You’ve Earned a Say and We’re Listening

Do you wonder what your retirement would be like without Social Security or Medicare? What would it be like for your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren?

Do you have some ideas about how to protect and preserve these crucial programs?

AARP believes that you’ve earned a say and we want to hear those ideas.

That’s why we are launching a listening tour to ensure you – and all the people of Tennessee - have a say in the future of Medicare and Social Security.

In the coming months, AARP will sponsor town halls, community conversations, bus tours and other events – to give you a chance to state your views and offer ideas about how to keep Social Security and Medicare strong for the long haul.

On May 17, you can come to Nashville and be part of a live studio audience for RFD-TV’s national show “AARP LiVE.” (Register online to participate.) In August and October, you can come to a meeting in one of five cities (Johnson City, Knoxville, Nashville, Jackson and Memphis). Can’t make it to those? AARP volunteers will be hosting smaller conversations in communities across the state for much of the year. They will be distributing questionnaires by mail, email and in person at fairs and exhibits as well.
 
But you don't even have to leave home to offer your thoughts. You can call 1-888-OUR AARP to offer your opinion. You can go online. You can even register for one of our telephone town halls – on June 20, July 20 or August 20 – and we will call you.

We want to make it easy for you to join the conversation because your health and retirement security are at stake.

Medicare is facing financial challenges, especially due to ever-rising costs in the broader health care system. More specifically, the Medicare fund that pays hospital bills will face a shortfall in 2024. Social Security can pay all promised benefits until about 2036, and after that, it can still pay 75 percent. That’s not good enough. So changes will have to be made.
 
A primary goal of You’ve Earned a Say will be to empower you with unbiased, straightforward and accurate information about proposed changes – without all the political jargon and spin.

We also will ask all federal candidates to clearly state their positions on Social Security and Medicare reform, and then share those positions with you so you can make informed choices at the polls in November.
 
President Ronald Reagan once said that our Constitution tells us, in effect, "'We the People' are the driver, the government is the car, and we decide where it should go, by what route, and how fast."

The next president and the next Congress could well determine the future of these programs. We can no longer afford to keep silent and leave the speaking to others.

Americans must exercise the right and the responsibility our Constitution has given us to raise those voices. So, get in the driver’s seat and take the wheel!