I get more than little upset when I hear Social Security referred to as an “Entitlement”!  While it may be for some in my case it was anything but.  Had I been allowed to invest those amounts that I paid into Social Security along with the matching amount that my employers paid in at an even modest rate of return I could not spend all of the money.  So calling what I receive an entitlement is totally disingenuous.  In reality I will never recover what I paid in – never.  I never hear the pensions that are paid to Public Employees referred to as entitlements but in many cases these individuals paid nothing into the account that funds their pensions.  Why is my Social Security an entitlement and their pension never referred to in that manner?  Unfortunately this situation is the same for many current Social Security recipients and certainly for those currently paying into the system.  Now because the money that I paid in has been used to fund other’s benefits my benefit becomes an entitlement?  With that kind of logic I suspect you can justify most anything.