Cato Event Podcast

On March 15, the statutory debt ceiling kicks in again — after a year of unlimited federal borrowing that has brought our national debt to the edge of $20 trillion. Of course, nobody is betting on the debt ceiling being maintained, which creates a huge problem for advocates of limited government. What in practical politics can hold back the growth of the federal government when unlimited borrowing capacity creates the illusion of limitless, cost-free resources? The participants on this panel will attempt to answer that question with a variety of solutions, ranging from leveraging trends in existing Supreme Court precedent to restoring the moral and social underpinnings of a free society to amending the U.S. Constitution using the Compact for a Balanced Budget. Please join us for a discussion on how to limit Leviathan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can you imagine being denied a bank account just because some bureaucrat disapproves of your job? It could happen to you!Launched in early 2013, "Operation Choke Point" is a joint effort by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the bank regulators to limit access to the bank payments system by various businesses. Initially targeted at small-dollar nonbank lenders, Choke Point has grown to cover a variety of legitimate businesses that just happen to be unpopular with DOJ.Since, in today’s economy, almost any economic activity depends on access to the payments system, allowing the DOJ to arbitrarily limit access represents an almost unprecedented abuse of power. Many targeted businesses and individuals are turning to cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and dogecoin in order to survive without access to the traditional banking system.What can be done about Operation Choke Point, who is being targeted, and what implications does this hold for the future of cryptocurrencies?This panel will be occurring at the annual South by Southwest - Interactive conference in Austin, Texas. You will need to be a registered participant of the conference to attend. However, all Cato supporters are invited to follow along on Twitter using #CatoCrypto. We will also be posting a video on the Cato website after the conference is over. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During the Cold War, annual Pentagon spending averaged about $458 billion in today’s prices; over the next decade, its projected budget will average over half a trillion dollars per year. Yet, while our spending is consistent with Cold War levels, that money pays for fewer troops; supports less base capacity; and buys fewer ships, aircraft, and tanks. In short, we are getting less bang for our buck. And the situation is only getting worse as personnel costs continue to demand an ever-increasing share of the Pentagon’s budget.There is broad agreement that reforms are needed. But what reforms? And are they possible? Our panel of experts will seek to answer these questions, highlighting the changes they believe are necessary to cure the Pentagon’s spending ills, and debating whether such reforms are politically viable. Please join us for this important discussion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Please join us for an informative and entertaining policy luncheon and discussion with Alex Nowrasteh, Brink Lindsey, and Richard Rahn. This luncheon will feature presentations by Cato scholars Alex Nowrasteh, author of many studies on immigration policy, and Brink Lindsey, author of Human Capitalism: How Economic Growth Has Made Us Smarter — and More Unequal and The Age of Abundance: How Prosperity Transformed America's Politics and Culture.The economic benefits of immigration reform are large, but increased enforcement mechanisms like E-Verify or a national identity card could erase most of those gains. Nowrasteh will explain how to maximize the benefits and minimize the costs of immigration reform and how to wall off the welfare state, especially in light of President Obama's recent executive actions.It's been almost six years since the official end of the Great Recession, but U.S. economic growth has remained stubbornly sluggish. Fears are mounting that growth rates well below the long-term historical average may now be the "new normal." Cato scholar Brink Lindsey argues that those fears are well-founded: absent major policy change, U.S. economic performance will likely remain disappointing for some time to come. Throughout the 20th century, rising labor force participation for women and rising skill levels for all workers helped to propel growth, but now those demographic trends have shifted with negative implications for growth. To revive long-term growth prospects, sweeping policy reforms are needed to spur American innovation and dynamism. Lindsey will outline a pro-growth policy agenda and assess the political prospects for positive change. 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.Registration and Reception 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.Policy Forum and LuncheonWelcoming RemarksRodolfo MilaniCan We Ever Reform Immigration?Alex Nowrasteh, Immigration Policy Analyst, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato InstituteReversing the Growth SlowdownBrink Lindsey, Vice President for Research, Cato Institutemoderated byRichard RahnSenior Fellow, Cato Institute  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recent Russian aggression in Ukraine has raised the profile of NATO, giving the organization a sense of purpose not seen since the end of the Cold War. Yet NATO has changed substantially since 1991, growing to include member states in Eastern Europe. NATO’s mission has also evolved, from collective defense to broader military cooperation, and from European security to a more global approach, including recent involvement in Afghanistan and the Libyan civil war. NATO itself has become a political entity, with NATO enlargement an ongoing point of contention between Russia and the West.Is NATO best positioned to address transatlantic security concerns? Should the organization be reformed? Or is it time to create a new framework for European security concerns? What should be the U.S. role in this process? Join our panel for an open discussion of these and other questions, as they debate the future of the transatlantic security framework from various points of view. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Russ Roberts as he interviews George Mason University economics professor Lawrence H. White about Renewing the Search for a Monetary Constitution — a new Cato book White has coedited with Victor J. Vanberg and Ekkehard Köhler.Despite their substantial independence and discretionary powers, central banks have generally failed to achieve their goals of maintaining either low and stable inflation or tolerably low unemployment. Many blame monetary discretion for this failure, noting that such discretion tempts central bankers to engage in monetary "fine tuning" that ends up fueling booms and busts, leaving declared objectives to fall by the wayside. Should monetary authorities be reined in by a constitution? If so, how might this be done successfully? The essays in Renewing the Search for a Monetary Constitution, by Lawrence White and others, address these and other crucial questions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Contrary to myth, Obamacare’s opponents have many alternatives to the health care law that is once again before the Supreme Court. The Washington Examiner’s Philip Klein, a leading conservative health care writer, takes us inside the debate on the right over how to overhaul the health care system along free-market lines in the wake of a ruling in King v. Burwell, and possibly in the wake of Obamacare.Drawing on eight years of experience reporting on the issue, and dozens of interviews with prominent health policy experts, Klein lays out a free-market vision for health care and presents three competing approaches to getting there: reform, replace, and restart. Join us to hear from Klein, as well as from leading proponents of each school of thought. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The American Founders planned for a republic and feared its corruption. Jay Cost thinks their fears are coming true. His new book reveals that big government has promoted corruption that favors the privileged over the many, corruption that is both legal and too often accepted.Cost argues that politicians today have professionalized the pathways of corruption so thoroughly that they can more easily defy detection, and, barring that, retain plausible deniability. From the 18th century to today, Cost traces the history of how America ceased being a republic and became a special-interest democracy.Will the 2016 elections bring change? Cost’s sweeping history of American political corruption does not spare the age of Obama. He demonstrates that a president who promised to change the system became a willing participant, as did both parties in the U.S. Congress — at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars to taxpayers.Please join us for a disturbing portrait of a nation fostering and fighting political decline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The rise of ridesharing in the U.S. and abroad has been accompanied by complaints and concerns related to the regulation of rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft. Reports of rideshare drivers assaulting passengers as well as worries about insurance coverage and vehicle inspections have all prompted discussion about the safety of ridesharing. In addition, market incumbents have complained that rideshare companies are unfairly flouting existing regulation. Please join us for a discussion on ridesharing and what regulatory framework should govern this new and controversial industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Colleges often seem hostile to, or at least uninterested in, Western civilization, free markets, and other “conservative” or “libertarian” subjects. This has left a void that is increasingly being filled by privately funded academic centers founded in or near colleges and universities. But how objective are such centers? Do their donors call all the shots? Can they significantly widen inquiry in academia? Please join Cato and the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy for an in-depth discussion of this growing phenomenon.Download “Renewal in the University: How Academic Centers Restore the Spirit of Inquiry,” by the Pope Center’s Jay Schalin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.