November 12, 2010 12:59PM 

# 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 *Washington Post* argues that both tax hikes and spending cuts will be needed to fix the government’s budget problem, but the *Post’s conclusion is based on faulty one-sided accounting, [only considering the recipients of government largesse](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/wapos-fiscal-truths).
- Federal hiring of the best and brightest [imposes an “opportunity cost” on the economy](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/overpaid-feds-some-market-evidence) by drawing talented people away from higher-valued activities in the private sector.
- Republicans were elected, in part, to help put the private sector back in the economic driver’s seat. To do so, [Republicans need to be much more ambitious](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/cutting-spending-2008-levels) than trimming just $100 billion off of the president’s three-year $853 billion spending increase.
- The [confused U.S. Department of Agriculture](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/government-cheese) spends taxpayer money subsidizing fatty foods while at the same time setting nutritional guidelines with the purported aim of getting Americans to eat healthier.
- Downsizing the [Department of Defense](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/downsizing-department-defense) is up.
- [The good and the bad](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/obamas-fiscal-commission) in the draft report released by the co-chairs of President Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

##### Related Tags 

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

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