July 9, 2010 4:25PM 

# 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:

- Would it take seven years for a senior manager at a private company to be fired if he [goofed off and didn’t go to work](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/hud-high-roller)?
- Only a [government monopoly](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/usps-wants-rate-hike) would try to raise prices when the demand for its services is plummeting.
- Are we spending $18 billion a year of taxpayer money on [NASA](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/nasas-feel-good-mission) simply to generate warm and fuzzy feelings?
- Fraud in the [Low-Income Home Energy Assistance program](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/liheap-fraud) illustrates the problem with governments being charitable with other people’s money.
- Paul Krugman is dismissing concerns that the Obama administration’s fiscal and regulatory policies are fostering uncertainty in the business community, and thus inhibiting job growth and an economic recovery. [We beg to differ](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/paul-krugman-and-regime-uncertainty).

##### Related Tags 

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

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