The Aarp: America's Most Powerful Lobby and the Clash of Generations

In Will America Grow Up Before It Grows Old? Peter Peterson lays out in chilling detail the coming fiscal crisis that threatens to bankrupt the United States when the baby-boom generation slips into retirement. In The AARP, Charles Morris explains why. The culprit? The American Association of Retired People (AARP). According to Morris, until the television program "60 Minutes" blew the lid off of AARP in 1978, the organization was basically a front for selling overpriced insurance to the elderly--its political activism on behalf of retired people largely a cynical effort to establish credibility. Although the organization has clearly put those days behind it, AARP has yet to become an advocate for sound policies that would benefit society as a whole. As a result, this 800-pound gorilla of American politics may be dragging the country toward a monetary quagmire the likes of which it has never seen.