Definition:
"Entitlement Program"

"The kind of government program that provides individuals with personal financial benefits (or sometimes special government-provided goods or services) to which an indefinite (but usually rather large) number of potential beneficiaries have a legal right (enforceable in court, if necessary) whenever they meet eligibility conditions that are specified by the standing law that authorizes the program.

"The beneficiaries of entitlement programs are normally individual citizens or residents, but sometimes organizations such as business[es], corporations, local governments, or even political parties may have similar special 'entitlements' under certain programs.

"The most important examples of entitlement programs at the federal level in the United States would include Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, most Veterans' Administration programs, federal employee and military retirement plans, unemployment compensation, food stamps, and agricultural price support programs."

Excerpted from "A Glossary of Political Economy Terms" by Dr. Paul M. Johnson
Department of Political Science, Auburn University, copyright © 1994-2005.