Entitlements

It is most interesting the way the world “entitlements” is being tossed about today by various people and groups. For some they make it sound like a dirty word, the undeserved rewards to malcontents and miscreants who contribute nothing to society and deserve nothing from it. And for others it is a basic right of citizenship.

The word merely means the state of being entitled: right. A right to benefits specified by law or contract. Or, the belief that one is deserving of or entitled to certain privileges.

If you are a child in a family are you entitled to be cared for physically, emotionally, and spiritually by that family; not only to have your basic needs met but also to be loved and cherished. You are entitled to this by law true, but more importantly because you are the child of parents and you are entitled to what they can give you.

Furthermore as a child of a country, a citizen of a nation, especially a democratic nation, you expect certain entitlements that are not only good for you but also good for your family or extended family, the nation. You are entitled in this country to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; thus says our constitution. This assumes a fairly level playing field for all citizens. All citizens should be able to gain education regardless of class or background; a democracy is dependent upon such an entitlement in order to remain a democracy. All citizens should have the entitlement to reasonable health care, again in the self interest of the nation; it is not just the right of the privileged few. Citizens have the entitlement to be able to find meaningful work that pays enough to keep them comfortable and capable rising through the economic levels of society. And in civilized countries we believe that folk who have worked and supported themselves and their country are entitled to security in their older years; to have the contributions to society recognized and the value respected and cherished. There are many more such entitlements that we expect and should have at our disposal as citizens of this democracy. And a system or group of people who seek to take away these entitlements are antidemocratic, selfish, and elitist in their thinking.

With that said, we also realize that in families there are those children who want more than their fair share; a bigger piece of pie and the end of a meal; a better bicycle than their siblings, more attention that others and are just plain self indulgent. A good parent seeks to stop these actions through appropriate and loving discipline. They seek to have their children understand the entitlements of all members of their family, not just their own entitlements. Or, parents should not spoil their children.

We have such spoiled citizens in our society as well, who seek to get more than they give and who want the largest piece of pie. Some point their fingers at those we are the recipients of safety net programs of our society and complain and lazy welfare parents, abusers of the social services programs and the like. On the other hand we have those who point their fingers at those who have been able to get more of the pie in our country by taking unfair advantage of others, created laws and programs that benefit them at the expense of others, who think they are so indispensible that society must bail them out if they get into trouble because they are more important than others.

Thus some in our society complain about what they see as entitlement programs such as minimum wages, social security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, and programs that provide economic stability for the of aging and the poor. Others see these programs as investments in our society. And some point their fingers at those at those who have too much in their opinion.

In 1962 the government was concerned about the foundations for prosperity in our society and invested, about 32¢ of every federal dollars. And we spend about 14¢ on entitlements. Some estimate that today we spend less than 15 on investments and about 46¢ on entitlements. (I’m not sure where the military fits in here as the numbers don’t seem right). Our societal demographics have changed considerably and we didn’t invest enough in recent years to keep up. Another way of saying this is that we have screwed up the system that worked 50 years ago with programs that do not serve us as well, plus we have a whole generation of baby boomers retiring. Tax cuts don’t help unless they stimulate the economy, are investments in our common future. Frankly I would like for us to go back to the tax rates of 50 years ago, but to do that we need to invest in our country they way we did 50 years ago.

In our finger pointing we need to remember fingers point back at us as well whatever our position. But no matter what our position you don’t fix problems by just condemning the other side; you fix problems by working together to find the common good. If you don’t understand that you are neither a responsible child of your family, nor a responsible citizen of your country. It is time for all of us to grow up.