Cato Event Podcast

Despite many predictions to the contrary, the British Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Cameron, secured a majority in the House of Commons in this month’s general election. The Liberal Democrats, who joined the Conservatives in government in 2010, and the Labour Party both suffered losses. In Scotland, nationalists took all but three of Scotland’s 59 seats.The Conservative victory raises a host of questions related to the future of freedom in the United Kingdom. Speaking the day after the election Cameron said that his government would deliver a referendum on the UK’s membership in the European Union, which will undoubtedly prompt debate on the merits of the free movement of goods and people. Cameron also said that his government will devolve powers to Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, a commitment that will spur on discussion about localism and the role of central government. Despite winning a majority, the Conservatives will have to defend their economic plan, which will be strongly opposed by left-wing parties in the House of Commons.Mark Littlewood, the director-general of the London-based Institute of Economic Affairs, will join Cato scholars and Iain Murray, vice president for strategy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, for a discussion on the outcome of the election and what it means for the state of freedom in the UK. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since 2008, oil production has more than doubled and natural gas production is up about 24 percent, according to the Energy Information Agency. Advances in technology have driven this remarkable achievement. Three major techniques that have revolutionized both onshore and offshore oil and gas production are directional drilling, horizontal drilling, and hydraulic fracturing, also known as "fracking." In addition, offshore drilling in a record 10,500 feet of water — and then through thousands of feet of sediment below the seafloor — has been made possible by radical new advances in offshore platform technology tied in with global positioning software. These advances in technology have required considerable capital investment that would have been less likely in a nation constrained by a cap-and-trade or carbon-tax system. Please join us for an informed look at recent successes in energy production and their implications for public policy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The recent financial crisis led to sweeping reforms that inspired countless references to the New Deal. Comparable to the New Deal in both scope and scale, the 2,300-page Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 also shared with New Deal reforms the assumption that the cause of the crisis was misbehavior by securities market participants, exacerbated by lax regulatory oversight. With Wasting a Crisis, Paul G. Mahoney shows that this narrative is formulated by political actors hoping to deflect blame from prior policy errors. Mahoney moves beyond this received wisdom, showing that lax regulation was not a substantial cause of the Great Depression. As new regulations were formed around this narrative, not only were the majority largely ineffective, they were also often counterproductive, consolidating market share in the hands of leading financial firms. An overview of 21st-century securities reforms from the same analytic perspective, including Dodd-Frank and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, shows a similar pattern and suggests that they too may offer little benefit to investors and some measurable harm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Debates over economic interdependence and war are centuries old. Liberals have argued that interdependence creates interests on both sides of dyads that help prevent war. Realists have argued that the “high politics” of war and peace are rarely driven by the “low politics” of commerce. Dale Copeland’s new book offers a more supple, less categorical judgment. According to Copeland, leaders’ expectations of the future trade environment determine how economic interdependence influences the prospects of war and peace. Please join us for a discussion with other leading scholars on the subject—one that carries heavy implications for the future of U.S.-China relations, in particular. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2005, Congress gave states three years to begin issuing driver’s licenses according to national identification card standards. The REAL ID Act sought to coerce states into using machine-readable technology with federally defined data elements in their cards, capturing digital images of identity-source documents, and providing other states electronic access to information contained in their motor vehicle databases. Confronted by this unfunded domestic surveillance mandate, state leaders across the country instigated the “REAL ID Rebellion” in 2006.The Department of Homeland Security has never made good on the REAL ID law’s threat that Transportation Security Administration agents would refuse airport access to travelers from recalcitrant states. But the threat remains, and many states are inching toward putting their residents into the national ID system.Please join us for a discussion of the prospects for the U.S. national ID law 10 years along, and its incursion on the common law treatment of names. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For decades, libertarians have expressed pointed and principled opposition to U.S. interventionism, offering alternatives that have been largely ignored by policymakers in Washington. The promises of stability and peace from both Democratic and Republican administrations have yet to be fulfilled, and the costs of foreign wars in blood, treasure, and prestige have taken their toll. The American public is both tired and wary of intervention. Has the time finally come for a libertarian foreign policy? What would it look like? What would it mean for American security and America’s place among nations? Join us for a discussion of these topics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“South Africa is sliding downhill while much of the rest of the continent is clawing its way up,” so wrote The Economist in 2013. For over two decades, South Africa has basked in the glow of a peaceful transition from apartheid to majority rule, but the country’s endemic corruption, high crime rate, and failing public services can no longer be ignored. Some even wonder if the misrule by the African National Congress could turn South Africa into a Zimbabwe-like failed state. Frans Cronje and Vukasin Petrovic will discuss the likely future of political and economic developments in South Africa.“Outlook 2015: South Africa and the World,” PowerPoint Presentation by Frans Cronje Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a 2013 address to the United Nations General Assembly, President Barack Obama announced that the United States would continue to safeguard the “free flow of energy... to the world,” even as the shale revolution ushers in an unprecedented increase in oil and natural gas production here at home. New oil and gas production technologies, such as hydraulic fracturing, horizontal drilling, and deepwater drilling, have already begun to redraw the map of energy production. Because oil is traded in a global market, increased domestic production does not insulate the U.S. from supply shocks and price volatility. But even if the move toward “energy independence” makes little difference to U.S. national security, changes in the geography of energy production could still have an important impact.A major new study investigates how changing trade flows and energy revenues affect U.S. national security via two potential mechanisms: shifts in U.S. bilateral relationships with oil-exporting countries and disruptions in regional security. Join us as the lead researcher, Eugene Gholz, presents the findings, followed by comments and discussion among experts in the field. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Disclaimer: Please note that Erica Borghard’s comments are her own personal views, and do not represent the official positions of the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Army, or the Department of Defense.The rise of ISIS and the spread of the Syrian civil war to Iraq have led to renewed discussions of U.S. intervention. Though Washington is regularly bombing ISIS targets, there is little in the way of viable on-the-ground support, and a much-vaunted U.S. training campaign for moderates has had difficulty finding acceptable trainees. Many of America’s allies are complicit in funding extremist groups within Syria, even if they oppose ISIS itself, while the White House continues to equivocate on whether it will negotiate with the Assad regime. America’s goals in Syria are unclear, and there is a broad consensus that the current U.S. approach — loosely defined as ‘degrading and destroying’ ISIS — is murky at best.What is the United States trying to accomplish in Syria? Are its goals achievable with current strategies? Join our panelists as they discuss how we reached this point, and the extent to which the U.S. should or should not be involved in the ongoing conflict. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Although cannabis (otherwise known as marijuana) is still classified as a Schedule I drug in the United States—meaning that it is illegal to possess, use, buy, sell, or cultivate under federal law—state laws in 23 states (plus the District of Columbia) allow for its medical use, and four states (plus the District of Columbia) allow for its recreational use. The trend towards legalization is likely to continue with polls routinely showing majority support for legalization from the American public. Despite a fair amount of legal confusion created by the conflicting patchwork of laws across the country (and even within the same municipalities), entrepreneurs are pouring into the industry, starting new stores, cafes, testing labs, consulting firms, and a myriad of other businesses spurred by the booming cannabis economy.Join the Cato Institute for panel discussion of the ways in which the newly (and increasingly) legal cannabis industry is harnessing the power of technology, as well as the legal barriers that still stand in their way.After the panel, mingle with speakers and guests—and enjoy drinks and appetizers—in Cato’s gorgeous roof garden overlooking downtown Washington, D.C.#CatoDigital is a regular event series at the Cato Institute highlighting the intersection of tech, social media, and the ideas of liberty.This event will be live-streamed at www.cato.org/live and questions may be submitted via Twitter using #CatoDigital. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.