People argue, "we all have a "right to be healthy". Well with ANY right comes personal responsibility. You may have that right, but as a taxpayer it should be within my right to not pay for someone Else's mistakes or unhealthy habits. Yes, there is a moral obligation to care for the sick and poor. However, i believe that more often than naught health begins with self, and too often people fail to assume any level of personal responsibility.
Government should not be the arbiter of what is a moral obligation. I "CHOOSE" to give to entities like the Salvation Army, or Red Cross, because I believe these agencies provide services in a way that government cannot. Private enterprises will always find better and less expensive ways of doing things.

Congress has used entitlements as a piggy bank. It is a well known feature of the federal budget that for every $1 of direct service, there is $3 budgeted for administrative overhead.

If the intent is to keep these programs solvent, the 1st thing should be that all funds intended for those programs follow the person and stay in the program.

2nd, I personally feel that entitlements should be targeted, and not general, I believe Social Security as example should be set up much differently, again the money to follow the person, a portion (at least 1/4 of the asset value, in an account the person can manage themselves. As it stands people who intend to use Social Security as their sole means of retirement, aren't meeting inflation rates.

At some point the "debt" for all these entitlements will come due. the 15 trillion dollar debt, does not consider the 70 trillion dollars of debt at it relates to entitlements. This I feel it the bubble very few people realize is heading our way in a very short period of time. It would be best to start taking steps to address this.