Why Don’t We Get Monthly Medicare Checks Like Social Security?

 

Long, long ago (“in a galaxy far, far away”), I was a schoolboy near Liverpool, England. In 1960, I won the Old Wallaseyans Stumps Speeches Debating Trophy. It was nice to win, but the really good part was that in the final round, I beat my brother Stewart. He and I competed for everything from grades and awards to girls. Now fifty-five years later, I need to fall back on debating style to raise an important question about Medicare.

Point No. 1: Entitlements Are Free

An entitlement is a right to have or to do something. Such a right is granted to you by God or by the government. (Often, the latter thinks it is the former.) You pay nothing for an entitlement. Indeed, that is a hallmark of an entitlement — it is free.

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