AARP's Crummy Numbers!
If you belong to AARP, you have good reason to ask yourself this question... WHY? While it claims to stand up for retired persons, the facts suggest otherwise!
There was an AARP poll last month that claimed to find Americans generally hostile to Social Security reform. Misleading methodology, says pollster John McLaughlin. Here are a few excerpts from USA Next's summary of his findings:
* The survey includes no respondents under age 30, even though voters age 18 to 29 made up 17% of the 2004 electorate.
* Those age 60+ constitute 34% of the sample, yet they were 24% of the 2004 electorate.
* AARP's sample gives democrats a six-point advantage over republicans (37% to 31%). However, the two parties made up equal percentages of the 2004 electorate (37% to 37%).
* AARP asks respondents whether they favor or oppose allowing workers to invest some of their Social Security payroll taxes in the stock market - never mentioning other options such as bonds, that are seen as safe and win higher support. Even with the slanted wording, a majority of those under 50 favor the idea, and even with the skewed sample composition, the idea only loses by a slim 43% to 48%.
* AARP asks respondents whether they agree "Social Security should be protected as a guaranteed benefit, and should not be privatized." Yet no one has proposed privatizing the Social Security system and Social Security benefits are not now "guaranteed."
We hear that AARP is still blanketing Capitol Hill with this nonsense too. It certainly doesn't do much for AARP's credibility on this issue!
* * * * *
There was an AARP poll last month that claimed to find Americans generally hostile to Social Security reform. Misleading methodology, says pollster John McLaughlin. Here are a few excerpts from USA Next's summary of his findings:
* The survey includes no respondents under age 30, even though voters age 18 to 29 made up 17% of the 2004 electorate.
* Those age 60+ constitute 34% of the sample, yet they were 24% of the 2004 electorate.
* AARP's sample gives democrats a six-point advantage over republicans (37% to 31%). However, the two parties made up equal percentages of the 2004 electorate (37% to 37%).
* AARP asks respondents whether they favor or oppose allowing workers to invest some of their Social Security payroll taxes in the stock market - never mentioning other options such as bonds, that are seen as safe and win higher support. Even with the slanted wording, a majority of those under 50 favor the idea, and even with the skewed sample composition, the idea only loses by a slim 43% to 48%.
* AARP asks respondents whether they agree "Social Security should be protected as a guaranteed benefit, and should not be privatized." Yet no one has proposed privatizing the Social Security system and Social Security benefits are not now "guaranteed."
We hear that AARP is still blanketing Capitol Hill with this nonsense too. It certainly doesn't do much for AARP's credibility on this issue!
* * * * *
posted by Bob Moser at
8:24 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home