A seniors group that promotes limited government and lower taxes says many Americans are unaware that the AARP is a "Fortune 500 conglomerate" that's using tax dollars to promote a new government health insurance plan.
The Washington Post reports that the AARP and its subsidiaries collected more than $650 million in royalties and commissions on insurance policies that they sell to seniors. AARP stands to gain millions more in royalties and commissions if Congress enacts a new government-run healthcare plan. Jim Martin, president of the 60-Plus Association, speaks on behalf of the conservative alternative to AARP. "They are a Fortune 500 corporation of immense proportions, and we don't mind that at the 60-Plus Association," says Martin. "The thing we do mind is they do it with taxpayers' dollars. That's not well-known in Washington." Shortly after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) claimed AARP had endorsed Democrats' healthcare legislation, many AARP members became angry and the group backed away from its endorsement of the legislation. Martin calls that the "AARP two-step." "They take one step forward, [then] when you call them on the carpet, they take two steps back. They're in a dilemma here," he explains. "They've been getting away with selling all these products and making an immense profit, but then when their members question where they're coming from philosophically, they start scrambling." Martin says the 60-Plus Association agrees with Thomas Jefferson's contention that it is both "sinful and tyrannical" to use taxpayer dollars to promote a policy that only half the public agrees with.
The Washington Post reports that the AARP and its subsidiaries collected more than $650 million in royalties and commissions on insurance policies that they sell to seniors. AARP stands to gain millions more in royalties and commissions if Congress enacts a new government-run healthcare plan.
Jim Martin, president of the 60-Plus Association, speaks on behalf of the conservative alternative to AARP. "They are a Fortune 500 corporation of immense proportions, and we don't mind that at the 60-Plus Association," says Martin. "The thing we do mind is they do it with taxpayers' dollars. That's not well-known in Washington." Shortly after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) claimed AARP had endorsed Democrats' healthcare legislation, many AARP members became angry and the group backed away from its endorsement of the legislation. Martin calls that the "AARP two-step." "They take one step forward, [then] when you call them on the carpet, they take two steps back. They're in a dilemma here," he explains. "They've been getting away with selling all these products and making an immense profit, but then when their members question where they're coming from philosophically, they start scrambling." Martin says the 60-Plus Association agrees with Thomas Jefferson's contention that it is both "sinful and tyrannical" to use taxpayer dollars to promote a policy that only half the public agrees with.
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