Are NPR Listeners And Readers Entitled To A Different Word?
As news about entitlement programs trends, we're hearing more about whether that's a good word for them.
Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits are back in the news, so complaints about NPR's use of the word "entitlements" to describe them are back on the rise.
This is an old debate. My predecessor wrote about similar complaints in 2011. The New York Times public editor tackled the issue in 2013, at about the time a number of other publications took on the issue, as well.
In a recent email, Mary Kilgore, of Monona, Wis., wrote that Social Security and Medicare "are NOT entitlements. They are insurance programs that working people pay into for years. For a visual, check your
