It’s annoying as hell when media pundits call programs we pay into Entitlement Programs implying that folks receiving benefits are somehow undeserving or seeking handouts… Such terminology is the first step in convincing folks to go against their interests and give up money & benefits they worked for…
Social security, Unemployment, Medicare, Pensions, Food stamps etc are NOT ‘Entitlements’…Just like the benefits you receive from your car or homeowners insurance is not an entitlement..
Watch out for the way folks in power label and define you, the things you own or the programs your hard-earned tax dollars paid for….Using particular terminology like “entitlement’ is not by accident. It was term that initially was benign but was later flipped on its head and muddied up.. It’s well researched and attached to someone’s political agenda with the end goal to fleece you while demonizing you in the process..So when we talk about Grandma getting social security or medicare, its an entitlement.. When it comes to members of Congress or the Senate receiving lifetime support, its called a ‘package’.
Many of the people who have brought into the myth that those receiving so-called entitlements are most likely the same ones who have come to believe economic plight of the average American is what was illustrated in a recent edition of the Wall Street journal…. Take a look at the graphics below..Ask yourself is that the plight of the average single parent in America where 1 out of 7 people are living below the poverty level is such that we are pulling in 230k and 260K a year…
How about this next graphic which shows an average family of 4 making 650k a year or a retired couple rocking 180k..? Again this is what the Wall Street journal had as a way to explain what ‘most’ Americans were going through when it came to paying taxes.. If these income levels is what’s being put out for everyone to consume, no wonder you such a cavalier attitude being taken when it comes to paring down benefits (Entitlements). Heck if I was clocking 54k a month like the family of 4 depicted below, there would be no need for me to be securing those $200 worth of food stamps each month. If the average jobs are paying 260k a year then I can understand while some would feel folks are ‘lazy’ for not being economically sound.. Perception and Wording are everything..
As someone who works in government, I can tell you that the term ‘Entitlement programs’ is the term used within government agencies, among many federal employees, politicians. It is not something the media made up. The media and others picked up the term, and other insider information, from their ‘sources’. I wish Black America would follow suit in becoming more informed about what really happens as opposite hearsay from outsiders.
F.W.- I second that. But Davey is correct–right wing pundits often exploit the symantics to favor their government-cutting agenda.
great point. cobalt.
When you collect more than you paid in, it is an entitlement at that point.
@Abdullahreemas ==> Paid benefits are insurance programs. Some are term insurance and pay out only in the event of a catastrophe (like when Paul Ryan’s father passed away and he collected money which he used later to go to college–Ryan was just a child but he was a qualified recipient because his parents were paying in). Other paid benefits are like annuities or whole life insurance–you pay in during your high-earning years, and cash out with a fixed benefit during retirement (based on what you paid in). When you collect more than you paid in, it’s called beating the actuarial table (the probabilities used by insurance agents to estimate how long people will live). No one is entitled to anything. If you pay in, you get assistance when/if you need it. Some collect more over the life course because of circumstances and how long they live. My father died at 61 and never collected a dime of Social Security. Was he ripped off by the system? No. This is what living in a society that takes care of orphans, seniors and other vulnerable folk looks like.
Here’s another example: You might make only one insurance payment on a new car, and if someone rear ends you and totals it, you’re going to get a lot more compensation than what you paid in. But at no time does your car insurance policy become an “entitlement.”