Cato Podcast

Being a parent is hard enough. Labor laws, child safety policies, tax and trade policy, and health policies each add impediments to the decision to have more children. A new Cato paper digs into policy reforms. Coauthor Vanessa Brown Calder comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does a shakeup in the highest levels of China's People's Liberation Army Rocket Force mean for U.S. commitments to Taiwan? Cato's Eric Gomez offers his analysis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Argentina has long had big problems with inflation, so why is dollarization such a hard sell there? Cato's Daniel Raisbeck explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The United States has recently sold weapons to well over 100 countries, many of which have terrible human rights records. Cato's new Arms Sales Risk Index aims to help Congress understand the risks associated with many of those sales. Cato's Jordan Cohen comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Now that the Supreme Court has tossed his original plan, President Biden plans different routes to forgives billions in student debt. Cato's Neal McCluskey discusses the plans. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A week before his trial on charges that his company facilitated prostitution, Backpage founder James Larkin took his own life. Elizabeth Nolan Brown of Reason discusses what's led up to the trial and how prosecutors attempted to stymie the defendants. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another credit rating agency has reduced its confidence in U.S. debt. Cato's Romina Boccia explains why it should spur greater interest in a fiscal commission that would stabilize the debt and protect politicians from some of the electoral fallout. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In The Individualists: Radicals, Reactionaries, and the Struggle for the Soul of Libertarianism, authors Matt Zwolinski and John Tomasi dissect the wide range of libertarian thought through history. Coauthor Matt Zwolinski discusses the book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cryptocurrency has some powerful enemies, including several members of Congress who appear bent on regulating the products into oblivion. Cato's Nick Anthony explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Green Card Game shows just how time consuming, expensive, and complicated it can be to achieve legal status in the United States. Cato's David Bier and Alex Nowrasteh created the game. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The rumblings about adding Ukraine in yet another expansion of NATO raises many important questions, most especially about NATO's purpose. Justin Logan explains why NATO membership should not be in the future for Ukraine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The tax code penalizes workers who want to control their earnings and their health insurance. Michael Cannon explains why the income tax is the original sin of U.S. health policy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Dissident Project’s speakers travel to high schools to speak to students about authoritarianism, drawing on their own experience living under autocratic rule in their home countries. Grace Bydalek and Frances Hui discuss The Dissident Project’s work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Beito is author of The New Deal’s War on the Bill of Rights: The Untold Story of FDR’s Concentration Camps, Censorship, and Mass Surveillance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Atlanta's Cop City represents an expansion of police training to include more potential "urban combat" scenarios. At least one Cop City protestor has been killed with little explanation by authorities. Patrick Eddington discusses what he's found. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What makes for good rules? Good rules are often "discovered," according to Cato's Deirdre McCloskey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Accredited investors are supposed to be sophisticated, but the designation is rooted in the size of your portfolio and not your expertise. Jennifer Schulp discusses current attempts at reform. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The only way to treat all equally, while advancing genuine tolerance, is the good old American value of limited government. Mustafa Alkyl and Neal McCluskey explain what this ought to mean for education. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Bank Secrecy Act requires your financial institutions to snitch on you every time you engage in certain kinds of financial transactions. What's the benefit in terms of reducing crime? Nick Anthony says it's hard to tell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supreme Court shot down an extreme version of a relatively new theory of state legislative independence in the context of elections. Walter Olson explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Buc-ee's has garnered a reputation as an oasis for the weary traveler, but should taxpayers have to support it financially? Cato's Marc Joffe and John Mozena of the Center for Economic Accountability comment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The state and local tax deduction has been curtailed, but many Congressional Democrats wish it would come back in full force. Cato's Adam Michel comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supreme Court will take up the case of a one-time tax hike for a highly selective group of Americans on some of their unrealized income. Tommy Berry explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do states hold counties and cities accountable for their financial management? Marc Joffe details a tightening of some accounting requirements in North Carolina. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Europe's data privacy rules make regulating artificial intelligence an easier step to take. How will those rules affect the deployment and investment in this new technology elsewhere? Jennifer Huddleston comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supreme Court’ 303 Creative v. Elenis decision correctly applies First Amendment law to vindicate one of the most important dimensions of human liberty: the right not to speak. Walter Olson explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supreme Court rejected President Biden’s ambitious plan to give away hundreds of billions of dollars on behalf of student debtors. The President claimed his legal authority to do so came from 2003’s Heroes Act. Biden has pledged to try again. Tommy Berry evaluates the case. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Counterman v. Colorado, the Supreme Court clarified what should be treated as a "true threat" going forward. Jay Schweikert discusses the court's opinion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supreme Court has effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions. Cato's Anastasia Boden comments on the cases. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supreme Court upheld the federal criminal prohibition on encouraging or inducing violations of immigration law, and how they did so is notable and disappointing. Tommy Berry comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What would India and the U.S. get out of a stronger relationship? Is that even likely? Cato's Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Congress is pretty good at avoiding accountability, opting instead for budgeting gimmicks that aim to hide the true cost of government. Romina Boccia highlights some of the ideas that could change that. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A likely bad conviction, a sloppily written law, and the Supreme Court have come together to provide a strange and troubling outcome in Jones v. Hendrix. Cato's Jay Schweikert details what happened. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Bier explains why the "just immigrate legally" crowd display a profound ignorance of how immigration does and doesn't work in the United States. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cato's Jeff Singer discusses the accelerating war on vaping and why the consequences will be as predictable as most prohibitions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jennifer Huddleston argues that currently proposed policy approaches to youth online safety are overly blunt tools that will cause more harm than good. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jack Solowey and Jennifer Schulp give a review of recent moves in Congress on cryptocurrency regulation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New York City's strict rent control law also restricts the ability of landlords to exit the market. Tommy Berry details a challenge the Supreme Court may take up in the next term. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Fishback, founder of Incubate Debate, believes that the changing nature of debate as a competitive event does young people a profound disservice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Investing that targets certain environmental, social, and governance goals (ESG) has its fans and opponents, but they can't seem to settle on a common definition. That's enabled all manner of troubling policy proposals. Jennifer Schulp explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Among the pandemic, new regulations on auto production, tax credits, and microchip supply constraints, it's been a wild few years for the car market. Scott Lincicome discusses what normal might look like in the near term and why government has made a stabilizing situation somewhat more volatile. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the Cato Institute Benefactor Summit held in May, Vanessa Brown Calder spoke with Alex Nowrasteh on how libertarians ought to approach issues of broad importance to families. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If it weren't for the fact that Donald Trump is a former President who is seeking that job for a third time, the dozens of federal criminal charges relating to purloined classified documents he now faces would be straightforward. Clark Neily comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Geraldine Tyler will get her thousands of dollars back from her local government thanks to a recent Supreme Court opinion ending the practice known as "home equity theft." What's that mean going forward? Tommy Berry comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Religious charter schools may grow in the coming years, but it's not clear what the benefits are to the schools or religious institutions that would run them. Neal McCluskey comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fans of government intervention into the economy in the pursuit of largely agreeable social goods are running into the realities of lawmaking. Scott Lincicome offers some comfort. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Would a Fed-issued central bank digital currency (CBDC) run afoul of the Constitution? Christina Skinner of the Wharton School and Cato's Norbert Michel comment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Policies that privilege domestic producers of various products punish consumers, taxpayers, and producers alike while delivering few benefits. Cato's James Bacchus comments.You can read "The High Price of Buying American" here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Voters as Mad Scientists, economist Bryan Caplan explores various aspects of voter irrationality and how we might correct for our own errors of thinking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the Cato Institute's Benefactor Summit, Clark Neily details how government itself substantially altered the process of criminal adjudication and stacked the deck against average Americans. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.