We joined AARP when Deb turned 50, Bebe (20 years ago) but quit because:

* Our AAA discounts were just as good for stuff we wanted;

* The constant junk mailings were irritating (still get them, but an order of magnitude less);

* When Social Security reform came up in the early 20-aughts, AARP sent something around saying they had let Congress know that they would accept no changes to Social Security, at all, full stop. What? That's when we looked at their lobbying record and found they were totally uncompromising about anything that had to do with seniors losing, or maybe losing, or could possibly lose benefits. Yes, some people like that. Some people think compromises are necessary to get things done — think Reagan/O'Neal in the 1980s, think Social Security heading toward the cliff currently.