April 29, 2011 4:57PM # 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: - A lot of Americans are aware that their tax dollars subsidize cotton farmers. However, it’s unlikely that many Americans are aware that their [tax dollars are now supporting cotton farmers *in Brazil*](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/us-farm-subsidiesfor-brazil). - Chris Edwards released an updated version of his [Plan to Cut Spending and Balance the Federal Budget](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/updated-cato-budget-plan). No sacred cows are spared. Defense, domestic, and so-called entitlement programs are all cut. - The good news in a new Deloitte survey of members of the U.S. business community is that optimism is on the rise. The bad news is that the [heavy hand of government](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/deloitte-survey-concerns-about-government) is still a dark cloud hovering over the recovery. - In her budgets, in her speeches, and in her strategic plans, [Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/good-jobs-everyone) says that her “vision” for federal action is “Good Jobs for Everyone!” - Some good news for once: President Obama’s dream of connecting 80 percent of Americans to a [high-speed rail line](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/dodging-high-speed-bullet-train) appears to be dead. 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/).