Over at Downsizing Government, we focused on the following issues this week:

• If federal policymakers won’t reverse course on high-speed rail, let’s hope state policymakers step up to squelch this budding boondoggle before it’s too late.
• Joe Biden demonstrates the arrogance of the political class, which at its core believes that free individuals are incapable of making the “right” decision without the guiding hand of the state.
• Short-term measures implemented by policymakers to “fix” the economy have also introduced unwelcome economic distortions.
• The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service was “captured” by the industry it regulated. Not the first example of regulatory capture; won’t be the last.
• Alaska’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership shows that economic development agencies are better at “press release economics” than promoting policies that will result in real economic growth.