Cato Podcast

Among the topics to avoid at the Thanksgiving table, the nature and causes of inflation and mask mandates rank high on the list. Economist Michael Munger discusses why those topics can and probably will inspire spirited disagreement this year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The push to give presidents of both parties the power to make unrestrained war (on a number of occasions) was bipartisan. Will the effort to reclaim those powers for Congress draw a diverse majority coalition? Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI) hope so. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New Rochelle, a community in New York, seems to have found a way to streamline the production of new housing. Patrick Tuohey of the Better Cities Project explains how they did it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clark Neily details how qualified immunity came to be and why Americans must end it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Utah is ahead of more than a dozen states in approving medical cannabis. How did a conservative state like Utah get it done? How well does its program serve patients? Molly Davis with the Libertas Institute and the Utah Cannabis Association comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Getting policy right means engaging in the right steps in the right order. Eli Dourado of the Center for Growth and Opportunity details a lesson for policymakers from a manufacturing titan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Missouri threatened journalists with lawsuits after the journalists told them about their own errors in collecting and storing data online. Mike Masnick of Techdirt says, months later, the Show Me State hasn't learned all that much. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are many reasons for our supply chain disruptions. Colin Grabow details how the feds have made it worse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The President wants to isolate banks from the competition provided by the unregulated issuance of stablecoins. Norbert Michel and Jennifer Schulp comment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Congress's focus on this year's attack on the Capitol preventing or giving lawmakers a pass on basic oversight? Pat Eddington comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do Native American tribes have to teach the rest of us about land management and environmental conservation? Todd Myers of the Washington Policy Center explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How the feds cajole or compel corporate behavior should be of great concern to customers and shareholders. The first step to nudging corporations toward "social responsibility" appears to be with corporate disclosures. Adam Millsap with Stand Together comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Managing forests is more than putting out fires, and people suing the feds over forest management plans can make the risk and consequences of fires worse. Jonathan Wood of the Property and Environment Research Center comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most Americans now live in states where cannabis is legal for either medical or recreational use, and that has brought with it industry insiders trying to drive regulation going forward. Shanita Penny is a cannabis educator and consultant who's seen it unfold. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The FDA has a massive impact on our food supply. Can the agency actually execute on its mandate? Should it? How might consumers gain more control over their choices? Richard A. Williams is author of Fixing Food: An FDA Insider Unravels the Myths and the Solutions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pandemic may have accelerated the trend of schools using digital tools to watch kids well beyond their activities during the school day. Neal McCluskey and Julian Sanchez detail why a reckoning with this kind of surveillance is overdue. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Republican Glenn Youngkin capitalized on parental anger over schools to become Virginia's next governor, but his own plans to expand choice for parents are, to put it mildly, weak. Neal McCluskey comments on the surprise upset in Virginia and what it means for state politics elsewhere. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You’ll be forgiven if you squint a bit when establishment media outlets breathlessly report a social media outlet effectively monetizing anger. After all, media outlets have a long-established tradition of doing exactly that. Walter Olson comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are a powerful innovation for health care payments, but they're also perhaps the single best financial vehicle for retirement savings. Michael Cannon explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Logan Kolas of the Buckeye Institute details the technologies where feds should play a muted role in setting the rules of the road. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that track government money. Why do they strike such fear in the hearts of federal regulators? Norbert Michel discusses his new paper. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pandemic introduced a variety of shocks to the global economy, but the policies already on the books didn't help supply chains adjust appropriately. Now we have a serious problem getting goods from producers to buyers. Scott Lincicome offers some advice to lawmakers and the President. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does Medicare's incentive structure impact the quality of care it delivers? Cato's Michael Cannon is coauthor of a new paper exploring the question. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has seen large expansions in school choice programs in recent years under a Democratic governor. Marc Leblond of the Commonwealth Foundation describes how the politics aligned to make it happen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are many ideas for how to fix the Supreme Court. At Cato's recent Cato Club event, Ilya Shapiro said it's far from clear that it needs fixing at all. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The long-feared specter of inflation is here, even though it's a far cry from the inflation of the 1970s. Cato's Norbert Michel discusses how Congress and the Federal Reserve ought to respond. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

School choice exploded this year. What does that mean for students? Jason Bedrick comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The restrictive immigration policies of Donald Trump have sadly been mostly maintained by Joe Biden, and that means bad things for employers seeking workers. David Bier explains how executive action could free immigration and alleviate the labor crunch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

he threat of big government handouts to well-funded special interests demands an opposition that is, if not well-funded, at least ideologically diverse. John Mozena of The Center for Economic Accountability comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Increasing political polarization is real, according to political scientists. To what extent have the powers of the presidency helped drive it? Gene Healy comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could you prove that your landscaping was "compatible" with that of your neighbors? Is it excessive to fine homeowners $1000 a day for "incompatible" plants? Is there a true victim when disfavored landscaping arrives in your neighborhood? Maurice Thompson of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law has just such a case in Ohio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bringing claims against state cops for violating your rights is hard enough, but it's even harder when the cop is a fed. Patrick Jaicomo is an attorney at the Institute for Justice. We discussed current cases where federal cops stepped on American rights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Local public schooling fights over hot button political issues have attracted attention from the Department of Justice and the FBI. Neal McCluskey offers a way out of the escalating fights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why does the U.S. continue to imprison Abu Zubaydah without trial? Julian Sanchez discusses how assertions of the "state secrets privilege" by the federal government has complicated this case for most of the last two decades. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Angel investors provide a unique source of support for America’s entrepreneurs, particularly in leading-edge industries. What does that mean for economic performance and taxing and spending? Chris Edwards explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, the Cato Institute gave the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty to The Innocence Project for its work exonerating the wrongly convicted and recommending policy change supporting a better criminal justice system. Cato’s Clark Neily sat down with Innocence Project cofounders Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld and executive director Christina Swarns at a dinner honoring their achievements advancing human liberty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Health Savings Accounts were a legislative stowaway that have since become one of the most promising avenues for reforming American health care. Michael Cannon explains how they work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the wake of September 11th, 2001, it's important to note what changed with respect to federal power. The Patriot Act delivered a massive increase in federal police authority. Christopher J. Coyne comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are heavy handed tactics with respect to vaccines helpful to people not sure if they want to get a jab? Cato's Jeff Singer discusses the new polling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

China's prohibition on crypto transactions shouldn't tell U.S. regulators to follow suit. George Selgin discusses U.S. regulators' concerns over stablecoins. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Biden Administration wants to give indebted students a bailout, but aren't the bailouts already underway? Mike Riggs of Reason discusses the Bush-era law that holds big implications for student debt. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What's the case for think tanks training candidates to challenge incumbents? Matt Paprocki of the Illinois Policy Institute makes the argument. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mustafa Akyol's new book is Why, As A Muslim, I Defend Liberty, available at Libertarianism.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mustafa Akyol's new book is Why, As A Muslim, I Defend Liberty, available at Libertarianism.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The fights over housing in California and other states with high housing costs will spill over into other states with similar policies. The fights will continue for years to come. Timothy Lee of Full Stack Economics comments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The problems faced by Illinois today will be faced by many other states down the road, and it threatens to bring states close to bankruptcy. Adam Schuster of the Illinois Policy Institute says pension reform needs to come sooner than later. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When members of a state-federal task force beat James King unconscious after mistaking him for someone else, he ultimately sued to hold them accountable. Even after the Supreme Court ruled on King’s case, the case continues. King and his attorney Patrick Jaicomo discuss the case. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

States are moving forward with changes to how policing works with mixed results. Nick Freitas, a Republican delegate in the Virginia House, discusses the reform proposals his state is considering. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New laws in California will start the process of allowing more housing development. Michael Tanner argues that it's probably not enough to relieve high housing costs for average Californians, but it's a great first step. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe Biden wants to raise taxes on some, subsidize others, and snoop on everyone's bank accounts. What could go wrong? Chris Edwards explains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.