General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Repeat after me - benefit. Ben-e-fit. Benefit. Social Security is a BENEFIT. [View all]hfojvt
(37,573 posts)that it would be logical to call those things entitlements
That entitle-ment is a much stronger word than benefit. That benefits can be given, but they can also be taken away, since a person is not necessarily entitled to a benefit. But logically they are entitled to an entitlement.
This whole "people on the left freaking out over the word entitlement" has always seemed to me like the dumbest and the strangest thing to get worked up about. Like entitlement is somehow another word for "welfare". That somehow the word entitlement lumps social security in with SNAP, TANF, HUD, LIHEAP, etc. If anything, I would consider it strange to call SNAP an entitlement, because people are not entitled to food stamps. Society CHOOSES to provide such benefits, nobody is entitled to them.