ENTITLEMENTS

The word “entitlements” is interesting because of the way it has been misused and abused for many years. The Republican politicians have been using it with very negative overtones when it is actually a positive and powerful word. They use it in reference to Social Security and Medicare as the major cause of our budget deficit problems. Actually congressional over spending is the major cause of the US debt. Somehow the Republicans have coned some lower income people to believe their rants about entitlements even though it is counter to their best interest.

The word entitlement indicates that you are yes entitled to something because you earned it. I paid into Social Security insurance all my working life and therefore I am entitled to receive my retirement befit from Social Security. The same with Medicare insurance, I paid for it so I should get it because I am entitled. When I pay my insurance premium I expect the insurance company to pay up when something happens to me because I am entitled.The poor Tea Party people have now been supporting efforts to stop Social Security even though it is very likely that for many of them Social Security will be their only source of income in retirement.

Do we have a real problem with a heavy US debt? You bet we do! Social Security is not the cause of the problem and stopping it will not solve the problem. Social Security has been receiving more income than it pays out since the insurance program began. It still is receiving more into the trust fund than it pays out. The trust fund should be and is huge but the fund has been investing in US Treasury bills. These are IOU’s that have been funding enormous government deficits. The day is coming when more money will be paid out than will come in and the government will be forced to pay back the IOU’s.

Entitlement is a very good word and I don’t buy the negative spin.