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Mar. 30, 2005 When the term “entitlement” is used, it is generally used in conjunction with discussion of impoverishment. It is true there are entitlements for the poor in our country, e.g., food stamps, Medicaid benefits, housing benefits, welfare checks, food giveaways, and others. However, the very wealthy of our country are the real winners in the entitlement game. Hidden tax entitlements for the wealthy cost our government hundreds of millions every year. “Tax entitlements currently cost the federal government two-and-a-half times as much as all means-tested direct entitlement programs such as welfare and Medicaid (CTJ News).” These tax entitlements are also called tax expenditures. You and I call them “loopholes.” Simply put, it is welfare for the rich. "Budgeting is about making choices," Bob McIntyre of CTJ (Citizens For Tax Justice) reported. "If Congress decides to spend $44 billion to subsidize fancy dinners and playoff tickets for business executives, that's $44 billion that is unavailable to pay for school lunches or food stamps. If $95 billion is budgeted to help multinational corporations avoid taxes, that's $95 billion that can't be used to improve education or improve law enforcement." This year alone over 36, million people in the richest and most powerful country in the world can barely keep food on their tables. Worldwide, almost 900 million people are starving. Over 27 thousand children worldwide die from preventable illnesses, half of which are hunger-related (Bread For The World). A Republican led Congress wants to cut the budget. Who do you think will receive the short end of the stick? Yes, it seems that we have money for the war, but not for the poor. We are chasing the elusive rainbow of democracy for the Middle Eastern world. Yet, our impoverished citizens in this world are chasing the elusive staple, bread. Somehow, we justify this injustice by claiming to the world that the Middle East is starving for democracy. According to yesterday’s news, the Iraqi congress can’t even decide who should be their speaker. In reality, they can’t even determine what kind of government will rule their slipshod country.
The truth of the matter is that a sense of
entitlement is projected by the very wealthy in
this country and to some extent, the very poor
of this country. Who are the winners? The
rich. Who are the losers? The poor. Who pays
the bills? It is the working poor and the so-
called middle class, who have no
entitlements...just bills.
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