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<\/a>Sadly, in the last few years USAA evolved its priorities from providing stellar services to members to become just like any other insurance and financial company: mass marketing, empty promises, emphasis on profits, marginal customer service, and the like. In early 2020 a new CEO was appointed, the first to have never been in the military, but rather had spent his adult life in the corporate world. As it happened, later in 2020 an event occurred that excited and titillated all manner of privileged white people: the killing of a restrained black criminal at the hands of a brutish police officer. Now rich white elites, which accurately describes the USAA CEO, could virtue signal and put on display how wonderful they are to their heart's content. Accordingly, the CEO of USAA sent a mass e-mail (admittedly, severely paraphrased!) saying, All our members are horrid racists, homophobes and all other kinds of phobes, but don\u2019t worry, I am the enlightened one and if you vow allegiance to me and my fellow elites, you have a chance for salvation. Indeed, I am one of the bravest because I am willing to have \u2018conversations\u2019 about social justice and all that kind of thing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
I was truly taken aback by this and sent a pointed paper letter to the CEO, with the naive assumption he would have to spine to reply to a member of over 35 years. In a way I did receive several responses, the first being an unsolicited call about how they just couldn\u2019t lower insurance rates any further (huh?). The second was from guy in the CEO\u2019s office calling to address my \u201cconcern;\u201d I asked if he meant the letter I wrote and he asked, \u201cwhat letter?\u201d He said he would check it out and call me back, a call for which I am still waiting. A couple months later I received another call from the CEO\u2019s office, a sincere if foolish and gullible lady who told me Black Lives Matter has the full and unwavering support of USAA and that would never change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a number of years USAA had an on-line members Community, a forum where people could ask questions and receive the benefit of other\u2019s experiences: what might be the best mutual fund for a young career military family, or how would I go about adding my grown daughter as a beneficiary. As USAA declined, the Community increasingly offered a place where (especially) long-term members could ask what the heck was going on, why has customer service deteriorated, why insurance premiums were no longer competitive, and the like: things displeasing to the ears of USAA hierarchy. Suddenly the link to the Community disappeared from the USAA website, then it was revealed the Community page would be \u201cretired\u201d effective June 30th<\/sup>, 2023. Some members speculated it was to shut out people who criticized USAA and, absent an explanation, they were probably right. Below is a posting I made a week before the Community is to be shut down permanently:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I enlisted as an E-1 in 1975 and received an appointment as a Warrant Officer in 1983, <\/em>which qualified me to become a USAA member, and I did so with great pride. All my time was Army National Guard or Reserve, and I was never called up, mobilized, or deployed. In other words I did nothing remarkable during my service (I can\u2019t be accused of stolen valor!), but it was all honorable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n One consistent theme during my military experience was Honor. That\u2019s not to say that everyone acted with honor, but it was THE standard to which we aspired, and to be called dishonorable was among the worst characterizations possible. I fear that the idea and standard of honor is being lost in our society, as if it\u2019s become an antiquated concept that can\u2019t compete with 5G networks, \u201cequity,\u201d streaming TV, \u201cdiversity,\u201d Instagram and \u201cinclusion.\u201d In a way it\u2019s understandable, at least among privileged youth, in a culture that promotes self-centeredness, hedonism, and where pride and self-esteem are completely removed from accomplishment. The challenge of any culture is to eventually make sure young people realize the world doesn\u2019t revolve around them, that ego-centrism needs to give way to concern for others, and that chanting slogans does not make a person compassionate or make life meaningful. We know a culture is failing when young people don\u2019t grow into responsible and mature adults, but the adults actually revert to the selfishness and ignorance associated with adolescence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For us who have been USAA members for a good while and remember the tenure of Gen. McDermott, it\u2019s difficult to witness the current leadership of USAA reject the values of responsibility, duty to others and, most of all, Honor; all for increased profits and to receive accolades and approbation from cultural forces that, in fact, detest America. This modern, \u201chipster\u201d version of USAA sees Honor not as one of the greatest virtues, but merely as a word to be cynically used in marketing campaigns, a concept to be exploited for purposes of greed. It is truly a shame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyway, I note USAA Fed. Savings Bank is holding the interest rate for basic savings accounts steady at 0.01%, which is essentially 0%. After it was clear USAA was loosing its way, my wife and I moved most of our savings to a \u201chigh-yield\u201d on-line bank (keeping in mind USAA is also an on-line bank). The yield of this bank has reflected changing economic conditions, and is presently offering 4% on regular savings. If someone has the good fortune to have $10,000 in savings, at the end of the year the USAA member will have $1 in interest, an A L L Y Bank customer will have $400. If you\u2019re older, have not been profligate, and have $100,000 in savings at USAA, you will earn $10 in a year. At the aforementioned bank you will have $4,000 in interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While I don\u2019t doubt A L L Y Bank has some boiler plate and meaningless Equity-Diversity-Inclusion statement like every corporation, I do know<\/em> that USAA has offered its never ending support of corrupt and virulently anti-American groups such as BLM: I was directly told so by a representative of the CEO\u2019s office. The difference is A L L Y Bank doesn\u2019t pretend to wrap itself in the American flag and American values like USAA does, which makes USAA exceptionally hypocritical and dishonorable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I guess one can\u2019t blame USAA for \u201cretiring\u201d the Community- weak and cowardly people and organizations only want to hear how wonderful they are...there is no room for differing opinions or uncomfortable facts, such as $1 versus $400, hence their reaction is not to respond with a reasoned argument, but to shut it down, and that\u2019s exactly what they are doing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Reid Fitzsimons USAA is a giant insurance and financial services corporation that caters primarily to the military and veterans. Indeed, it was founded 100 years ago by a group of military officers looking for a way to insure their automobiles considering their particular circumstance. As USAA grew, they became renown for their service to ...continue reading <\/a>Headline from the San Antonio Express-News, May 2023: What\u2019s behind USAA\u2019s first losing year in a century ($1.3 billion)? <\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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