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American Federation of Senior Citizens One of Many
Seniors Should Avoid
By Tucker Sutherland, editor
Jan. 30, 2005 – We received an email from a woman
who complained that her senior citizen mother was receiving numerous
requests for donations from the American Federation of Senior Citizens
and asked if we knew anything about the organization. The mailing asked
for an “Emergency Reply” to ensure that “Social Security and Medicare
are safe from liberal looting.” Unfortunately, we put this group in with
many others who pry on senior citizens for money by arousing their fear.
We suggest no one send them money.
Unfortunately, this is just one of many
organizations prying on the elderly.
As Diana Walsh, reporter for the San Francisco
Chronicle wrote several years ago, “…millions of seniors nationwide
(are) targeted by so-called ‘fright mail,’ computer-generated by
self-proclaimed public policy organizations in mostly legal but
controversial campaigns to raise cash.
The American Federation of Senior Citizens was at
one time - if not now - headed by Gary Jarmin. He is a long-time
associate and disciple of Reverend Sun Myung Moon.
Jarmin is associated with a number of Rev. Moon’s
fund raising organizations, including The National Parents' Day Council,
American Family Coalition Inc., The Washington Times Foundation,
Christian Voice, The Council For National Policy, American Coalition for
Tradition Values, Middle East Peace Inititative, The Senior Center and
probably others we have not located.
On the
Christian Voice Website he is listed as the president and they give
this background.
“Gary L. Jarmin has been a key leader and activist
in supporting conservative causes and candidates for more than 30 years.
He is well known as the author of the Congressional Report Card on key
moral/family issues published by Christian Voice, which many
organizations have adopted and use today. Over 55 million have been
distributed throughout the United States.
“Mr. Jarmin pioneered the development of
grass-roots political organizing techniques in the churches which many
organizations emulate today. Mr. Jarmin served as Director of the
American Coalition For Traditional Values voter registration drive in
1984 which registered over two million new voters. He has worked on
numerous election and lobbying campaigns.”
On the Website for
The Senior Center, where he is also listed as president, they have
about the same biography. They describe this organization as
a nonprofit grassroots citizens group
dedicated to improving the lives of America's seniors through awareness
and advocacy. Most of the content on the home page is about the terrible
condition of Social Secruity.
The
American Federation of Seniors has a Website, but like most of the
others associated with Jarmin, it is hard to find, unless you know the
address.
“Welcome to your Resource for Protecting Senior
Citizens,” says the home page. “On this site you will find information
resources to help you to advance issues of interest to senior citizens,
the largest growing group in our country today. These issues include
Social Security, health care, Medicare and Medicaid, estate taxes, the
balanced budget, and retirement.
And they note, “American Federation of Senior
Citizens is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)4
organization. Because we are a lobby organization representing your
views, contributions are not tax deductible. View our
IRS Letter of Determination (PDF format).”
They say, “The purpose of the American Federation
of Senior Citizens is to educate, mobilize, and lobby on behalf of the
growing senior citizen population in America. Senior citizens are the
largest growing group in our county today, and there are issues of
special concern to this very important segment of our society. It is our
belief that the opinions of this valuable and mature group of
individuals should be heard in the United States Capitol where laws are
being introduced and passed that affect their lifestyle.”
What they, and so many others, are really all about
is raising money from senior citizens they can frighten.
As Diana Walsh wrote, “Mailing lists are like cells
dividing, growing wildly as they are sold or rented. Consumers who
respond are tagged with what "fright mail" experts term "gold stars" and
attached to "sucker" or "mooch" lists.
Once you contribute money to any of these groups
your name goes on a mailing list that is shared with others of the same
ilk. Some seniors have reportedly received as many as ten such letters
in one day.
A company called
The Washington Marketing Group is apparently responsible for many of
these mailings.
One of the lists you can buy from this company is
The American Senior’s Center mail list of donors. Here is how they pitch
the list to prospective fund raisers.
“Members of the American Seniors Center have
contributed to various campaigns geared to pressure Congress to provide
seniors with an ironclad guarantee that their Social Security benefits
will not be cut or eliminated. Members have contributed to direct mail
packages that support Individual Social Security Accounts, health care
reform that guarantees individual choice of health care providers, and a
balanced federal budget.
“The American Seniors Center believes it is high
time that the government backed up the Social Security promise with the
Rule of Law. This is a great money-making list for nonprofits,
grassroots lobby groups, charities, conservative candidates, catalogers,
direct mail merchandise buyers, bankcard and financial offers. Excellent
for telemarketing and telefundraising!!!
“Commercial:
These great senior Americans are cocoon
buyers. They tend to purchase from
catalogs, prefer to buy products that are American made.
Receptive to financial offers.
“Nonprofit and Political:
These senior donors have helped supply conservative candidates for
federal and state office with
their margin of victory. These informed senior citizens are concerned
about the preservation of Social Security and Medicare. They oppose
government schemes of cradle to grave socialized medicine. These
patriotic Americans favor a balanced federal budget, limitations on
government spending, and preservation of the American dream for their
grandchildren. They are supportive of charitable organizations, as well
as committees established to promote traditional family values and a
strong defense.”
The company says there are 900,000 addresses on
this list. They list the American Federation
of Senior Citizens as an organization that uses this list.
They even show samples
of mailings made with the list.
Click Here to see a sample, if you have not already received one in
the mail.
Experts say seniors become targets of these
mailings because they may have more time, more interest in public
policy, more disposable income and sometimes more susceptibility to
these scare tactics.
A woman who fought to stop the mailings to her
elderly mother told reporter Walsh that "fright mail" undermined the
elderly's trust in government and sense of security.
"The audacity of manipulating old people in this
way without any kind of sanction . . . is morally wrong," she said.
"Anything that makes (the organizations) look like a government office
and puts their views out there as though they were official is wrong. .
. . These groups are using people like my mother for financial gain and
for power. It's appalling."
(For complete story by Diana Walsh:
click here.)
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