Let's come up with a new term for "entitlement programs"

I believe there is opposition to this notion in left-wing circles.

It comes up in the context of whether these benefits can/should be cut for richer people. One argument against this is that these are not government handouts, such that richer people don’t need them, but are simply money that these people have earned and paid for over the course of their working lives. The counter-argument in favor of means-testing them is that no that’s not true, they’re a government social assistance program like any other and shouldn’t be paid (at least to the same extent) to people who don’t really need it.

100% in agreement with this. I call such programs part of the social safety net and I don’t mind paying taxes for them at all. I am just glad I am fortunate enough to be the donor rather than the donee.

I don’t think anyone has mentioned government and military retirements and military benefits as ‘entitlement program.’ These are also expensive programs where the government has made a promise to pay up in the future rather than now. I would argue that most of those promises were over-generous when made and should maybe even be rethought at some point but that’s no reason to change the term.

Welfare is not an entitlement program. That term is used to make people on welfare sound greedy when in fact it’s our elderly, civil servants and veterans who receive the etitlements.

Sure.

http://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/09/magazine/on-language.html?pagewanted=all

“For many, the new word was a euphemism for welfare, which once was a euphemism for relief.”