Hello Seasoned Citizen ... AARP or AMAC ?

Once you turn 50, your life changes. AARP will start stoning you with mailers and ads to join them. AARP, for those truly in the dark, is an organization that supposedly unites aging Americans into a power bloc able to flex muscle as needed in the political (and sometimes business) arena. It is an acronym that is short for American Association of Retired People. They solicit members that cross the magic age of 50 regardless if you are retired or not, and it is pretty clear that most are still working at age 50. They don't care; when they swing their political muscle in government they claim to represent many millions of Americans. They need numbers and other than the age restriction don't seem to care how they get them, as long as the number is large enough for political clout.

Many join for the benefits they offer; discounts on travel, lodging, car rentals and such. They sponsor their own brand of supplemental health insurance aimed mostly at those already on Medicare. When I turned 50, I thought about it and joined. I was stupid enough to think I was getting a better deal by selecting the 5-year member plan that when broken into year-by-year cost, was cheaper.

It was a decision that I came to regret when President #44 came into office.

When Obamacare was presented, AARP initially tried to take a middle-of-the-road position on it, but they couldn't quite pull it off. They bit hook, line and sinker and supported it. I and others were appalled. Older people tend to be more conservative and there is nothing conservative about Obamacare. We were lied to (keep your insurance, keep your doctor, etc), we were told it was not a tax (The Supreme Court tuned that one up real fast) and for the first time in American history, you paid a fine to the government if you did not buy insurance.The biggest lie was, of course that your cost would go down. In fact, the cost went up - significantly. The estimates easily found with a google search indicate costs went up more than 12% almost immediately, and 2017-2018 saw silver-tier plans go up 32% .... and gold-tier plans went up over 19%.

So the question begs: Why would any organization that purports to represent seniors support this craziness?

When my membership lapsed, like many others, I didn't renew. Oh, they let me know they wanted me and my money repeatedly. My trash can saw heavy use during this solicitation stage.

What surprised me the most was how AARP  hid its actions from the people they represent. Read this:

During the first Presidential debate, President Obama touted the support of AARP for ObamaCare several times. While AARP immediately responded by saying, "AARP is a nonpartisan organization and we do not endorse political candidates nor coordinate with any candidate or political party", recently released emails between the White House and AARP operatives seem to indicate that AARP threw their tremendous lobbying power behind the legislation despite the fact they were getting calls overwhelmingly against it.
In fact, on September 20, 2012, Kimberley A. Strassel of the Wall Street Journal wrote:

"Thanks to just-released emails from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, we now know that AARP worked through 2009-2010 as an extension of a Democratic White House, toiling daily to pass a health bill that slashes $716 billion from Medicare, strips seniors of choice, and sets the stage for rationing. We know that despite AARP's awareness that its seniors overwhelmingly opposed the bill, the 'nonpartisan organization' chose to serve the president's agenda.

The 71 pages of emails show an AARP management taking orders from the White House, scripting the president's talking points, working to keep its board 'in line' and pledging a fealty to 'the cause.' Seniors deserve to know all this, as AARP seeks to present itself as neutral in this presidential election."

Ye shall know the truth, and it shall set ye free. And it did. AARP hijacked my membership (and the memberships) of millions to do exactly what their members did not want them to do.

Sayonara, AARP.

Enter the relatively-new kid on the black: AMAC. AMAC stands for Association of Mature American Citizens and is the conservative answer to AARP.

Offering programs similar to AARP, business discounts and such, AMAC is for me the better choice. Their numbers are growing and with them, their political clout in DC.

Like AARP, they stay in touch with their members. Unlike AARP, they actually listen to the views and feelings of their members. And the real good news is, they offer a free 1-year membership. I took advantage of it and I hope you will consider joining them too. When my 1-year is up (in a few months), I fully intend to keep my membership up and pay dues. I'm not sure how long they are going to offer this deal, so don't think about it too long.

I wonder if AARP ever fully understood what a huge mistake they made when they threw their weight behind Obamacare. It cost them dearly.