Medicare and SS are the very definition of "entitlement programs". If a program guarantees you something and is not directly dependent on how much you put in, its an entitlement. While SS does set payments based on your contributions to an extent, it also guarantees payments that are independent on the overall amount you paid in.

Given that the average lifetime at the onset of SS was 63, few ever lived long enough to receive back their entire investment. Today the opposite is true: many live long past their contribution, and keep on collecting. Hence, you have an entitlement.

Same with Medicare. You can take out much more than you put in.

This quiz has challenged me to just how much I know about one of the biggest things I rant against.

I need to dig deeper into this...I pride myself for arguing with 'facts', but on this subject I am mostly arguing from my gut feeling.

Same here. I was batting .000 for the first 2/3rds!

I got 8. I think my idea of entitlements is different than theirs. If the money is taken from you and your employer by force, it is not an entitlement to get it back.

I only got 8-the questions mostly toward the end.

Pretty weird, huh?

I only got 3