Cato Event Podcast

The current era of globalization is only a partial return to a liberal economic order. Renowned development economist Deepak Lal will explain why minimal government intervention, free trade, free capital flows, and the abolition of international organizations such as the World Bank offer the best path for growth and healthy international relations. In his view, attempts to ameliorate the impact of the market threaten global economic progress and stability. Ethan Kapstein believes that countries will shape their own destinies only in an international system that emphasizes the central role of states and the diverse social contracts they represent. Can these two views be reconciled? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the Senate prepares to debate the Federal Marriage Amendment many scholars are looking at evidence from Scandinavia, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Some observers have argued that experience in those countries shows that legal recognition of same-sex unions leads to a decline in traditional marriage and marital child rearing. A new book challenges that analysis. William N. Eskridge Jr. and Darren R. Spedale find that the argument often advanced is inconsistent with the Scandinavian evidence. In no way, they write, has marriage in the Nordic countries suffered from legalization of same-sex unions. A close look at the data suggests that the sanctioning of gay marriage in the United States would neither undermine marriage as an institution nor harm the well-being of children. Maggie Gallagher argues that the move toward gay marriage in Europe is part of a larger marriage crisis, including a powerful trend away from marriage as a social norm for childbearing and child rearing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tuesday, May 30The Basic Economics of Health Care and Insurance MarketsFeaturingPeter Van Doren, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute, Former professor of public policy at Princeton, Yale, and UNC–Chapel HillPublic debate about health care is often very ill informed about what insurance markets can and cannot do and what effects health care expenditures actually have on morbidity and mortality. This session will explain to Hill staff basic facts and concepts essential to the understanding of insurance and health care markets as well as the political struggles that accompany them. Wednesday, May 31How Not to Reform Health CareFeaturing Michael Tanner, Director, Health and Welfare Studies, Cato InstituteIn reforming health care, policymakers should follow the principle "First, Do No Harm." There are many proposals for health care reform that will do more harm than good. This session will look at some of them: a single-payer system, employer and individual mandates, insurance regulation, and managed competition.Thursday, June 1Liberalizing the Private Health Care SectorFeaturing Michael F. Cannon, Director, Health Policy Studies, Cato InstituteHealth insurance grows increasingly expensive, and the number of uninsured continues to rise. Is there relief? This session will focus on the problems faced in the private health care sector, how public policy contributes to those problems, and how free-market reforms can make medical care and health insurance more affordable and more valuable. Friday, June 2Reforming Government Health Insurance ProgramsFeaturing Michael F. Cannon, Director, Health Policy Studies, Cato InstituteToday's struggles with Medicare Part D will look like a walk in the park once Congress begins to grapple with large numbers of baby boomers entering the Medicare program. The federal-state Medicaid program poses similar problems. This presentation will introduce Hill staff to those programs and suggest market-based reforms that would save taxpayer dollars and improve the quality of care.Cato Institute luncheon seminars on the Hill are free of charge. Registration for each seminar closes 24 hours in advance. Please arrive early. Seating is limited and not guaranteed. News media inquiries only (no registrations), please call (202) 789-5200.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In April Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney signed into law one of the most ambitious health care reform proposals in recent history. The legislation mandates that all Massachusetts residents purchase health insurance, provides subsidies for low- and middle-income families, and sets up a new purchasing mechanism to reform the health insurance marketplace. Some observers hail this law as a major step toward achieving universal coverage. Others worry that it is a first step on the slippery slope to national health care. Four experts will examine the benefits and flaws of the Massachusetts plan and whether other states or the nation should follow its example. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deluged by indecency complaints since Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction," Congress continues to look for ways to respond that may or may not be constitutional, even as the FCC imposes multi-million-dollar fines on TV networks. But those measures may soon be eclipsed by a new campaign underwritten by TV stations, cable systems, DBS, movie studios, TV programmers, and the Consumer Electronics Association to inform parents about a recently developed, simplified program that will enable parents to control all TV programming coming into their homes. Please join us for a discussion of this nongovernmental effort to address the issue, with comments from the FCC. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Ben Bernanke settles into his new role as chairman of the Federal Reserve, now is an opportune time for him to reassess certain aspects of the central bank's activities and practices. The Shadow Open Market Committee will discuss some of the dimensions of the challenges facing the Fed. How much further should the Fed tighten monetary policy? As the Fed considers inflation targeting, what would be an appropriate measure of inflation to target? To improve transparency, the Fed needs to provide a more open discussion of what it considers the most important drivers of inflation and why. In addition, the Fed might consider ways of conducting policy based on alternative sets of rules or guidelines. The SOMC will also review the appropriate role of the Fed in select nonmonetary activities that the Fed has taken on over the years. Do they contribute to the Fed's performance of its monetary policy responsibility, or are they time-consuming distractions? Examples include setting margin requirements for equity purchases, supervising consumer finance, regulating banks, and intervening in the foreign exchange markets. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since it was revealed recently by the New York Times, the administration's previously secret NSA surveillance program has brought to the fore a number of novel and complex legal questions. Does the executive branch have inherent authority to conduct the program? What is Congress's authority to set limits on the executive branch? What role should the courts play? Those and other questions have led to different conclusions even within the Cato Institute. Please join us for a debate between two Cato scholars on this most timely issue. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The single most important economic and sociological change in our society in the past 60 years has been the entry of women into the labor market. Our public policy institutions have not kept apace. Tax law, labor law, and a host of other institutions are still designed to favor women who remain in the home and are often unfair to married women who enter the labor market. Many changes in tax law, employee benefits, and retirement policy are needed to bring aging institutions in sync with the way people live in the 21st century. Just before Mother's Day, join us for a discussion of women living and working in a 21st-century economy with 20th-century laws and policies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Although Americans generally think of global trade only in terms of economics, the free exchange of goods and services between nations can also have important political effects. With America's attention increasingly turned toward the Middle East, the role of free trade in sparking peaceful reform must not be forgotten. To counter the threat from al-Qaeda we must fight with ideas as well as bullets.Cato senior fellow Tom G. Palmer, who has recently made three visits to Iraq, will be joined by Rep. Paul Ryan of the Congressional Middle East Economic Partnership Caucus and Zainab Al-Suwaij from the American Islamic Congress for a discussion of the importance of trade and ideas in furthering the twin goals of economic freedom and geopolitical stability. At the event the Cato Institute will unveil its Arabic-language edition of the U. S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.