April 1, 2011 5:34PM # This Week in Government Failure By [Tad DeHaven](https://www.cato.org/people/tad-dehaven) --- SHARE Over at [Downsizing the Federal Government](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/), we focused on the following issues this week: - Michael Tanner’s new paper is a sobering reminder that it’s the [major entitlement programs](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/entitlements-and-federal-budget) that are pushing us toward the cliff’s edge. - This week the House Republican leadership finally put the Pentagon on the chopping block. However, the [cuts suggested by the GOP are pathetic](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/a-new-low-gops-youcut). - The federal government engages in a lot of activities that are difficult to defend. But when it comes to [sugar](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/lugar-targets-federal-sugar-racket), the government’s protections are clearly indefensible. - We’re still looking for a convincing argument as to why [farmers](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/are-farm-subsidies-progressive) deserve taxpayer- and consumer-funded special treatment compared with other businesses. - Record spending levels…trillion dollar plus deficits…mountainous debt…a weak economy…[what, Congress worry?](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/2011-budget-battle-perspective) - Uncle Sam sticks it to the [Easter Bunny](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/easter-bunnys-burden). Follow Downsizing the Federal Government on Twitter ([@DownsizeTheFeds](http://twitter.com/DownsizeTheFeds)) and connect with us [on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/pages/Downsizing-the-Federal-Government/26635669039). ##### 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/).