Conflict of Interest

I'm still a few years away from claiming my senior citizen discounts, but I still remember when AARP was a fairly progressive organization. My sympathies came to an abrupt end in 2003, when that organization decided to back the Republican presciption drug plan, all but guaranteeing its passage. That move didn't make much sense to me at the time, but when I learned that AARP was selling "gap insurance" to seniors to compensate for the flaws in the GOP plan, it was obvious what had happened.

Today we learn that the AARP is entering the insurance business in a huge way, but will still continue to lobby on behalf of seniors. I wonder if anyone truly believes that it can manage this conflict of interest. Bad government insurance is a profit opportunity for private sector companies. Simply put, the worse the policy, the bigger the profit, and AARP has already shown that in its decision-making, profit trumps policy. I'll miss the 15% off my movie tickets, but I can't join an organization that I don't trust.