There are NO stratospheric spending increases.
When there are increases of 50%, 100% and even 200% to existing social welfare programs, and when new social welfare programs are initiated, that qualifies for the adjective "stratospheric".
Take a look back at Reagan and see where he was increasing programs 2, 3 and 4%, and even proposed (or did)froze some.
A quick perusal of the OMB Historical Tables will show you the % of total spending devoted to the Superfunction Human Resources* (Table 3.1) dropped during Reagan's term and rose during Bush's term.
* This Superfunction is the broadest category of social welfare.