"Entitlements" is a dirty word

Last week, my brother and I were lamenting that the word "entitlements," representing Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, etc., had such a negative connotation. We felt that it should not be used when discussing these issues.

Well, yesterday, Miles Mogulescu over at the Huffington Post coincidentally addressed this issue. I agree with him wholeheartedly!

Every time someone else in a discussion starts to talk about "Entitlements", they should say, "Oh, you mean the Middle Class Safety Net." Whenever someone talks about the need for "Entitlement Reform" or "Entitlement Cuts" they should say, "Oh, you mean shredding the Middle Class Safety Net."

He eloquently puts forth the reason he, my brother and I dislike the word:

It has the ring of spoiled children who are entitled to something that they don't really deserve. It's also not accurate. The middle class pays for its Social Security and Medicare with their payroll taxes during their working life so that they have something to fall back on in their old age. They're "entitled" to it, not because they're spoiled children asking for treats from daddy, but because society promised it to them in return for 40-50 years of having payroll taxes deducted from their paychecks.

He challenges the media to quit using it:

To win the political debate, Democratic office holders; liberal news hosts like Lawrence O'Donnell, Rachel Maddow, and Ed Shultz; progressive websites like The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, and Talking Points Memo; liberal columnists like Eugene Robinson, E.J. Dionne, and Paul Krugman; and progressive publications like The Nation and Mother Jones, have to change their political vocabulary.

Hear, Hear! I vow NEVER to use that word again. From now on "Middle Class Safety Net" supplants the "E" word in my lexicon. I challenge anyone who reads this (the few who do) to do the same and to pass it on to all of your family and friends, and, if you're a political writer, incorporate the phrase into your writing.