Originally, the term entitlement in the United States was used to identify federal programs that, like Social Security and Medicare, got the name because workers became entitled to their benefits by paying into the system. In recent years the meaning has been used to refer also to benefits, like those of the food stamps program, which people become eligible to receive without paying into a system. Some federal programs are also considered entitlements even though the subscribers paying into the system occurs via a means other than monetary, as in the case of those programs providing for veterans benefits, and where the individual becomes eligible via service in the U.S. military. In the United States, an entitlement program is a type of government program that provides individuals with personal financial benefits (or sometimes special government-provided goods or services) to which an indefinite (but usually rather large) number of potential beneficiaries have a legal right...whenever they meet eligibility conditions that are specified by the standing law that authorizes the program. The beneficiaries of entitlement programs are normally individual citizens or residents, although sometimes organizations such as business corporations, local governments, or even political parties may have similar special entitlements under certain programs. Examples of entitlement programs at the federal level in the United States include Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, most Veterans Administration programs, federal employee and military retirement plans, unemployment compensation, food stamps, and agricultural price support programs.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 14:05:14 +0000
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