The five biggest lies about "entitlement" programs

While you're there, take the poll on whether or not Social Security and Medicare are under attack.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20130310,0,966731.column
Everybody loves lists.

So here's a list with a bit more gravitas: The five biggest lies you're being told about entitlement programs.

Deficit hawks' 'generational theft' argument is a sham

Never mind that the very word "entitlement" is a lie. Social Security and Medicare got that name because workers became "entitled" to those benefits by paying into the system. In recent years, however, the term has become distorted to signify benefits people are entitled to without earning them.

Leaving that whopper aside, here are the top five.