Cato Event Podcast

The rise of the West can be understood only as a result of an ideological change that occurred in England in the 17th century and of the emergence of a “bourgeois deal” through which entrepreneurs were let free to engage in innovation and creative destruction, so argues Deirdre McCloskey in her forthcoming book, The Treasured Bourgeoisie: How Markets and Innovation Became Ethical, 1600-1848, and Then Suspect. Please join us for a discussion that will link culture, ethics and rhetoric with entrepreneurship and economic development. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Congress needs to reauthorize the federal gas tax and decide how to spend federal surface transportation dollars in 2014. Unfortunately, argues Cato’s Randal O’Toole, too much spending in the past has gone to obsolete transportation technologies. Author Scott Beyer argues that the federal government’s role in funding infrastructure has stripped both money and decision-making power from localities, particularly major cities. Emily Goff, of the Heritage Foundation, will present ways reauthorization can embrace future technologies rather than be stuck in the past. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Social Security disability program has seen a significant increase in costs and enrollment in recent years. The Trustees project that the program will be insolvent as early as 2016. This recent growth and the program’s looming insolvency have brought it increased attention and added urgency to calls for solutions. Cato senior fellow Jagadeesh Gokhale, Social Security Administration chief actuary Stephen Goss and leading scholars David Autor from MIT and Harold Pollack from the University of Chicago will provide their insights into the problems with the program’s current structure, causes of recent program growth, and prospects for reform. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While many members of Congress claim to support free trade, Cato’s congressional trade votes database tells a different story. Rather than simply noting support or opposition to trade liberalization, Cato’s Free Trade, Free Markets methodology distinguishes between trade barriers and trade subsidies. As a result, the database allows researchers to evaluate members of Congress more precisely. In particular, voting patterns during the 112th Congress shed light on the relative importance of ideology, regionalism, and partisanship in setting trade policy. Many members who consistently support lowering barriers also consistently support expanding subsidies. So who are the real free traders in Congress? And what do the voting records of the 112th Congress tell us about the prospects for trade policy in the current term? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Purchase BookThe greatest reduction in mass poverty in human history has occurred during the current era of globalization. The world’s poor are now catching up with the rich at a rapid pace in terms of human well-being. Deepak Lal will discuss how, despite those achievements, confusion about poor countries abounds: the World Bank exaggerates the extent of poverty; the benefits of new development fads including microfinance or randomized testing of projects, are vastly oversold; and discredited theories, such as the need for massive foreign aid to save Africa, have been resurrected. Marcus Noland will draw from his experience working in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East to comment on the book and its view that increased liberalization in the developing world is decreasing the influence of the West’s advocates of dirigisme. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Halbig v. Sebelius, four individual taxpayers and three employers are challenging a seemingly obscure IRS decree. The IRS claims the authority to issue hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies to health-insurance companies, and to impose penalties on individual taxpayers and employers, in the 33 states that have refused to establish a health insurance "exchange" under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The Halbig plaintiffs assert this decree would penalize them in violation of the clear, consistent, and unambiguous language of the PPACA, as well as congressional intent. The Congressional Research Service writes that Halbig "could be a major obstacle to the implementation of the Act." Law professor Michael Greve writes, "all of ObamaCare hangs on the outcome." The lead attorney in Halbig, Michael Carvin, and three other panelists will discuss the legality of the IRS's decree and the implications for the PPACA. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1920, in Missouri v. Holland, the Supreme Court seemed to say, contrary to basic constitutional principles, that a treaty could increase the legislative power of Congress. That issue is now back before the Court in Bond v. United States, a case with deliciously lurid facts involving adultery, revenge, and the Chemical Weapons Convention. Cato has filed an amicus brief in the case, written by Nicholas Rosenkranz, based on his Harvard Law Review article on the subject. Please join us for a discussion of this fundamental constitutional question. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Purchase bookClint Bolick argues in his new book, written with Jeb Bush, that the three broad components of immigration reform—better immigration enforcement, a lawful pathway for future migrants, and the legalization of current unauthorized immigrants—must work together to produce a viable immigration policy. The 1986 Reagan amnesty failed because it was a partial reform that increased immigration enforcement but did not increase legal opportunities for lower skilled immigrants. The 2007 immigration reform bill failed to even pass the Senate for a similar reason—its guest worker visa program was eviscerated. Immigration reform must produce an easily enforceable law that allows the world’s best, brightest, and most industrious a chance to contribute to the American economy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Constitution gives the federal government no authority to govern education, and numerous laws prohibit Washington from influencing school curricula. How has the federal government gotten around these barriers? Primarily by attaching demands to federal money, which is exactly what it did to get states to adopt the supposedly “state-led" and "voluntary" Common Core curriculum standards. This unprecedented drive to national uniformity is dangerous for many reasons, not the least of which is that it puts Washington in control of what almost all schools teach. But just as the federal government has been the most powerful entity behind forced standardization, it is also the key to halting it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Purchase book"India grows at night while the government sleeps" is an Indian expression referring to the country's impressive economic rise despite the presence of a large, burdensome state. Gurcharan Das will explain how India's story of private success and public failure is not sustainable and that the country's recent growth slowdown signals the need for a strong liberal state that would ensure accountability, perform limited and well-defined functions, and base itself on the rule of law. Swami Aiyar will discuss contemporary Indian society and the prospects of Das's proposals. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.