How much do you really know about entitlement programs? - Galt's Gulch

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How much do you really know about entitlement programs?

Posted by Rocky_Road 10 years, 9 months ago to Government

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I am a news junky, and thought I would 'ace' this.

I only got 6 answers right....

SOURCE URL: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2012/1231/How-much-do-you-know-about-US-entitlement-programs-Take-our-quiz/Percentage-of-US-recipients?nav=700283-csm_article-promoLink

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Posted by dave42 10 years, 9 months ago

I wouldn't put social security in the "entitlement" category. It's essentially a pension (put more in, get more out), but if a private pension were run like SS, its directors would all be in jail.

I consider an entitlement a program where benefit received is disconnected from payment (usually taxes), or is inversely connected.

Unemployment insurance, if done properly, would not be an entitlement (essentially a portion of your paycheck is used as the premium). The problem is that both the premium and the coverage period are set politically, not actuarially.

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  Posted by Rocky_Road 10 years, 9 months ago
  
  Medicare and SS are the very definition of "entitlement programs". If a program guarantees you something and is not directly dependent on how much you put in, its an entitlement. While SS does set payments based on your contributions to an extent, it also guarantees payments that are independent on the overall amount you paid in.
  
  Given that the average lifetime at the onset of SS was 63, few ever lived long enough to receive back their entire investment. Today the opposite is true: many live long past their contribution, and keep on collecting. Hence, you have an entitlement.
  
  Same with Medicare. You can take out much more than you put in.
  
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Posted by rockymountainpirate 10 years, 9 months ago

I got 8. I think my idea of entitlements is different than theirs. If the money is taken from you and your employer by force, it is not an entitlement to get it back.

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  Posted by Rocky_Road 10 years, 9 months ago
  
  This quiz has challenged me to just how much I know about one of the biggest things I rant against.
  
  I need to dig deeper into this...I pride myself for arguing with 'facts', but on this subject I am mostly arguing from my gut feeling.
  
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Posted by LetsShrug 10 years, 9 months ago

I only got 3

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  Posted by Rocky_Road 10 years, 9 months ago
  
  Pretty weird, huh?
  
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    Posted by khalling 10 years, 9 months ago
    
    I only got 8-the questions mostly toward the end.
    
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      Posted by Rocky_Road 10 years, 9 months ago
      
      Same here. I was batting .000 for the first 2/3rds!
      
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