It's astonishing, and rarely gets mentioned, just how fast the government has grown over the last 15 years or so, i.e. since Reagan got out of office. Perhaps because we've always complained about growth in federal spending, but it's gone exponential since Reagan, so much so that there doesn't seem to be much hope of reining it in.
You're right. Actually, it was pretty much downhill beginning in Reagan's second term. Oddly enough, Clinton showed more restraint (though Congress forced his hand) than Bush has.