Since when are "Social Safety Net" programs now called "Entitlements?"

[RandomKoolzip]

Seeing the media calling medicare, SS, etc. "entitlements" a lot recently. Even the Administration is using that term. Did I miss a memo? Why is everyone except the left now embracing that framing of the issue? Is it since we went "Broke?"

[bobbolink]

1. Because it makes us poor folk look like ripoffs.

And a lot of "progressives" just follow along and use the prejudicial term.

[madmax]

3. You nailed it. nt

[madmax]

2. You've noticed that too.

There are a lot of new words that are clearly designed to elicit a reaction, be it positive or negative. The marketing people are working OT.

Some kind of newspeak to replace words previously used.

[RandomKoolzip]

6. I just wonder why people passively accept the hijacking of the language to serve ideological ends.

[madmax]

15. It's subtle.

People are busy just trying to survive, jobs, kids, bullshit.

Psy-ops comes to mind.

[bobbolink]

17. Once again... because WE. DON'T. MATTER.

The sooner we die and disappear the better.

[Cleita]

4. Since the right wing media reframed the message.

It time to take it back. I call Medicare health insurance and Social Security retirement insurance myself. It takes the wind out of the sails of the entitlement complainers.

[madinmaryland]

5. K&R.

[Riley18]

7. I hate that word and the way the rich are using it lately.

As I recall, they didn't call the welfare tax cuts for the rich "entitlements". Every time I hear that term it occurs to me how far from the truth it is because we paid into these programs so that we could use them. Unlike the rich who just keep taking money without earning it which is the definition of an actual entitlement.

[hack89]

8. Its a legal term - it simply denotes a right granted.

An entitlement is a guarantee of access to benefits based on established rights or by legislation. A "right" is itself an entitlement associated with a moral or social principle, such that an "entitlement" is a provision made in accordance with legal framework of a society. Typically, entitlements are laws based on concepts of principle ("rights") which are themselves based in concepts of social equality or enfranchisement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entitlement

[RandomKoolzip]

12. Yes, but it has different connotations. It's no accident that the MSM is using

the word "entitlements" in the midst of a nascent class war. Average people hear "social programs" or "social safety net" and are sympathetic - they hear "entitlement" and think of elitism, or handouts, or they feel resentful. After all, I can't recall Medicare or CC being called "entitlements" before 2011 - or if they were, it certainly wasn't with the same relish or frequency as this month.

[hack89]

16. No - when you are talking about budgets and laws

words are important. You are over thinking this one - I have always understood that social programs are entitlements. It is a morally neutral term in this context.

[RandomKoolzip]

20. Then is it because we're simply talking about the programs themselves more that

we're hearing the term more? Because I swear that the media wasn't referring to Social Security as an "entitlement" with as much frequency as they are nowadays.

In any event, there needs to be a serious rebranding/reframing/remessaging effort on the part of the Dems if they want to save these programs, because the word is a red flag to a lot of people.

[hack89]

24. Can't help but talk about them a lot when you are considering massive budget cuts. nt

[anneboleyn]

29. You are exactly right as far as the connotations are concerned -- an "entitled" child

is generally considered a "spoiled" child. Whatever the technical definition, people hear "entitlement" and think the "entitled" people believe they have a right to something that they do not entirely deserve.

[bobbolink]

31. "Those people have such a sense of entitlement"

YUP....

[wtmusic]

9. As a legal term it's neutral

"As a legal term, entitlement carries no value judgment: it simply denotes a right granted."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entitlement#Legal_term

Been around for awhile.

[RandomKoolzip]

14. In legal parlance, sure.

But the way the MSM has been bandying it about, you'd swear it just entered the vocabulary.

[bobbolink]

18. Not the way its used now.

[jacquelope]

10. It's the law of the jungle being brought back.

The Republicans don't want to say "survival of the richest" outright. So they use other terms to achieve the same ends.

[HEyHEY]

11. Seems to me that it would be more of a left-wing term

AS in "I'm entitled to these services" as opposed to "dole" or something.

[RandomKoolzip]

13. At least "Dole" reminds people of erectile dysfunction.

[HEyHEY]

22. Everything reminds me of ED

:(

[OriginalBOBZILLA]

19. "Perfect Teabagger World"

I came across this vision of the "Perfect Teabagger
World". I have no doubt it's what the 2% would love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2NYBF8tJaU&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

21. Not sure I'd call it that.

Some of my money is in there so I guess it means I'm entitled to it?

[wakemewhenitsover]

23. George Lakoff has some smart observations about this sort of thing...

He says, "Democrats help conservatives when they use conservative words like 1entitlements'instead of 'earnings'and speak of government as providing 'services' instead of 'necessities.'"

Check out this link, for example: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/02/20

[bobbolink]

27. Thank you for posting that. Very clear, but I have no hope Dems will change their tune.

[wakemewhenitsover]

35. Sadly, I agree with you.

[Captain Boomerang]

25. The media sets up the pins

and the Conservative monkey suit men in DC knock them down.

They do that with ALL the issues.
(Heath Care is casually referred to as Obama Care...)

I think everyone should push it right back. Call Iraq; the Bush Oil Mongering War, and Afganistan; The Bush Failure to get Osama Bin Laden... Katrina could be called Bush ate cake with McLame, and 9/11 could be called, My Pet Goat.

[bluethruandthru]

41. The right wing PR behemoth has created all the terms the republicans

have forced into everyday usage. The media is just doing what they're told. This practice became organized and very effective starting with Lee Atwater (the anti-christ).

Consider:
"Liberal Media"
"Tax and Spend" Democrats
"Socialized medicine"
Democrats want to "take your guns away"
"Cut and Run"
Al Gore said he "invented the internet"
Reagan "ended the cold war"/"brought down the Berlin wall"
"Gay Agenda"
"Pro-Life"
"Welfare Queen"
"Acorn" (has been turned into a dirty word
"trickle down economics"
"activist judges"
"We're Broke" - this is the current term that's being pushed.

These terms and many others have been introduced and ingrained into the American vocabulary to the point that no one questions them. One of the most dangerous ones that has been totally integrated into collective thought process over the last 30 years is that "social security won't be there when I retire". You'd be hard pressed to find anyone under the age of 40 who believes that Social Security will be there for them. The republicans have been pushing this for years so that no one will really care that much about fighting for it...since it's not something people ever expected anyway. Even here on DU you'll see a lot of posters talking about Social Security and how repubs want to hurt "our seniors"! It's not just for seniors! It's for ALL OF US!

:rant:

[anneboleyn]

26. I have noticed this too. I believe it is for propaganda purposes -- this makes the slashes

sound more palatable (instead of benefits being cut, "entitlements" are being "reduced"). The whole thing is just disgusting to me, especially since we keep seeing the same patterns -- the rich get tax cuts and the poor and disabled get their "entitlements" "reduced."

[Jmaxfie1]

28. Entitlement programs usually mean you have a legal right to their benefits.

Here's a good definition:

"The kind 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 (enforceable in court, if necessary) 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, but sometimes organizations such as business corporations, local governments, or even political parties may have similar special "entitlements" under certain programs. The most important examples of entitlement programs at the federal level in the United States would 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."

http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/entitlement_program">More

[valerief]

30. The new social safety net programs are the bank bailouts. nt

[upi402]

32. since Republicans turned fascist, and Democrats turned Republican

aint THAT some shit?

[Autumn]

43. Yeah I like that

aint THAT some TRUTH.

[defendandprotect]

33. Since the GOP needed lies/propaganda to attack Social Security!!

The real entitlements -- ExxonMobil controlling our oil = entitlement !!

Halliburton/Gasland being permitted to drill into rock - Fracking = entitlement !!

BP being permitted to drill miless down into our ocean floor = entitlement!!

Corporations being permitted to pollute our planet = entitlement!!

Corporatiosn being permitted to use our airways free of charge = entitlement!!

Big Pharma being permitted to rip off people who need medicines = entitlement !!


On and on --

The only "redistribution" of wealth is done by the few taking from the many --

This is a commonwealth, not a private club for the elites!




The Rightwing Koch Bros. Funded the DLC --

http://www.democrats.com/node/7789

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x498414

If you knew this, why didn't you tell us?

If you didn't know it, pass it along!


:)

[madamesilverspurs]

34. Reagan.

If memory serves, the word was getting heavily pushed during the Reagan administration. Probably about the same time he was inventing "welfare queens" to throw into reverse those safety nets that primarily help women and children. He was no friend of the disabled, either.


-

[999998th word]

37. The most dangerous eg.of this is the innocuous sounding phrase"Entitlement Reform"

This phrase is used,and all too often lately, by the R's and the WH -in reference to ss and medicare etc.It really means
severely gut ss.In the past Democrats wouldnt have considered such a move.I get a very uneasy sense the R"s are way
too comfortable pushing this on Obama.He needs to listen to the right advisors on this one instead of the Wall st.crooks
and intimidation by the R's.
I have no doubt this is nothing more than creative doublespeak masking an ugly intended consequence of accelerating the
elimination a group of people whom the RW +others consider to be unproductive.
First get folks comfortable hearing it,than it gradually creeps into use.....I hope we can jump out of that pot in time:rant: :bounce: :rant:

[JDPriestly]

36. You want to know what the real "entitlements" are?

They are the bank bail-outs. The banks get bailed out either through an absurd reduction in Fed interest rates or outright cash injections every few years. That's the real entitlement.

We paid for our Social Security. Thank you very much. Just give us back the money we put in plus the real increase in its value (which is reflected in the percentage increase in the top bonuses and salaries of Wall Street).

And the poor will simply perish without the safety net. So neither Social Security nor the safety net for the poor can seriously be considered to be entitlements.

And the pensions that public employees receive were bargained for and deducted from what would have been their paychecks had they not agreed to defer part of their payment into their retirement funds.

Do you remember how we heard that Wall Street had to pay certain bonuses back in 2008-2009 because the employers of the brokers and others had agreed by contract to pay those bonuses and pay and severance amounts? Well, teachers have entered into the same kinds of contractual agreements as the Wall Street employees and CEOS entered into. There is really no difference.

What is more, I consider the Social Security payments I made into the system over so many years to have fulfilled my half of the social contract the government made with the Social Security laws.

Support Jan Schakowsky's tax bill.

[CommonSensePLZ]

38. There's two sides to this coin

I believe in social welfare programs myself for the ideal level and the real-world possibilities of need and personal disaster, but I HATE THEM in practice. Usually the bureaucracy is very inconvenient and often cold, like how it can take a week or more to get "emergency food stamps"! In Brooklyn, New York, there's one welfare place in central BK that's just horrible!!!! They have you schedule a useless appointment. It's useless because you ARE going to be there all day anyway, just sitting there for hours before and after you were supposed to check in, but the total face time when your turns comes around and you've done everything probably adds up to less than 15 minutes. They have you shuffling up and downstairs between floors and offices, generate an entire dossier anytime you use their services, this part I assume is true of all welfare locations. What I really hate is how at the moment's notice these people want to cut you off they will - just leave you ass out with no job, no food stamps, no money, nothing as soon as they want to and make you begin the ENTIRE process again for any mistake or at their discretion. What a wonderful, dependable program and what a level of human dignity they treat you with!

Yet, there are really people out there who are willing to go through with all that bullshit instead of work, and I'm talking in this current or even in a good economy. The rich see these people as freeloaders living off their tax dollars and think everyone who ends up using welfare is the same - Similarly thing with how they see unions.

But anyway it's generally this: There's no "entitlements," they're just cheap, selfish, rotten people with the "it can't happen to me!" delusion that don't want to have pay a cent of taxes on hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars they make, and I hope that each one of them will learn what it feels like to be one of us "freeloading entitlement-seekers". I hate that term, and teabags and conservatives started using it en masse back around January.

So we're not entitled to jobs, those should go where it saves the CEOs money but gets them the same or more profit like third-world countries (free trade!), we're not entitled to welfare we put into our whole lives, we're not entitled to unify and lobby for decent wages and workplace safety and should just accept bottom dollar, we're not entitled to regulate banks and corporations that might not have anyone but their own best interests at heart. If these people could own the air I'm sure we wouldn't be entitled to that either.

[NHDemProg]

39. If I pay into something

it's NOT an "entitlement". It's mine. By that logic, someone's 401(k) is an "entitlement".

[Vinca]

40. Since we became a 2 class society.

The wealthy and the peons. Soon we'll be selling pencils on the street and begging for gruel.

[northernlights]

42. sure it's an entitlement...as in "I paid in for 35+ years, now I'm entitled

to my return."

They're fucking assholes with language. Turn the language around on them.

[bobbolink]

44. You have a valid point. However, we know what they did with the word "liberal", because

lIBERALS didn't stand up to them and squash that crap.

They will do the same with "entitlements", because there will be no organized push-back.

People like me will be hurt even further because of it.

[dkofos]

45. Since karl luntz said it polled higher in focus tests