Giant Entitlement Growth Under GOP

From Mr. F (via Andrew Sullivan) comes a USA Today account of what we've been telling you all along: Bush and the GOP are Texas-sized spenders.

A USA TODAY analysis of 25 major government programs found that enrollment increased an average of 17% in the programs from 2000 to 2005. The nation's population grew 5% during that time….

It was the largest five-year expansion of the federal safety net since the Great Society created programs such as Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960s.

Whole thing here.

Reason's Bush spending analysis here, here, and here.

Comments

[jason]

people are getting older, duh.

[VM]

from the article:
"Not a factor: Social Security and Medicare. Those retirement programs will not see their enrollment explode until 79 million baby boomers start to become eligible for Social Security in 2008 and Medicare in 2011."

so, what do you mean? is this a strange way of "defending" the bushie spending explosion?

[tomWright]

which is why the Dems will likely fail to gain seats in the House or Senate this election.

Set aside the legislatived superglue that binds Senators and, (ahem), Members to their seats, the Gerrymandering that protects districts for eah party as surely as castle walls did Kings and Queens in their keeps.

The Repugnanticans have stolen most of the Dumbs issues. They out spend them, out regulate them and out legislate them. Whats a commie left to do when the 'MAN' is doing it already?

The last presidential election was the Dumbs to lose, and after much hard work they managed to do it.

The only issue(s) they have right now are Iraq and impeachment. Impeachment aint gonna happen, as much as it should, and Iraq is not enough, IMHO. The Dumbs are stuck in the anti-war 60's, and lack the ability to understand 21st century 'nuance' on voters feelings on the war.

Of course, maybe their call for free broadband in every garage to supply two pornos to every hard-drive will do the trick. All under proper regulatory supervision of course.

[Brian]

No more presidents from Texas please. Not sure the republic could survive another.

[joe]

The Republicans in the Senate just voted not to adopt Pay As You Go rules for budget items.

Actually, a fraction of the Republicans joined the Democrats, but only enough to make the vote 50-50.

[Mr. F. Le Mur]

The government has made applying for benefits easier...

The Peoples' Republic of Colorado has been advertising welfare handouts on TV, specifically "LEAP."

[R C Dean]

The Republicans in the Senate just voted not to adopt Pay As You Go rules for budget items.

Well, no. A large majority of the Republicans in the Senate voted for Pay As You Go.

If its 50-50, does Cheney break the tie?

[joe]

Uh, no, RC. From the New York Times report, "Five Republicans joined 44 Democrats and one independent in supporting the restoration of the budget rules."

[joe]

As to your second question, "In the first of several politically charged budget and spending issues confronting Congress this week, the Senate rejected on a 50-to-50 tie a proposal to restore what are known as "pay-go" rules, a requirement that tax cuts and some new spending be approved by 60 votes or offset by budget savings or revenue increases."

The tie didn't need to be broken, because the amendment needed 60 votes to pass.

[Sphynx]

From Wikipedia: "Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas...", "Johnson was born in Stonewall, Texas...", "...George Walker Bush was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He moved to Texas with his family at the age of two and he identifies himself as a native Texan."

PLEASE DON'T MISTAKE BUSH FOR A REAL TEXAN

LBJ & maybe Dwight Eisenhower (look it up) were our ONLY US Presidential mistakes.

A true Texan may spend personal money like a drunken sailor at times, but we tend to be very conservative. (non sequitur alert) Note, we still have a part-time, non-professional state legislature, each member of which must be re-elected prior to every semi-annual (once every 2 years) regular legislative session.

Our biggest shame is the way this D'm YANKEE, prevaricator, gets away with claiming to be conservative, let alone compassionate!

[Denzer]

The USA Today story was incomplete. The reason so many more people were covered is because more people were driven into the poverty range qualifying them for entrance into those programs. If we truly had a solid economic recovery, with more jobs and paying above the pitiful minimum wage, there would be fewer needing to apply for these programs. The Bush roundup team herded up and corralled all those extra doggies into that pound. Denzer

[Denzer]

Denzer returns -- I wasn't that smart all by myself. Just found my source of information. The information can be found in an article by Greg Anseg, Jr.: USA Buries the Lead, Botches the Rest at tpmcafe.com/node/27847

[Jon H]

"PLEASE DON'T MISTAKE BUSH FOR A REAL TEXAN"

Ah, but just like many transvestites are exaggerated caricatures of women, Bush performs an exaggerated caricature of a bad Texas president.