A sweeping expansion of social programs since 2000 has sparked a record increase in the number of Americans receiving federal government benefits such as college aid, food stamps and health care.

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. (Related: Federal entitlements have changed)

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.

Spending on these social programs was $1.3 trillion in 2005, up an inflation-adjusted 22% since 2000 and accounting for more than half of federal spending. Enrollment growth was responsible for three-fourths of the spending increase, according to USA TODAY's analysis of federal enrollment and spending data. Higher benefits accounted for the rest.

A bureaucracy's number one job is to never, never, under any circumstance, solve the problem they are tasked with solving. Increase the eligibility, expand the advertising, and demonize those who disagree.

What's sad is that so many people are asking, "why is our national debt so high?" in an age when close to two-thirds of our federal outlay goes towards entitlement spending and participation in the programs are rapidly expanding. Yet every call for curtailing these programs bring on charges of "hating the poor", which tends to resonate among those who are guided by emotion. We need to move past such partisan and petty attacks if we ever hope to rein in the national debt.