AARP....TIME TO STAND UP FOR YOUR CONSTITUENTS

[nctarheel]

Google AARP and TARIFFS and what do you get?

Your get a statement that reads as follows:

              "AARP DOESN'T HAVE A FORMAL, PUBLICLY STATED POLICY ON TARIFFS"

With millions of AARP members losing billions of dollars in savings...........

With millions of AARP members paying millions of dollars for more expensive goods.....

It is time for AARP to get "OFF ITS BUTT" and PUBLICLY STATE A POLICY!!!!!!!

To keep silent as SENIOR ACCOUNTS ARE DRAINED and essential goods RISE EXPONENTIALLY can only be construed as agreement with the tariffs.

                                  DO SOMETHING AARP!!!!!!!!

[GailL1]

@nctarheel 

AARP’s would not have an opinion on the Tariffs themselves, rather they would be advising seniors on how to deal with times of financial downturns.  Whether tariffs are applied or not is a national debate not one that is specific to seniors.  We have a lot of national or legislative debate - but AARP concentrates its efforts on what is directly affecting seniors.  

Here’s their advocacy page

https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/advocacy/government_watch/ 

The letters they have written on senior matters are linked to this page.

I assume that you are talking about protecting one’s retirement savings and here too they seem to concentrate on matters that directly affect seniors like this one:

AARP.org - Works To Protect Women’s Retirement Savings 

Again, if you are talking about protecting your market-invested retirement savings at this particular time when there is some turmoil in the stock market - that’s a matter for a fidicuary to advise you - turmoil in the market can come from any number of places - even the way that the sun comes up sometimes.

In the meantime, BUY AMERICAN - LOOK FOR THE UNION LABEL - 

You may disagree but Tariffs are one way to do this,  Another way would be to compete with China on their labor rate of pay - and I don’t think anybody wants the 2nd way.

[papawofboo]

I agree with you, AARP's #1 fight should be about SS and Medicare, after that comes discrimination and legal help with housing etc.

For years AARP has sent me stuff to forward to the people in Washington. Does it work? It doesn't hurt and we have seen help in some of the drug pricing. Also, no one has missed a SS check that I know of. Sure I wish that they could get some other things changed like the way they figure our cost of living each year. I also wish they could get SS/Mc set in stone so that we are not always bombarded with bad press about losing benefits.  

We elect people to look out for our needs when it comes to taxes and other stuff. From what I saw on the tv this past week I think those elected people know how the public feels about this stuff. I don't see how AARP could even attempt to fight against tax increases. Somewhere every day either on a national, state or local location there is a proposed tax increase. You fight tax increases and waste at the ballot box.

Like so many I complain about how this website operates but when it comes to the important stuff, I kind of give AARP a thumbs up. Like I said earlier, they sent me stuff to send to DC long before I got my first check.

[GailL1]

@papawofboo wrote: 

Sure I wish that they could get some other things changed like the way they figure our cost of living each year. I also wish they could get SS/Mc set in stone so that we are not always bombarded with bad press about losing benefits.  

==============================

The annual cost of living computations by the Board of Labor statistics is figured based on the prices of things people pay for over the year - it is based on the nation as a whole - where some places are lower cost or higher cost to live.  The BLS does a lot of different computations where they can weight different categories higher than others for certain groups but the overall COLA, if we get one, is based on everybody’s cost and how much these items have risen or not.

I think you are looking at what the cost of living is in the wrong way - it is how prices have risen within the last year, not the cost is now high.  We got a high COLA in 1922 and 1923, that’s when prices went up the most - since then we are just getting back to normal. 

Now what would happen if prices all of a sudden prices decreased across the board - energy and food are the ones that are in constant flux - housing does not change near so fast, and healthcare cost is constantly rising.  Now if we did have an across the board decline in a year - would you give back some of your SS money because of this DE-Flation?  

Social Security and Medicare are based on the Social Security law.  When a law is changed, the next step is to put this law into action by establishing rules and regulation to support the law.  The law says that the programs must be funded to get a certain benefit but that provision

does not cover the amount of any tax to support it or whatever is the benefit.  Those figures are based on the times that we are living in and for corrective action by legislators to increase taxes or adjust benefits or a bit of both. 

I am often set back when people start talking about the benefits “they have paid for and earned”  but yet they don’t want to pay more for these benefits, they want to tax the rich more but then not give them a benefits.  That, IMO, goes against what the programs of Social Security and Medicare stand for - earned benefits.  If these are earned benefits then to get a higher benefit or a better benefit, then earn more and pay in more because that is how the benefits formula works.

[Winter2025VA]

I agree with you Papaw @papawofboo !!!  Lol, hope we get one for NEXT year 2026.  😉

YOU WROTE: Sure I wish that they could get some other things changed like the way they figure our cost of living each year.

Take care,

Nicole  👵

[nctarheel]

@GailL1, 

I find your smug, snobbish response to be off putting at best. The fact that one person is responsible for the loss of billions of dollars of retirement security for millions of older people calls for AARP to take a stand. Do not lecture me on the financials as I am sure you know no more than I.