STUPID SUBSIDIES: Senator Tom Coburn says he wants to clean out government spending. His annual "Wastebook" of stupid subsidies includes $150,000 for a puppet show on Long Island, and $1 million to study the influence of romance through novels and film. Coburn retires from the senate this year but he tells me someone will continue his work after he leaves. CORPORATE WELFARE: Mattie Duppler of Americans for Tax Reform talks about why stupid subsidies like the puppet show are minor compared to ripoffs like corporate welfare. She likens recipients of government handouts to "ticks that suck the populace's blood." FARM SUBSIDIES: Farmers receive $19 billion in farm subsidies each year. Blake Hurst of the Missouri Farm Bureau explains why he deserves your hard-earned money. He says these special breaks on crop insurance help "provide a safety net under a very risky industry." I try not to scream while telling him why he's wrong. EDUCATION: Neal McCluskey of the CATO Institute says spending on education continues to skyrocket while achievement is "like Death Valley. It's totally flat on a chart." REGULATION NATION: Jeff Rowes of the Institute for Justice lists some government regulations that suppress innovation, like the pill-camera that could substitute for colonoscopies. WAR ON DRUGS: I again try not to scream while debating former Congressman Patrick Kennedy, who argues that we shouldn't end the disastrous Drug War. MY TAKE: Big government destroys jobs, our self-respect, and our future. When government is big, we the people become smaller. When we're trapped in the web of their rules, we don't innovate; we become more passive and dependent. Now that spring is sprung, let's clean out government!