If you love to hate the big corporations, then AARP fits the bill as a Billion Dollar plus generating company! This organization was founded in 1958 and originally named American Association of Retired Persons. In 1999 it officially changed its name to just “AARP” and it no longer required it’s members be retired. According to an article in the New York Times, back in 1996 , “Demographics and Density“? :
How, then, did the 32 million members of the American Association of Retired Persons, most of whom joined only to get the travel discounts it offered, become what Mr. Morris calls the ”800-pound gorilla of American politics? ( Morris author of AARP – America’s Most Powerful Lobby and the Clash of Generations)
Mr. Morris’s answer is enough to give even a hardened cynic pause: for most of its history the A.A.R.P. was basically a business enterprise using politics as a sales gimmick. Until the 1980′s, a mogul named Leonard Davis effectively controlled the organization, using its publications and mailing lists as a way to sell insurance to members. The A.A.R.P.’s political activism was undertaken essentially for advertising purposes: just as corporations sponsored the recent Olympics to enhance the credibility of overpriced gym shoes, the A.A.R.P. sponsored pro-retiree legislation to enhance the credibility of overpriced insurance policies. Of such seeming trivialities are public policy disasters made.
The business structure of AARP, consists of both Non-Profit and For-Profit entities. AARP, the non-profit division includes a strong lobby in both state and national levels, which is permitted by its 501(c)(4) status. AARP claims that it is non-partisan and does not support, oppose or give money to any candidates or political parties. AARP started developing other “FOR PROFIT” business, as subsidiaries in 1999.
From AARP’s Web Site: “While comprised of different legal entities, AARP speaks with one voice—all united by a common motto: “To serve, not to be served.”
AARP Services, Inc., became a subsidiary of AARP in 1999, it is a wholly owned taxable subsidiary (Taxable because they make a profit) of AARP. This subsidiary develops new products, manages and markets products and services that are offered as benefits to the millions of members. They also create and maintain partnership and sponsorship relationship, plus they develop and manage AARP’s Web site, AARP.org. The services offered by AARP, with discounts, range from span and health products, travel and leisure products, to life event planning. They offer additional member discounts on various items like rental cars, cruises, vacation packages, special offers on technology and gifts; pharmacy services; legal services; and long-term care insurance.
More importantly, they offer Medicare supplemental insurance where they sell their brand name to promote the plans. (Note: the name “AARP” has become a Brand, just like Coke, Crayola, Jell-O or Google. Any product that uses another company’s Brand Name with their product, generates income to the Brand’s company). To understand this concept see “AARP Says It Will Become Major Medicare Insurer While Remaining a Consumer Lobby” published in New York Times in April of 2007. (If the above article is removed from their site, then you can see a PDF copy of the page by clicking here).
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This was a very well researched and thoughtful piece.
I did not know lots of the things about AARP that you brought to light. I learned a lot from reading this blog!
I too hope that this information can be brought more into the light of day.
Good job Sandy!
Follow the money. This is just another example of how far reaching the Obama administrations “spread the wealth” campaign is. This is nothing short of defrauding our senior ctizens at a time when they are most in need. We should not allow this crooked organization (not unlike acorn) to destroy those that cannot defend themselves. Remember, one day you will be a senior citizen to. God willing.
The more we look at things, the more crooked it gets. AARP does not need the seniors – we are (were) a front for them along with easy money. In addition to trying to get ready for surgery tomorrow, I had a death in the family and had to travel to North Carolina. When making a hotel reservation, I asked if the hotel gave a discount for AAA or AARP ( I had canceled my membership, but my husband is letting his lapse) I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised when the Marriott desk clerk answered “they did not give discounts to those organizations but if we produced identification showing we were seniors, we would receive a discount. The reason (given to me) AARP has dropped the age to 50, we don’t really consider that a senior. I was given a nice discount just by showing my drivers license.
AARP dropping the age is just giving them a larger group to appeal to for membership money, and, if more companies adapted Marriott’s outlook, that could hurt AARP membership or their play money as I call it. Don’t forget, when AARP sends you mail with a prepaid envelope, cut everything up they sent you, put it back in the prepaid envelope they furnished and mail it back to them. They have to pay that postage. One way or the other, we will get their attention. I am convinced they are tied in with ACORN, can’t prove it, but they are tied in with SEIU and SEIU and ACORN are certainly in bed together, it only stands to reason AARP is in it up to their necks with those two. So instead of twins – ACORN and SEIU, we now have triplets – ACORN, SEIU and AARP.