An Epidemic of Red Tape
Among the many lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic is how cumbersome one‐size‐fits‐all regulations, administered by an impersonal bureaucracy, hamper a rapid and flexible response to an evolving public health emergency. In recent days, federal and state authorities have waived a great many onerous regulations that stand in the way of a rapid response to this emergency. It is important that policymakers recognize the regulatory obstacles that have accumulated over the years that make our system less nimble in responding to unexpected events, and work to reform those laws.
- “Coronavirus and Regulation,” by Thomas A. Firey and Peter Van Doren
- “An Epidemic of Red Tape,” by Jeffrey A. Singer
- “To Help Solve the Surgical Mask Shortage, Get the FDA out of the Way,” by Paul Matzko
Innovative Economic Growth: Seven Stages of Understanding
Economic growth is transformative, yet only now are we beginning to understand it. Rising gross domestic product (GDP) can stem from an increase in population or hours worked. Rising GDP per capita can also be driven by more capital per worker or by growing markets with more specialization (sometimes called Smithian growth). But only technical change provides innovation and Schumpeterian growth, which gave us the Industrial Revolution and ever‐rising living standards. In a new brief, Terence Kealey and Martin Ricketts describe the seven stages of understanding of growth driven by innovation.
- “Innovative Economic Growth: Seven Stages of Understanding,” by Terence Kealey and Martin Ricketts
Crafting Policy in an Extraordinary Crisis
What should governments at the federal, state, and local level be doing to combat the spread of the Coronavirus? Cato Institute President & CEO Peter Goettler has reached out to the White House, Congress, and state‐level policymakers recommending they approach this pandemic head on, with calm and humility.
Cato offers these principles to help policymakers meet this challenge in a manner that saves human lives, preserves human dignity and gets our economy moving again as soon as the health crisis is under control.
- “A Letter to Policymakers,” by Peter Goettler
- “COVID-19 Response: Critical Guidelines for Policymakers,” from the Cato Institute
- Additional Cato commentary on COVID-19
Civil Liberties and Coronavirus
While civil libertarians have mostly accepted some intrusions on personal freedoms in the name of fighting a pandemic, Cato scholars continue to push lawmakers to justify lockdowns, curfews and other restrictions while asking for specifics on when freedoms will be restored. Would the surveillance programs being discussed even work to slow spread of the virus? Cato scholars discuss the short‐ and long‐term outlook for civil liberties.
- “How Should Civil Libertarians Respond to Pandemics?,” by Matthew Feeney
- “Preventing Liberty from Becoming a Coronavirus Fatality,” by Ted Galen Carpenter
- “Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties During a Pandemic,” Podcast featuring Patrick G. Eddington and Caleb O. Brown