Record Number of Americans receiving federal aid.
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.

Maybe Bruce Bartlett is right in his new book Imposter:How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy.Bartlett labels Bush as a shallow opportunist who has cast aside the principles of the "Reagan Revolution" for short-term political gains that may wind up hurting the American economy. A former economist in the Reagan WH, Bartlett points to the new prescription drug bill as an increase in spending that will make tax hikes inevitable. If anything I think it is safe to say that deficit reduction will play a key part in the upcoming elections and benefit deficit hawks like Senator McCain.