Thursday, August 28, 2008

AARP and Honesty, Pick One

There's a short but interesting post by David Bernstein regarding a new ad campaign by the AARP.

The AARP is claiming that 1.85 million American per yer are forced to declare bankruptcy due to medical bills. I haven't been able to track down an exact figure on the personal number of bankruptcies filed in the US, but this information would suggest it is less than 1 million a year.

So the AARP is making a wild claim and, it seems, a grossly inaccurate one. As Bernstein says:
In other words, the AARP is claiming that every single bankruptcy in the U.S. is due to medical bills.
It is frustrating that actions like this typically have no consequence. People will see the commercial and not question it. More psychological data that we need socialized health care, or whatever the AARP's goal is. Heaven forbid we have a discussion about the actual issue.

(Hat tip: Instapundit.)