ENTITLEMENTS: Now there is a word with a decadent connotation. It makes you think you are getting something for nothing. In my somewhat restricted capacity, I have come to believe that the media is somewhat misleading in its use of the term. Welfare is an entitlement, social security is not, at least the way we think of it. You, all of us, if we worked in the private sector, and in some cases the public sector, get paid good American money to fund the system. You, all of us, are probably getting a bigger check than our contribution warrants, but that is an actual mistake. All public pensions are paying more than can be afforded by the contributions. The reason is lying, deceiving politicians who promise a gullible public more than can be delivered. Let me give you a real example. You, over a 40 year career, put $900,000 dollars, that is 22,000 each year, into a pension plan. Now on a 1 percent return you get $9000 bucks a year, on 2 percent $18000, should you get 3 percent $27000, as you can observe, you must make high returns to provide high income, which is risky, anyway that is how pensions work. If you do not put a boat load in it will take a skilled investor to get a boat load out. Anything you put your hard earned money into is not an entitlement, it might better be referred to as under funded benefits leading to failed promises. Until we educate people that it takes enormous effort, patience, and discipline to become independent, we will continue to listen to the media and politicians spout misnomers, such as social security, Medicare etc., as entitlements and not as underfunded vessels of financial weakness. Something you do not contribute to and get something from is an entitlement, the ones that you pay for are just underfinanced and underperforming.