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can run their own issue advertisements during elections. That
type of influence can skew what
does—or doesn’t—get done in
Washington.
“My concern is that it isn’t an
equal playing field. Some of
those interests are louder and
richer,” Hult says. “That may
well be why we don’t have public policy that is reflective of
what most of the public wants.”
And when there’s a lot at stake
and powerful special interests
butt heads—as in the case of the
deficit-cutting efforts—
stalemate is the result, Hult says.
A crisis of public confidence
also has ensued.
“It’s a huge deterioration of
trust in government,” Gergen
says. “Both right and left feel the
system is rigged against them.”
The amount spent on lobbying has catapulted from $1.44
billion in 1998 to $2.44 billion
last year, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive
Politics. That includes $22 million spent last year by AARP.
And the amount of money the
federal government is spending
has skyrocketed—giving special
interests more incentive to lobby Washington. Federal outlays
were nearly $3.5 trillion in 2010,
compared with $1.8 trillion 10
years ago.
James Madison argued that
the influence of special interests would rise and fall as power
shifts back and forth. But, Gergen says, “our problem now is
the pendulum is stuck. No one
is getting anything done.” ;
Continued from page 18
Social Security tax
AARP members are rightfully
concerned about possible cuts
in Social Security benefits
[“We’re Not Just Numbers,”
Where We Stand]. Currently,
some presidential candidates
are advocating a flat income
tax. In fact, we now have a form
of flat tax on wages for funding
Social Security, but collections
in 2012 will stop when the wage
exceeds $110,100.
AARP should advocate applying the tax on all wages, not just
the first $110,100. That would
quiet the call to cut benefits,
and all wage earners would
share the burden equally. Today
the greatest burden falls on
wage earners who earn less.
Ch rles Sp nn
Athens, Texas
Home remedy caution
Regarding “ 10 Home Reme-
dies That Work” [November]:
The suggestion that honey
is useful in soothing a cough
associated with a cold is an
excellent remedy I’ve not
infrequently recommended
as a pediatrician. However,
a word of caution to those
of us who might babysit a
youngster with a cold’s cough:
Honey should not be given to
anyone younger than 1 year of
age. The issue has to do with
botulism spores.
Warren R. Betty, M.D.
Cape May, N.J.
CORRECTION: Joan Guentner’s
home state was incorrectly noted
in the Social Security Special Report. She lives in Wisconsin.
We appreciate hearing from you. Write
to: Bulletin Editor, Dept. RF, 601 E St.
NW, Washington, DC 20049; or email to:
Bulletin@aarp.org. Please include your
address and phone number.
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Tamara Lytle has reported on
Congress, the White House, politics and elections for more than
20 years.
For a greater mental workout and more puzzles, go to games.aarp.org
or happy-neuron.com. You can play an interactive Sudoku at games.aarp.org.
Puzzle Answers (from page 15)
412 5
1 45
25
4
32 5
534 1 2
4x
5+
12+
2
9+ 2-
2
2÷
; KenKen E E TY TP N PL E ST HD V U O L O OF S N STATEIO
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34; Star Power
