February 18, 2011 2:36PM # This Week in Government Failure By [Tad DeHaven](https://www.cato.org/people/tad-dehaven) --- SHARE Over at [Downsizing Government](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/), we focused on the following issues this week: - Despite the record $1.6 trillion deficit this year, and the consensus that exploding spending and debt is pushing the nation toward catastrophe, the [Obama administration completely chickened-out](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/federal-budget-obama-chickens-out) on spending reforms in its new budget. - The George W. Bush administration ushered in a new era of big government. The Obama administration has built on Bush’s profligacy, and the [president’s new fiscal 2012 budget proposal](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/new-era-big-government) would further cement the trend. - Obama’s new budget proposes slightly [*more* discretionary and entitlement spending](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/obama-shellacking-and-federal-budget) for next year than did his last budget! - Like countless other individuals and interest groups, [state and local government officials](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/the-state-state-subsidies) have become addicted to federal taxpayer money. This addiction has encouraged irresponsibility and profligacy at all levels of government. - It’s important to explore the [costly failures of big spending programs such as the stimulus](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/stimulus-spending-testimony) because the next time the economy goes into a downcycle the Keynesians, sadly, will be back on Capitol Hill pushing their expensive solutions and further bankrupting the nation. ##### Related Tags [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).