Cato Event Podcast

The Social Security disability program has seen a significant increase in costs and enrollment in recent years. The Trustees project that the program will be insolvent as early as 2016. This recent growth and the program’s looming insolvency have brought it increased attention and added urgency to calls for solutions. Cato senior fellow Jagadeesh Gokhale, Social Security Administration chief actuary Stephen Goss and leading scholars David Autor from MIT and Harold Pollack from the University of Chicago will provide their insights into the problems with the program’s current structure, causes of recent program growth, and prospects for reform. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Purchase BookThe greatest reduction in mass poverty in human history has occurred during the current era of globalization. The world’s poor are now catching up with the rich at a rapid pace in terms of human well-being. Deepak Lal will discuss how, despite those achievements, confusion about poor countries abounds: the World Bank exaggerates the extent of poverty; the benefits of new development fads including microfinance or randomized testing of projects, are vastly oversold; and discredited theories, such as the need for massive foreign aid to save Africa, have been resurrected. Marcus Noland will draw from his experience working in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East to comment on the book and its view that increased liberalization in the developing world is decreasing the influence of the West’s advocates of dirigisme. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

While many members of Congress claim to support free trade, Cato’s congressional trade votes database tells a different story. Rather than simply noting support or opposition to trade liberalization, Cato’s Free Trade, Free Markets methodology distinguishes between trade barriers and trade subsidies. As a result, the database allows researchers to evaluate members of Congress more precisely. In particular, voting patterns during the 112th Congress shed light on the relative importance of ideology, regionalism, and partisanship in setting trade policy. Many members who consistently support lowering barriers also consistently support expanding subsidies. So who are the real free traders in Congress? And what do the voting records of the 112th Congress tell us about the prospects for trade policy in the current term? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In Halbig v. Sebelius, four individual taxpayers and three employers are challenging a seemingly obscure IRS decree. The IRS claims the authority to issue hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies to health-insurance companies, and to impose penalties on individual taxpayers and employers, in the 33 states that have refused to establish a health insurance "exchange" under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The Halbig plaintiffs assert this decree would penalize them in violation of the clear, consistent, and unambiguous language of the PPACA, as well as congressional intent. The Congressional Research Service writes that Halbig "could be a major obstacle to the implementation of the Act." Law professor Michael Greve writes, "all of ObamaCare hangs on the outcome." The lead attorney in Halbig, Michael Carvin, and three other panelists will discuss the legality of the IRS's decree and the implications for the PPACA. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 1920, in Missouri v. Holland, the Supreme Court seemed to say, contrary to basic constitutional principles, that a treaty could increase the legislative power of Congress. That issue is now back before the Court in Bond v. United States, a case with deliciously lurid facts involving adultery, revenge, and the Chemical Weapons Convention. Cato has filed an amicus brief in the case, written by Nicholas Rosenkranz, based on his Harvard Law Review article on the subject. Please join us for a discussion of this fundamental constitutional question. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Purchase bookClint Bolick argues in his new book, written with Jeb Bush, that the three broad components of immigration reform—better immigration enforcement, a lawful pathway for future migrants, and the legalization of current unauthorized immigrants—must work together to produce a viable immigration policy. The 1986 Reagan amnesty failed because it was a partial reform that increased immigration enforcement but did not increase legal opportunities for lower skilled immigrants. The 2007 immigration reform bill failed to even pass the Senate for a similar reason—its guest worker visa program was eviscerated. Immigration reform must produce an easily enforceable law that allows the world’s best, brightest, and most industrious a chance to contribute to the American economy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Constitution gives the federal government no authority to govern education, and numerous laws prohibit Washington from influencing school curricula. How has the federal government gotten around these barriers? Primarily by attaching demands to federal money, which is exactly what it did to get states to adopt the supposedly “state-led" and "voluntary" Common Core curriculum standards. This unprecedented drive to national uniformity is dangerous for many reasons, not the least of which is that it puts Washington in control of what almost all schools teach. But just as the federal government has been the most powerful entity behind forced standardization, it is also the key to halting it. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Purchase book"India grows at night while the government sleeps" is an Indian expression referring to the country's impressive economic rise despite the presence of a large, burdensome state. Gurcharan Das will explain how India's story of private success and public failure is not sustainable and that the country's recent growth slowdown signals the need for a strong liberal state that would ensure accountability, perform limited and well-defined functions, and base itself on the rule of law. Swami Aiyar will discuss contemporary Indian society and the prospects of Das's proposals. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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Top officials in the U.S. government, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Union blame Europe’s ills on fiscal austerity and advise Europeans to pursue stimulus spending or delay spending cuts. Simeon Djankov and Anders Aslund will show how the evidence counters that prevailing view. Countries that have reined in their spending are growing briskly while the profligate founder. Aslund will discuss why the level of debt and access to international markets still matter to responsible fiscal policy; Djankov will explain why Europe badly needs a growth plan that includes reducing the burden of regulation. Both speakers will explain why Europeans should focus on policy reform rather than devaluation or exit from the Euro.Download "The Problem with Europe's Austerity Debate" from Anders Aslund (Powerpoint Presentation)Download "Saving the Euro" by Simon Djankov (Powerpoint Presentation) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Purchase bookA common argument for intervening abroad is to alleviate potential or existing human suffering. Repeatedly, however, state-led humanitarian efforts have failed miserably. Why do well-funded, expertly staffed, and well-intentioned humanitarian actions often fall short of achieving their desired outcomes, leaving some of the people they intended to help worse off? Why are well-meaning countries unable to replicate individual instances of success consistently across cases of human suffering?Using the tools of economics, Dr. Christopher Coyne’s new book, Doing Bad by Doing Good: Why Humanitarian Action Fails, shifts the discussion from the moral imperative of how governments should behave to a positive analysis of how they actually do. Coyne examines the limits of short-term humanitarian aid and long-term development assistance, the disconnect between intentions and reality, and why economic freedom—protection of property rights, private means of production, and free trad

Despite increasing population, global food production per capita is at all-time highs, even as the amount of agricultural land is reaching new lows. The prime driver has been technology, beginning with the Green Revolution of the 1960s, when Norman Borlaug discovered the key to high-yielding wheat. Since then, "slow" genetics has been replaced by DNA-splicing, giving rise to fears of genetic "mistakes" damaging the world food supply or resulting in inadvertent harm to consumers. Jon Entine and Kevin Folta embrace these innovations, promoting genetic literacy and post-modern agriculture. At this forum they will answer the charge that biotechnology is "a Brave New World of agriculture." See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Five years ago, the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. By a 5-4 vote, the Court ruled that the strict gun-control laws in the nation’s capital—which amounted to a complete ban on any usable weapon for self-protection, even in the home—were unconstitutional. The Court finally confronted a long-simmering controversy over the scope of the Second Amendment and declared that, yes, that amendment does secure an individual the right to keep and bear arms. Now, five years later, with gun controls being debated both in the Congress and state legislatures, it is a good time to assess the impact of the Heller precedent. Please join us for a wide-ranging discussion of the Second Amendment, self-defense, and the right to keep and bear arms. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Congress may pass a major farm bill re- authorization this year for the first time since 2008. Farm bill supporters claim that draft bills in the House and Senate would save taxpayers billions of dollars, but that isn't the case. The bills would eliminate so-called direct payments to farmers, but the savings would be plowed into new subsidy programs and higher guaranteed prices for certain crops. What can be done to reform costly farm subsidies that harm agricultural markets and damage the environment? Chris Edwards, Scott Faber, Andrew Moylan, and Josh Sewell will discuss the impact of farm programs on taxpayers and the environment and suggest possible reform steps. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Purchase bookIn his new book, The End Is Near and It’s Going to Be Awesome, Kevin D. Williamson examines the crisis of the modern welfare state and demonstrates that the crucial political failures of our time, from education to health care, are the direct result of government monopolies providing and regulating these services. Entitlement programs have promised far more than they can deliver, and slow moving bureaucracies have stifled innovation and efficiency in attempts to deliver on these failed promises. There is, however, a light at the end of the tunnel, as millions of Americans reject the status quo and turn to their own ingenuity to create successful market-derived alternatives to these government monopolies. Please join Kevin Williamson and Cato Institute senior fellow Michael Tanner for an examination of the current state of U.S. entitlement programs and a lively discussion of how the free-market responds when the government fails. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Trust and reputation are central to the operation of capital markets. But in our generation, reputational mechanisms are failing; and when they fail, markets and societies are also at risk of failure. The usual response has been to call for more aggressive regulation, yet this only worsens the problem, as Jonathan Macey shows in his new book. There, he demonstrates how and why poorly considered regulation has undermined traditional trust mechanisms throughout financial institutions, credit rating agencies, and accounting and law firms. Please join us for a discussion of these issues, including a better path to restoring trust and integrity. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As the United States continues its use of drone technology overseas, the potential for increased domestic drone use has also begun to raise serious concerns. Sen. Rand Paul's (R-KY) recent filibuster on the topic brought widespread public attention to the issue and lawmakers are now beginning to ask important questions; namely, is use of this technology for surveillance appropriate and, if so, what risks will a drone program pose to civil liberties and individual privacy? What are the appropriate legal limits on overseas use, and are those limits being followed? Please join Cato Institute scholars Ben Friedman and Julian Sanchez, and journalist Spencer Ackerman, as they examine the current state of U.S. drone policy at home and overseas, whether this technology is good for the country, and what the future looks like for drone use. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.