I think that most folks think of assistance to the poor when they hear the word entitlement. According to this things that people pay into all of their life (i.e. Social Security and Medicare) and benefits that military veterans have earned are considered entitlements as well as things like Medicaid and unemployment benefits.If you add together mandatory programs and the net interest, then divide that by the amount spent on security programs, the ratio is 2.93 ... Here are some caveats. The appropriated security programs category includes the nuclear weapons portion of the Energy Department, the Department of Homeland Security, portions of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of State and other international programs. Defense programs account for about 80 percent of the total, but not the entire amount.
Meanwhile, if you total up the budget for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid -- the three big entitlements most familiar to Americans -- it accounts for about two-thirds of the budget for mandatory programs. The "other mandatory programs" category includes such things as veterans' benefits.
Makes me think about folks who complain about all those people getting government entitlements and bailouts. You have to wonder if they will accept the entitlements when they turn 65. I do wonder about these geezer bailouts though.. wonder if these entitlements will be available in four years when I am eligible.
2 quick points Bob: 1. I see all of the wasteful spending of entitlement money as the recipients come through my checkout line at QuikTrip. I don't see people that begrudge the poor their support, they are more upset about what they do with it. 2. Social Security and all the other "Geezer Bailouts" surely do not equal the money we as individuals have put into it. I see those programs more as mandatory insurance we are forced to buy. I would rather they just give me a lump sum once I am eligible plus interest earned. Also, It should go to my family if I die early. After all, It's my money. Tom T
ReplyDelete@Tom - Maybe "the poor" are more like the rest of us than we want them to be as they buy the junk that nobody really needs. QT would probably be out of business if we all did not crave such things :)
ReplyDeleteThe issue is whether Social Security is an insurance policy or an entitlement. In practicality it is treated a bit like both.. it was more of an entitlement for the early recipients as they did not pay much into it.
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ReplyDelete- Henry