The 2016 Election and the Cult of the Presidency

In the waning days of the Bush administration, the Cato Institute published The Cult of the Presidency: America’s Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power, by Gene Healy, which revealed how the demands we place on the presidency have turned it into a constitutional monstrosity.  With most polls today indicating that Hillary Clinton will be elected as the next president, will centrists and liberals manage to keep in mind just how close we came to handing unchecked power to a figure like Donald Trump? If, as Healy notes, the next president can turn out to be a tyrant, then shouldn’t “tyrant-proofing the presidency” be our most pressing political task?

Twenty-Five Years of Indian Economic Reform

Economic reforms that began 25 years ago have transformed India. What used to be a poor, slow-growing country now has the third-largest gross domestic product (GDP) in the world with regard to purchasing power parity and is projected to be the fastest-growing major economy in the world in 2016. Yet India’s success has been tarnished in several areas. In a new paper, Cato scholar Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar sums up the past 25 years as “a story of private-sector success and government failure, of successful economic reform tainted by institutional erosion.”

The New Feudalism: Why States Must Repeal Growth-Management Laws

Advocates of growth-management laws, which strictly regulate what people can and cannot do with their land in the name of controlling urban sprawl, say that it produces many benefits, including preservation of farm lands, energy savings, reduced air pollution, and lower infrastructure costs. In a new paper, Cato scholar Randal O’Toole argues that growth management slows regional growth, exacerbates income inequality, and particularly harms low-income families, especially minorities such as African Americans and Latinos.

Freedom on Trial

Libertarianism.org, a project of the Cato Institute, has released a provocative three-part short film - Freedom on Trial. This compelling courtroom drama takes viewers into the heart of the everyday issues that can arise when an employer’s desire to hire more employees runs into the barrier of minimum wage laws, and when the government’s plans to “solve” income inequality only make things worse. These complex problems take center stage in courtroom as both sides passionately make their cases. Quick, witty, dramatic, and empathetic, this series exposes the problems of authority, bureaucracy and centralization, while celebrating the “what ifs” of a life in a freer world.

Recent Commentary

Filling the Gaps

Three immigration reforms – two that require only executive actions and one that must be passed by Congress – would do a lot to fill gaps in the current law.

Events

November 14

The Way Forward for Trade

Featuring Ambassador Mickey Kantor, Partner, Mayer Brown, and former U.S. Trade Representative (1993–1996); and Ambassador Susan Schwab, Professor, University of Maryland School of Public Policy, and former U.S. Trade Representative (2006–2009); moderated by Daniel Pearson, Senior Fellow, Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies, Cato Institute.

11:00AM to 12:30PM
Hayek Auditorium, Cato Institute

November 16

For-Profit Colleges: Awful or Abused?

Featuring Robert Shireman, Senior Fellow, Century Foundation; Richard Vedder, Director, Center for College Affordability and Productivity; Barmak Nassirian, Director of Federal Relations and Policy Analysis, American Association of State Colleges and Universities; Eric Juhlin, CEO, Center for Excellence in Higher Education; Ben Miller, Senior Director, Postsecondary Education, Center for American Progress; and Neal McCluskey, Director, Center for Educational Freedom, Cato Institute; moderated by Kimberly Hefling, Senior Education Writer, Politico.

10:00AM to 11:30AM
Hayek Auditorium, Cato Institute

Of Special Note

What Is Justice?

Political Philosophy: An Introductio

Political Philosophy: An Introduction is the latest in a series of self-paced, online guides from Libertarianism.org – a project of the Cato Institute. The goal of political philosophy is to determine the standards by which we judge different institutions good or bad, just or unjust. Political Philosophy is a primer on major theories of justice, arguments philosophers have made for and against them, and to how to be more thoughtful and rigorous in our own thinking. Guides – videos and accompanying text – are detailed at Libertarianism.org/Guides – and are also available through online retailers nationwide.

Special! 10 Copies for $10

Cato Pocket Constitution

To encourage people everywhere to better understand and appreciate the principles of government that are set forth in America’s founding documents, the Cato Institute published this pocket-size edition.

Now Available

The Libertarian Mind Audiobook

The Libertarian Mind, by David Boaz, longtime executive vice president of the Cato Institute, is the best available guide to the history, ideas, and growth of libertarianism, and is the ultimate resource for the current, burgeoning libertarian movement. This acclaimed book is now available as a fully unabridged audiobook, ready for immediate downloading, on Audible.com.

34th Annual Monetary Conference

The lack of any monetary rule to guide policy decisions has created great uncertainty and increased financial volatility. Zero or negative interest rates and quantitative easing have created severe distortions in asset markets by increasing risk taking and politicizing credit allocation while failing to bring about robust economic growth. At Cato’s annual monetary conference, leading experts will address the risks inherent in the unconventional monetary policies of the world’s leading central banks and the steps that need to be taken to restore long-run economic growth.