappointments, thus by planning to work until the day I “drop dead” I won’t be disappointed to find that I cannot afford to retire. If, on the other hand, through a miracle of Divine intervention, the U.S. economy does recover to the point that the government can and does sent me a social security check and I can manage to “retire”, I will be pleasantly surprised. I like surprises that are “nice”. I would certainly consider it nice if I could retire someday, but it seems better for my “peace of mind” if I just accept as if it is a fact, that I will not be retiring, then I won’t be looking forward to something that is a “pipe dream” and find myself severely disappointed.

That brings me back to the AARP. I have a cynical ideal what they want with me. Money. Yea, I send them hard earned money and they “lobby” Congress and the government on my behalf. Seems to be this lobby business is one of the things that has gotten us into such financial trouble to begin with. Everybody and his brother has a lobby arm in Washington passing out favors or promising votes or making threats to various politicians in order to obtain more government money or favors. The politicians, on their part, are all too happy to “help the public”, after all the money they are spending does not come from their own back pocket, but ours. So if they can do a few favors for the AARP or any of the other hundreds of lobby groups and get themselves re-elected in the process, everyone is happy. That is except the holders of all the U.S. debt. Which just so happens to be you and me as the “banker of last resort”. Yes, Washington has a fine scheme going. With their near total power to “tax” the citizens at whatever rate they desire, they can spend all the money they want. Besides, by the time the bill comes due, said politician, will be off to his mansion estate living well, “retired”, with all the honors of having “served his country” and receiving a nice fat retirement check.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not picking the AARP out for special mistreatment, they are just one of the many organizations who work on behalf of their members. What I find shameful is that it is “necessary” to have lobbying groups in our Republic, to keep Washington from robbing us blind. For honesties sake, I belong to at least one lobbying group, which I choose not to reveal. But why should we need such organizations? Is it that the government really wants to take our last cent, or could it be that ‘we the people’ want to take money from other people’s pocket, so we have lawyers greasing the palms of ‘elected officials’ to make it look like a ‘good thing’? All the while, we are draining the nation dry by taxation in an attempt to keep everyone happy, when the end result will be that no one will be happy if we bankrupt the country and bring an economic collapse on a scale not yet experienced in the U.S.A.