Is 'entitlement' a code word for disparaging any government public benefit?

Question

It sounds to arrogant.
Benefit seems more appropriate.
Is that why people who want to cut social programs use it?
Is it just another "welfare queen" imagery with a wider target?

Answer 1

Yes, the word is technically correct but Republicans use it frequently because it conjures the image of a welfare recipient who thinks he or she is entitled to money for no work.

Answer 2

Why do you need a code word? Let's be accurate: it's the government forcing some people to pay other people's bills. It's wrong. It's wasteful. It needs to be abolished.

And YES Tangerine THAT GOES FOR CORPORATE WELFARE TOO!

It doesn't matter if you "use it for a short time" versus "a long time" the dollar you take from me to funnel through a bureaucracy and give 25 cents six months later to some guy who lost his job with ACME Widget, I WOULD HAVE USED TO BUY A WIDGET OR INVESTED IN ACME WIDGET CO!!!!!

We HAD this debate 27 years ago. My side won. And as a result, unemployment is now half of what it was.

Answer 3

No entitlement applies to those who chose to use social benefits for a long period of time, without trying to remedy the situation that happened to cause them to need benefits.

Public benefits were created to help a person/family out in times of need, but were not meant to be a long term solution to the problem. But it seems that some human beings, who are generally adverse to picking themselves up and working toward a solution of their problem, feel that it is their due to receive benefits, without their having to do anything at all. This is entitlement.

Everyone needs a helping hand now and then...but this doesn't mean that anyone should live on that helping hand without trying to change the situation. Every other person who is struggling in the country is helping to pay for that benefit, and so it becomes a problem of stealing from your fellow countrymen, when you're not lifting a finger to help yourself.

Answer 4

Entitlement means the right to guaranteed benefits under a government program, as Social Security or unemployment compensation. It isn't a codeword.

Answer 5

Entitlement is a better word for something that your entitled to, something that you have earned, like Social Security.

A benefit is something your given, like welfare. Your not entitled to it, because you didn't earn it. It is a "gift", something extra.

So when I see a government benifit, it leaves me with imagery of something that people want that they are not entitled to. Something that I have to pay for because they don't want to earn it. Like Food Stamps.

Answer 6

That's a good question! Also, I wonder if corporate welfare should be referred to as "entitlements" or as "benefits".

Answer 7

Yes.