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logo    The Truth about Entitlements


Much is said and written about entitlements these days. The claim is that entitlements must be contained before the country is bankrupted. Entitlements in this context mean Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the new Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, etc. That is, these entitlements are only those that benefit ordinary people. But the notion of entitlements is far broader than that.

Consider the foreign nations that feel entitled to American foreign aid. There is Israel, of course, a country that has felt entitled to American aid for over half a century. Not only can I think of no good reason for this aid, it allows Israel to keep from facing its problems with the Palestinians. Without the aid, Israel would have had to come to some accommodation long ago or would have perished. Then there is Egypt. The Egyptians feel entitled to American foreign aid merely because they signed a peace treaty with Israel.  If a peace treaty with Israel was so valuable, why didn't Israel pay for it? Charity for the right reasons is a benevolent thing; for the wrong reason, it is vicious; and we should remember that charity really begins at home.

Then there is my favorite group of entitlees--the Congress. This group is made up of people, many of whom are independently wealthy far beyond the dreams of most ordinary people, and who have had other careers before entering the Congress.  These Congressmen have their own set of entitlements which are analogous to those for ordinary people. But no one ever says or writes that these entitlements need to be curtailed? Why do these people feel entitled to retirement plans and medical benefits that are different than the ones for ordinary people? Why some of these people, especially the independently wealthy ones, even collect their salaries is beyond me. It seems to me that if these people sought public office out of a desire to engage in public service, they would have been willing to do it for a dollar a year. But they are not, are they? And this calls into question their motivation. Do they want to be public servants or do they want to eat at the public trough? Is it any wonder why they are so easily corruptible by special interests?

And then there is the business community, especially the military-industrial complex. The Constitution gives Americans the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances, but the business community, after having bought off the Congress, petitions it for special status, a tactic that is no where sanctioned in the Constitution. I have no doubt that the business community feels entitled to its special treatment as a payback for its political support. Why aren't these entitlements in need of containment?

But the business community has enlarged its sphere of interest to include not only the national government but state and local government as well. It feels entitled to special financial consideration from state and local governments as an incentive to do business. The business community has pitted one locality against others for really what amounts to bribes in order to locate in  a locality. These entitlements have been out of hand for decades; yet hardly anyone calls them into question.

These foreign, Congressional, and business entitlements far outstrip those that ordinary people depend upon, and they may very well have destroyed the nation. Government on all levels has been corrupted as has the economic system. Americans like to talk about the free market system, but no such system exists here. Businesses that receive special interest from government are not operating is a free, unregulated market. A governmentally provided business perk distorts the economy just as surely as certain kinds of regulation. Laissez-faire means government hands off, not government favors. And governmental favors, advantages to the business communities that can afford the bribes, prop up and encourage inefficient business practices and waste resources that would be more effective if spent elsewhere.

So yes, entitlements are out of hand in America, but the out of hand entitlements are not those usually mentioned. This nation, like the other industrial nations of the world, could easily afford these ordinary entitlements if it put its priorities in order, for ordinary people don't require or demand nearly as much from government as foreign bloodsuckers, our corrupt Congressmen, and our corrupting businessmen do. (3/4/2006)