Cato Event Podcast

May is National Small Business Month. Small businesses and startups play an important part in the technology sector, and many proposed policy changes could be particularly impactful on them. While often antitrust is thought of as a “big business” issue, the reality is that changes to competition policy, such as restrictions on mergers and acquisitions, affect businesses of all sizes.Many proponents of antitrust policy changes assert that these changes are necessary to protect small businesses particularly in the technology sector. Some assert that there is currently a “kill zone” where successful startups are gobbled up by today’s tech giants before they can become rivals, while others say these transactions occur in a healthy market for a variety of reasons that often benefit small companies and consumers as well as larger companies. Do the data support the idea of a “kill zone”? How might antitrust changes impact the evolution of small businesses and the choices they have in their journey? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In January 2021, Mississippi replaced its state flag, the culmination of a process that saw years of debate, protest, and fervid disagreement. Join us on May 16 for an event cohosted by the Cato Institute, Sphere Education Initiatives, and the Moral Courage Project. We’ll explore the political and social environment surrounding the flag debate and examine the skills of productive disagreement through the story of Genesis and Louis, two young people who came together to understand and learn from each other in these polarizing times.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we approach the 90th anniversary of the US Social Security program in 2025, and as the program’s trust fund is projected to be depleted by 2033, we find ourselves at a critical juncture. Social Security reform is essential to preserving the program’s ability to provide critical economic security to vulnerable seniors by averting indiscriminate benefit cuts, which are scheduled to occur by law when the trust fund goes to zero. Sensible reforms will ensure the program can meet this pivotal role without imposing undue debt burdens or excessive taxes on younger generations. There are further opportunities to modernize Social Security to enhance individual liberty and reduce disincentives to work and saving that undermine US economic growth.This symposium will foster insightful discussions on the various dimensions of Social Security reform. By bringing together a diverse group of US and international experts, we will explore shared challenges and identify global lessons to inform US reform options. The insights and lessons from our conversations will equip US legislators with informed perspectives, innovative solutions, and evidence‐​based strategies to reforming Social Security over the next decade. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we approach the 90th anniversary of the US Social Security program in 2025, and as the program’s trust fund is projected to be depleted by 2033, we find ourselves at a critical juncture. Social Security reform is essential to preserving the program’s ability to provide critical economic security to vulnerable seniors by averting indiscriminate benefit cuts, which are scheduled to occur by law when the trust fund goes to zero. Sensible reforms will ensure the program can meet this pivotal role without imposing undue debt burdens or excessive taxes on younger generations. There are further opportunities to modernize Social Security to enhance individual liberty and reduce disincentives to work and saving that undermine US economic growth.This symposium will foster insightful discussions on the various dimensions of Social Security reform. By bringing together a diverse group of US and international experts, we will explore shared challenges and identify global lessons to inform US reform options. The insights and lessons from our conversations will equip US legislators with informed perspectives, innovative solutions, and evidence‐​based strategies to reforming Social Security over the next decade. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we approach the 90th anniversary of the US Social Security program in 2025, and as the program’s trust fund is projected to be depleted by 2033, we find ourselves at a critical juncture. Social Security reform is essential to preserving the program’s ability to provide critical economic security to vulnerable seniors by averting indiscriminate benefit cuts, which are scheduled to occur by law when the trust fund goes to zero. Sensible reforms will ensure the program can meet this pivotal role without imposing undue debt burdens or excessive taxes on younger generations. There are further opportunities to modernize Social Security to enhance individual liberty and reduce disincentives to work and saving that undermine US economic growth. This symposium will foster insightful discussions on the various dimensions of Social Security reform. By bringing together a diverse group of US and international experts, we will explore shared challenges and identify global lessons to inform US reform options. The insights and lessons from our conversations will equip US legislators with informed perspectives, innovative solutions, and evidence‐​based strategies to reforming Social Security over the next decade Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we approach the 90th anniversary of the US Social Security program in 2025, and as the program’s trust fund is projected to be depleted by 2033, we find ourselves at a critical juncture. Social Security reform is essential to preserving the program’s ability to provide critical economic security to vulnerable seniors by averting indiscriminate benefit cuts, which are scheduled to occur by law when the trust fund goes to zero. Sensible reforms will ensure the program can meet this pivotal role without imposing undue debt burdens or excessive taxes on younger generations. There are further opportunities to modernize Social Security to enhance individual liberty and reduce disincentives to work and saving that undermine US economic growth.This symposium will foster insightful discussions on the various dimensions of Social Security reform. By bringing together a diverse group of US and international experts, we will explore shared challenges and identify global lessons to inform US reform options. The insights and lessons from our conversations will equip US legislators with informed perspectives, innovative solutions, and evidence‐​based strategies to reforming Social Security over the next decade Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Globalization has come under fire over the past two decades as the world has lived through an international financial crisis, terrorist attacks, a pandemic, and the return of war in Europe. Johan will discuss why, despite such turmoil, the free market has still made the past 20 years the best time in human history by almost any measure of well‐​being Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cato Institute President and CEO Peter Goettler will share the opportunities we see to bring liberty to new audiences, and Allan Carey will join Peter to discuss the importance of restoring viewpoint diversity with educators nationwide through Sphere Education Initiatives Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In October 2022, the White House released its 2022 Nuclear Posture Review, laying out the Biden administration’s nuclear strategy. Perhaps the most controversial policy change in the report was the cancellation of the sea‐​launched nuclear cruise missile (SLCM‑N), which was introduced in the 2018 review. Less than two years after the cancellation, Congress reversed the program’s course once again by establishing the SLCM‑N as a program of record through the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.Supporters argue that growing nuclear threats make the SLCM‑N more important now than ever. Opponents point to the opportunity costs of adding yet another weapon system to an already stressed nuclear modernization plan. What should be the future of this highly contested program?Please join the Cato Institute as we explore the benefits and opportunity costs of adding the SLCM‑N to the US nuclear arsenal. Cato’s Eric Gomez and the Atlantic Council’s Robert Soofer will examine the potential role of the SLCM‑N in the US nuclear arsenal, provide an overview of the cases for and against it, and allow participants an opportunity to engage in the discussion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why are housing prices in America so high? “Supply and demand” is true but misleading, because draconian regulation drastically constricts housing supply. In this exciting new nonfiction graphic novel, economist Bryan Caplan makes the economic and philosophical case for radical deregulation of the housing industry. Deregulation turns out to be a bona fide panacea: a large rise in housing supply would raise living standards, reduce inequality, increase social mobility, promote economic growth, reduce homelessness, increase birth rates, help the environment, and more. Combining stunning visuals and careful interdisciplinary research, Build, Baby, Build takes readers to a world where people are free to build―and shows us how to get there. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.