As reported by "USA Today" and Newsmax.com, George Bush and the Republican-led House and Senate can now claim to have been so "compassionate" with other peoples' money, that they have brought about the most sizeable expansion in social spending in the history of the United States.

Write the folks as Newsmax:

"The expansion of benefit programs since 2000 has led to the greatest increase in social spending in American history - with entitlement programs now accounting for more than half of all federal spending, a new report shows.

A USA Today analysis released Tuesday of 25 major government programs - including health care, college aid and food stamps - revealed that enrollment surged an average of 17 percent from 2000 to 2005, while the nation's population increased by only 5 percent.

It marked the largest 5-year growth in enrollment since Medicare, Medicaid and other social programs were created during Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" movement in the 1960s.

Spending on social programs was $1.3 trillion last year, an inflation-adjusted increase of 22 percent since 2000, according to the USA Today report."

For more information, head to this site: http://view.e.newsmax.com/?ffcb10-fea010727467057c76-fe1b15797c6401747c1...