I think of an entitlement as something that has a monetary value recieved by someone by virtue of existence only. It is not a payment in kind, as in a contract (I do A, you give me B). A right is something that has no monetary value, rather it is priceless.
An example is the Miranda "Rights". The right to remain silent is a right, as it has no monetary value. The "right" to an attorney should actually be an entitlement to an attorney, as an attorney's services have monetary value, and you recieve these services whether you are a citizen of the US or not, a taxpayer or not.
I am an American citizen working and living in a foreign country. I do not pay taxes in the US, but none of my Constitutional Rights are forfeit. I pay taxes in this country, yet I do not have the right to vote, or even to travel freely (as a resident, I must have my Alien Identification Card on my person, and may be stopped and required to show it [/I]without due cause[I]. If I don't have it on me, I go to jail, where I can be held incomunicado for several weeks with no contact to the Embassy or an attorney or even an interpreter during questioning.). This just to say that paying taxes doesn't necesarilly give you the right or entitlement to anything.
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The difference between theory and reality is that in theory there is no difference.
"God made man, but he used the monkey to do it." DEVO
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