February 19, 2010 1:36PM 

# This Week in Government Failure 

By [Tad DeHaven](https://www.cato.org/people/tad-dehaven) 

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Over at [Downsizing Government](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/), we focused on the following issues this week:

- The [food stamp](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/food-stamp-price-tag-rising) price tag is rising.
- Will the government remove the [crutches supporting the housing market](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/housing-market-government-crutches)?
- HUD wants to bring Portland’s “[smart growth](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/smart-growth-a-dumb-agency)” planning to the rest of the country.
- The [decennial census](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/the-census-constitutional-very-costly) may have a constitutional basis, but it’s still a costly, wasteful government activity.

##### Related Tags 

[Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy) 

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