The AARP and ’empty talk’

Nevada basks in the limelight as Democratic presidential candidates criss-cross the state in anticipation of the party's January caucus.

And wherever go the presidential hopefuls, interest groups won't be far behind.

On Wednesday, the AARP announced it will start a campaign in Nevada to pressure the 2008 presidential contenders to address the issues of affordable health care and the long-term financial security of all Americans.

"For too many Americans, the American dream seems to be falling apart," said AARP President Erik Olsen.

Carla Sloan, head of the AARP in Nevada, said the group will send representatives to every campaign event in the state in hopes of pressuring the national candidates to address the issues.

The AARP's push also deals with mandatory retirement laws, financial incentives to save and ensured access to retirement plans.

All we're getting from Washington, D.C., is "empty talk," Mr. Olsen said.

Really?

There's no doubt -- if you believe the polls -- that many Americans are concerned with health care costs and retirement. But if the AARP is truly interested in tackling these issues, why has it historically opposed any significant changes in the nation's two biggest entitlement programs, Social Security and Medicare?

Empty talk?

President Bush made Social Security reform a cornerstone of his first term, realizing that the program in its current form is simply unsustainable over the long term. He suggested that younger workers be allowed to invest a tiny portion of their Social Security contributions in their own personal accounts.

This courageous proposal could hardly be labeled "empty talk."

How did the AARP respond? It rolled out the heavy machinery, spending millions of dollars on ads pillorying the president's modest plan and attacking those who supported it. In the end, real Social Security reform went nowhere.

On the issue of health care, the AARP has vigorously opposed most efforts to address the long-term solvency of Medicare, including proposals to means test the program or adjust the eligibility age. True, the AARP did embrace the GOP's effort at Medicare reform in 2003, but that bill was actually an expansion of the entitlement program that did little to address the program's future stability.

The AARP's agenda regarding the presidential candidates in Nevada will no doubt raise many worthwhile and important questions. But it's not at all clear that the senior lobbying group really wants to hear the answers.