Spending, spending, spending

Tim Worstall has another example of the spread of the use of the word 'investment' when what is meant is tax spending:

Damn, the change in the meaning of the word "investment" has reached even the Telegraph now:

In 2006, £49.4 billion was invested in education, compared with £27 billion in 1996.

It's been a deliberate attempt to obfuscate since the 80s. Everyone is in favour of "investment" because we understand that if you invest now you get better returns in the future. But the word was recast to mean that any government spending was "investment". Thus an increase in government spending could be sold as an increase in investment.

As is made clear here, 75% of this spending is in fact on salaries: that isn't investment, that's current spending. As is also made clear here we've not received a return on that "investment".