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Greedy Geezers -- 1995 by
Allen Polk Hemphill O. K., fellow Greedy Geezers! We seniors have been calling for budget cuts for years, and all the while we have been sending our dues to the AARP to keep our pork. Its fish or cut bait time. Personally, I resigned from AARP last year when they came out for the original Clinton Health Care Plan, and they were almost the only group to support that flawed plan. AARP’s slogan should be "More!". Medicare must be reformed, or our generation will increase the generational warfare and eventually wreck the entire economy for our grandchildren. Reform is painful, but it would have been less painful had we done it earlier and it will be even more painful if we wait. The Democrats have decided that they will fight each reform in the trenches, then street to street, and finally house to house. The President has even pledged that he will fight to support farm subsidies, and the First Lady says she will fight against cuts in Foreign Aid. There is an old story in publishing about God deciding to bring an end to the world, and he invites the Editors of The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post to give them one day’s notice. The Times headlines the last edition, "World to End -- Story on Page 13". The Wall Street Journal headlines the story, "End of World -- Market Crashes." The Washington Post headline reads, "World to End -- Women and Children to be Hardest Hit." The Democrats have elected to place children in front of their troops. Everything will be put in terms of the Republican plan "hurting children." No amount of money and time, other peoples money and time, will satisfy the Democrats in their quest to provide "more" for every person less well off than a Congressman. In a country where the average "poor" family has a car and two color TV sets, that desire may be a bit misplaced but it has driven the American people into a compassion glaze-over that was partially responsible for the results of the election last November. Now we will see if those who voted for change last November have the staying power to continue the necessary therapy. We will see if we senior citizens have the guts to take some of the same medicine that must be shared by the rest of the country or if we will continue to whine for more, and send in our money to the AARP so that they can threaten the politicians with our money and our votes -- against our best interest. No special interest group has the power that exists in the "Senior Citizens Lobby." Because these lobbyists claim to represent the total membership of their groups whether each member agrees with the position or even if the majority disagrees with the position. Most of the members who belong to groups like AARP pay little attention to the political positions taken by their representatives. Most members simply hope that the representation will be reasonable, and that there will be insurance, hotel discounts, and other benefits to make their membership worth while. I wont permit the AARP to add my number to their advocacy of national bankruptcy, nor to use my money to pay for it. The few thousand who resigned as a result of the Clinton Health Care Plan support did not cause AARP to even reconsider their position. We seniors are being described as "Greedy Geezers" by the generations we have sired, and for a good reason. We have supported the lobbyists who have demanded "More." We must stop. Medicare must be reformed immediately. Social Security must be reformed soon. All COLAs must be frozen for three years, and then increased more slowly than previously. This will be a hard sell in a community of senior citizens who support a huge new tax-supported 22,000 square foot library. |
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