AARP’s national “You’ve Earned a Say” tour bus plans to make a stop in Madison, giving area residents an opportunity to contribute to the debate about the future of Medicare and Social Security. “Those are complex programs that folks have been paying in to their entire working lives and they deserve for those earned benefits to be there for them when they retire.”
Jim Flaherty, Communications Director at AARP Wisconsin, says everyone, of all ages, is welcome to join the conversation on these critical issues affecting everyone’s future. “It’s an opportunity for us to take a step back and listen. Before we come forward with any recommendations based as an organization, we want to hear what our members think.”
The timing of the tour coincides with the upcoming November elections. Flaherty says Medicare and Social Security are topics candidates cannot ignore, and voters need to be armed with information. “We have booklets that very clearly outline 12 top proposals for dealing with the future of Social Security, and 15 top proposals for dealing with the future of Medicare.”
Interactive games and a questionnaire will also be on hand to help people better understand the programs, and there will be a photo booth where visitors can record video messages.
Flaherty says they won’t be mentioning any candidates by name, because AARP is nonpartisan; they’ll talk about the facts of the issues and listen to what residents have to say.
The “You’ve Earned a Say” bus tour will be at Dane County Farmer’s Market on the Capitol Square on Saturday, August 25, from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. It’s also scheduled to find its way to both the Democratic National convention and the Republican National Convention, the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate debates and state fairs across the nation. The bus might make a stop in La Crosse in September, and Green Bay in October.
AARP has 39 million members nationwide, 800,000 in Wisconsin.
AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report 1:36