Government spending on things like Social Security has escalators tied to CPI. Even a fraction of an increase has a compounding effect on spending mandates in those program costs enhanced by spending escalators.
BTW...When Bush brought out the Welfare to Work program, millions of welfare recipients claimed disabilities and simply moved over to Social Security instead.
My husband is an accountant that deals with subsidized housing. He saw the paper work himself. They just moved over to another free program. Doctors were afraid of the "free" lawyers and lawsuits that were lining up, and simply filled out the necessary forms.