August 5, 2011 12:58PM 

# This Week in Government Failure 

By [Tad DeHaven](https://www.cato.org/people/tad-dehaven) 

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Over at [Downsizing the Federal Government](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/), we focused on the following issues this past week:

- Republicans and Democrats have come together on a “historic” budget deal that cuts federal spending by more than $2 trillion over 10 years. However, the [budget deal doesn’t cut federal spending at all](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/budget-deal-doesnt-cut-spending).
- Even if Congress holds to the debt deal’s spending caps — and even if the “deficit reduction” targets established in the bill are achieved — the federal [government’s spending binge will continue](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/debt-deal-spending-perspective).
- [Debt deal to slow the economy?](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/debt-deal-slow-economy) Nonsense: biggest stimulus, slowest recovery. Keynesianism isn’t working.
- Centrist and liberal columnists are lamenting the lack of tax increases in the debt deal. But the hollowness of the deal itself provides a good justification for Republicans to [oppose all tax increases in such bipartisan deals](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/budget-deals-and-tax-increases).
- The [FAA’s problems](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/solve-faa-problem-privatization) should be solved by privatization.
- What does the debt deal mean for [military spending](http://http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/fights-over-military-spending-next)?

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##### Related Tags 

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

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