Slowpoke TOON- Entitlements

[n2doc]

[Lyric]

1. Crap...I unrecced when I meant to rec.

However, I think the billboard was referring to welfare, not Social Security. This is ironic, because while SS is indeed an entitlement, welfare is not.

[trotsky]

5. I made up for your unrec.

I've done it myself before too!

I'm wondering if maybe that billboard was designed to get people to think. First reaction might be "Hell yeah, get them lazy bums off the system!" But when informed that their parents or grandparents are collecting entitlements, maybe they might have a moment of personal growth.

[Bucky]

10. Trotsky, I gave this thread the rec that you would have if you weren't cleaning up Lyric's mess.

Since I loathe the OP and disagree with everything he stands for, I believe the rec/unrec ecosystem has now reached a harmonic equilibrium. So shall it be.

[Hissyspit]

7. You are entitled to collect welfare

if you meet the requirements set by law voted on by our democratically elected representatives.

[Lyric]

8. Nope, you're not. Not anymore.

It used to be that way, but in 1996, welfare lost its entitlement status. Now each state gets to set its own requirements, and each state is allowed to refuse welfare to people even if they DO meet the program eligibility requirements.

Nobody is guaranteed welfare anymore.

Edit: link, in case you want to read about it: http://www.policyalmanac.org/social_welfare/welfare.shtml

[Hissyspit]

9. You are, of course, correct.

I remember 1996 well. I was trying to make a point of how the word's has been abused (see post #6), but didn't do a very good job of it.

[Fumesucker]

2. Net recommendation: 0 votes (Your vote: +1)

[liberal N proud]

3. Fantastic!!!!

[xchrom]

4. Excellent. Nt

[Whats_Happening]

6. It's interesting the way words shift in political discourse --

I'm enough of an old codger that I remember in the 1980s at least, Republicans HATED it when Social Security and Medicare were referred to as "entitlements" - because it had the subtext of something that people were actually, un-ironically entitled to -- that such programs were inviolable, "non-discretionary" spending. While now, Democrats hate it when such programs are referred to as entitlements, in the "spoiled brat who thinks the world owes them something" way.

Similarly, more recently, "ponies" has flipped twice -- "pony" started off as a primary-time epithet of the Hillarites, objecting to an Obama who seemed to promise everyone the world in his own glittering generalities. Once Obama became President, "ponies" were taken up by the Obama partisans, who called lefties "purist pony-wanters." And now "ponies" are most often mentioned by the left-of-Obama critics, ironically, along the lines of, "sorry, I wanted a President who would stand up for Social Security, not extend the Bush tax cuts, fight for the public option (rather than impose insurance mandates on us) -- sorry for wanting ponies!"