by Joe Snyder
This website brought to you in part by the following sponsor:
Find out how to advertise here - Email us! [email protected]
I don’t have any way to know how much attention the public is paying to our government’s spending splurge but just a few days ago I read that the growth of benefit programs has led to the greatest increase in social spending in our history. Entitlement programs now take more than half the federal budget.
A recent study of nearly two dozen federal programs reveals that enrollment surged nearly 20 percent from 2000 to 2005 even though the population increased only 5 percent. This is the largest growth in enrollment since Medicare, Medicaid and other social programs were created during President Johnson’s "Great Society" movement.
Social program spending last year hit $1.3 trillion, an inflation-adjusted increase of 22 percent since 2000. Medicaid added 18 million citizens –a 50 percent increase since 2000 and has become our largest entitlement program costing our government $198 billion last year. Medicaid has been expanded to the working poor and now has an enrollment of 53.4 million.
The number of food stamp enrollees rose 53 percent in the past five years and now serves over 25 million citizens. Students on Pell Grants cost taxpayers $13 billion last year, along with child nutrition programs, unemployment assistance, veterans’ benefits, etc. The worst still lies ahead. The nation’s baby boomers will begin to qualify for Social Security 2008 and Medicare in 2011.
The costs of Medicaid, which nearly doubled last year to $330 billion since 1999, is largely due to legislation that extended Medicare coverage to many Americans who are stuck in low-paying jobs. Medicaid’s numbers have swelled because low-income workers are choosing Medicaid rather than other sources because it is free, or nearly free, and often provides more benefits.
The result: Our government has become the health insurer of 100 million Americans with both Republicans and Democrats embracing the growth of entitlement programs which, with some stealth, has ballooned. Meanwhile President Bush has even proposed spending $1 billion to encourage more families to sign up for Medicaid.
Of course some blame the growth of Medicaid on welfare reform which moved millions off welfare and into low-paying jobs. Thus health care coverage has become the costly side effect of welfare reform. Many workers who never were on welfare can now sign up for free health care. Medicare now covers 47 million citizens and the cost has soared from $159 billion in 1997 to $295 in 2004 – and you can bet it is still rising.
It’s hard to believe, but new rules just put into place provides benefit for illegal aliens at a cost of $2.5 billion annually. The U.S. will take on anything or anybody even if it doesn’t make any sense at all.