Political Concept
In the United States, as of 2013, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and some other government benefits and payments which are part of the welfare state are called "entitlements", particularly by the right wing.
Technically speaking, a government "entitlement program" refers to one where the amount of spending is determined by the number of people who are eligible for it (and follow its rules). For example, the amount of outlays on the U.S. government's food-stamp program (now known as SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) depends on the number of eligible people. (See http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/applicant_recipients/eligibility.htm.) However, many conservative politicians and pundits use the word in a pejorative way.
Read more about this topic: Entitled
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