October 29, 2010 4:13PM 

# 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:

- It’s another day and another cost overrun in the federal government. This time it’s the [Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Sentinel project](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/cost-overruns-fbi%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98sentinel%E2%80%99).
- Postmaster General John Potter has announced that he is stepping down. Will he embrace [privatizing the U.S. Postal Service](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/postmaster-general-stepping-down) like his predecessor?
- [Vice President Joe Biden](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/it-aint-so-joe), an individual who has spent his entire career in government, possesses a child-like devotion to the federal government’s capabilities.
- The [House Republican leadership](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/gop-cut-whaling-history-subsidies-save-nation) warns that America is at a “critical crossroads” — and then offers to cut relatively minuscule whaling history subsidies.
- The federal government channels Monty Python: “[Bring out your dead — and we’ll pay them!](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/halloween-uncle-sam-style)”

##### Related Tags 

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

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