On Nov 28, 2007, at 9:28 AM, Wojtek Sokolowski wrote:
> This also holds true for the US, where public social spending
> increased from
> 13.3% in 1980 to 16.2% in 2003. During the first two years of Bush
> administration, public social spending jumped 1.6 percentage points
> (from
> 14.6 in 2000 to 16.2 in 2003). Under Clinton administration it
> went up from
> 13.4 in 1990 to 15.4 in 1995 (2.1 percent point increase) and then
> slightly
> down to 14.6 in 2000 - most likely as a result of Repug Contract on
> America.
We'd have to look at the composition of this spending. I'm betting the growth is mostly in Medicare/Medicaid, which is driven by inflation and not increases in the real volume of services. I'd fact check that, but my budget spreadsheets are a few years out of date.
Doug