There are earned and unearned entitlements - and I do make distinctions in the two. At least for earned entitlements, there was some contribution (in taxes, payroll taxes, or other) from the current crop of recipients. However, programs like SS are by their very definition a Ponzi scheme - the current collectors are living off the taxes of the dwindling few who are still contributing, or by new debt. There is no "trust fund." The money is gone.
The 3 worst actors in terms of our debt and deficits are Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid. Of those 3, only Medicaid is unearned.
Add ObamaCare to the list very shortly.
Moreover, the average Medicare recipient reaps 3 times the benefits of what they paid in, with women reaping more than men (on the average).
Food Stamps (1 in 7 Americans now on the rolls at a cost of $135 Billion per year) is also completely out of control.
Sequestration cut discretionary spending, of which the military took a massive disproportionate share (17% of the budget yet must pay 50% of all cuts).
Sequestration did NOTHING to tackle our out of control Entitlement spending. Entitlement were exempt from cuts.
The list of unearned Entitlements is almost obscene.
Got this in my e-mail today.
Thought for the day...
We are always hearing about how Social Security is going to run out of money. How come we never hear about Welfare running out of money? And these recipients never contributed one red cent!
Moreover, the average Medicare recipient reaps 3 times the benefits of what they paid in, with women reaping more than men (on the average). I expect to get a lot more out of my 401K than I put in too. That you get more out of a savings plan than you put in is the way it's supposed to work. There is a question of whether 3X is reasonable or it should be 2X, but the way you put it is overkill.
The problem is not that you get out more than you put in, but that the money you put in was never saved. It was spent immediately and a bill totaled up for your kids and grandkids to repay. It's the Ponzi aspect of Medicare and Social Security that is the flaw.
I do agree with you that the unearned entitlements are obscene, and wonder along with the other commenter why there's always enough money for welfare but not for SocSec.