Cato Event Podcast

A century after the creation of the Federal Reserve and two generations after Congress gave the Fed a dual mandate for price stability and full employment, the Fed's extraordinary actions since 2008 have raised questions about the appropriate role for the Fed and the monetary policy that the Fed should pursue to ensure a strong U.S. economy throughout the 21st century. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), chairman of Congress's Joint Economic Committee, is at the forefront of this debate. He will be discussing his proposals both for monetary reform (Sound Dollar Act) and for a bipartisan Centennial Monetary Commission to review the Fed's performance and make recommendations for its role in the future. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join us for a non-technical primer on risk and cost-benefit analysis with applications to policies ranging from homeland security to climate change. Our panel will consider key issues as probability neglect, cost neglect, and acceptable risk. In general, the place to begin is not with the perennial question, “Are we safer?” but rather with the rarely asked, “How safe are we?” Increases in domestic homeland security spending since 9/11 exceed $1 trillion. How many post-9/11 security programs reduce risk enough to justify their cost? Panelists John Mueller and Mark Stewart are the authors of Terror, Security, and Money (Oxford University Press, 2011). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The OPEC cartel has been the key actor in world crude oil markets for four decades and counting. Even so, there is a surprising amount of disagreement about the nature of OPEC’s influence on oil markets.In a new study published by Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), authors Andrew Morriss and Roger Meiners survey the academic literature and conclude that OPEC is an unstable cartel that has, at times, been effective in significantly increasing the price of oil. When the cartel has failed in this exercise, however, the price of oil has collapsed, possibly lower than would have been the case were the market not subject to cartelization. Morriss and Meiners believe that much of the volatility that characterizes world crude oil markets can be laid at the cartel’s doorstep and, as a consequence, “the international market for oil is not a free market.” Fred Smith will discuss the policy implications of Morriss and Meiners’ findings. James Smith, who has written extensively on the OPEC cartel, will comment. See

How does the Gang of Eight immigration bill reform guest worker visas? How will those reforms affect the rest of the immigration system? How else can guest worker visas be tweaked to improve the outcomes? These vital questions must be answered so that the guest worker visa program provides the maximum benefit to the American economy. A robust and large guest worker visa program will accomplish two goals. First, it will channel healthy and peaceful people into sectors of the U.S. economy that demand their skills. Second, it will reduce the pressure of immigrants seeking to enter illegally and focus border security on security and health threats. The complexities of the guest worker visa, including its good points and its shortcomings, will be examined in detail. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This book reviews nine Supreme Court cases and decisions that dealt with monetary laws, together with a summary history of monetary events and policies — notably, the gold standard and the Federal Reserve System — as they were affected by the Court’s decisions. Several cases and decisions had notable consequences for the monetary history of the United States, and some were blatant misjudgements stimulated by political pressures. The cases included in this book begin with McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and end with the Gold Clause Cases (1934–35). Those decisions remain in force today. The final chapter describes the adjustments necessary to return to a gold standard and briefly examines other monetary arrangements that would be consistent with the Framers’ Constitution. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With what appears to be a never-ending fiscal crisis in Europe, it would be tempting to conclude that every country in Europe is at the risk of impending failure. Such a conclusion would be false. In the middle of Europe lies one country, Switzerland, where moderate taxes and regulation have not strangled innovation. R. James Breiding, author of Swiss Made: The Untold Story behind Switzerland’s Success, will describe the institutions and characteristics that have made the Swiss economy a success. Our panel will also examine what lessons the Swiss model offers for the rest of Europe. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On February 4, 2013, NBC News obtained a confidential Justice Department white paper detailing the Obama administration’s legal justification for the targeted killing of American citizens abroad. The leak called attention to a discernible shift in the “War on Terror” and how America wages it. The U.S. government has yet to disclose the number of drone strikes launched, the number of people killed, and the full scope of collateral damage. How does the U.S. government determine who is a legitimate target and who poses an immediate threat? What are the constitutional issues surrounding targeted killings, given their secrecy and the lack of reliable data? What standards do decision makers apply for deciding if the costs outweigh the benefits in a given country? What are the practical issues of such highly classified programs in an age of worldwide, and seemingly perpetual, war? Join us for what should be a fascinating discussion on a highly important topic. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out informatio

In At the Brink, economist John Lott argues that the Obama administration’s policies are destroying what has been a health care system that has been the envy of the world. Furthermore, Obama inherited a severe recession, but the spectacular “stimulus” spending with which Obama launched his presidency not only has failed to help the economy—it has poisoned it, slowing the recovery. His positions on regulations and taxes have also harmed the economy.But the Obama administration’s legacy isn’t just going to be on health care and the economy, Lott says. For example, another long-lasting legacy will be on people’s ability to defend themselves with guns. The administration’s appointments to the courts, as well as federal actions and its unprecedented push for states to adopt gun control, will reduce gun ownership and endanger lives. Join us for a spirited critique of President Obama and his policies. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Is it possible to reduce the risk of protectionist influence in health, safety, and environmental regulation? Should international law prohibit domestic regulations that unnecessarily inhibit trade? A new Cato Policy Analysis says the answer is "yes" and calls on policymakers and activists to be more cautious of domestic industry influence. Our distinguished panel will discuss the political origins of regulatory protectionism and consider how the United States might keep its laws and regulations free of protectionism and prevent future trade disputes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Is the United States moving toward legal equality between gay and straight couples? What does the U.S. Constitution have to say about the question? And should the Republican Party, long committed to opposing marriage equality, rethink its position? This panel will examine these questions as well as the shifting politics of support for marriage equality after several state initiatives passed in the 2012 elections. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When Calvin Coolidge became president in 1923, the top personal income tax rate was 77 percent. The national debt had risen from $1.5 billion in 1916 to $33 billion in 1919 — in large part due to America’s entry into World War I. Together with his treasury secretary, Andrew Mellon, Coolidge cut the top personal income tax rate to 24 percent and dramatically reduced government spending. The economy expanded along with tax revenue, and that allowed the national debt to fall to $16 billion by 1929. Please join us for a discussion of the lessons that Coolidge administration reforms hold for the United States today. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In Juche Strong, director Rob Montz examines the propaganda apparatus that exists in North Korea, the underlying Juche philosophy of national “self-reliance” that fuels it, and the pivotal role it plays in the continued existence of the secretive country. Montz argues that a collective sense of purpose instilled by cradle-to-grave propaganda has been key to sustaining the country, and has created a quasi-religious fervor around the Kim dynasty that persists even as North Koreans suffer under the brutal regime. Can North Korea continue indefinitely in this fashion? If so, what policies should the U.S. consider as North Korea strives to develop its nuclear program? How should the U.S. respond when North Korean leaders threaten aggression? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 was intended to “promote the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability and transparency in the financial system, to end ‘too big to fail,’ to protect the American taxpayer by ending bailouts, to protect consumers from abusive financial services practices, and for other purposes.” The law is extraordinarily complex, requiring almost a dozen federal agencies to complete 398 rulemaking requirements, plus about 145 studies that will affect rulemaking. With the rulemaking process underway, there are growing concerns about the Act’s constitutionality. In particular, the Act has implications for the separation of powers, the role of congressional oversight, vagueness and unfettered regulator discretion, and due process. Does Dodd-Frank provide effective oversight by any branch of government, and how can constitutional concerns about the law’s grants of regulatory power be resolved? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and o

The December 2001 Bonn Agreement proclaimed the international community’s determination to “end the tragic conflict in Afghanistan and promote national reconciliation, lasting peace, stability and respect for human rights in the country.” Over a decade later, while access to health care and education has improved, the central government in Kabul remains corrupt and incapable of exerting control over its territory, the Afghan security forces are rife with criminality and internal divisions, and the Afghan Taliban and other insurgent forces still threaten the country. The mission to build an effective Afghan state and eradicate indigenous militants has resulted in a costly, time-intensive, and troop-heavy campaign, even though the United States accomplished the limited goal of incapacitating al Qaeda and punishing the Taliban only months after 9/11.What went wrong? In autumn 2001 what could U.S. policymakers have done differently? Years later, in spring 2009, was an Iraq-like surge the right option? Should U.S.

The Great Deformation is a searing look at Washington's fiscal crisis. It counters conventional wisdom with an 80-year revisionist history of how the American state — especially the Federal Reserve — has fallen prey to the politics of crony capitalism and the ideologies of fiscal stimulus, monetary central planning, and financial bailouts.David Stockman points a finger at Franklin Roosevelt, who fathered crony capitalism; Richard Nixon, who destroyed fiscal discipline and the gold-backed dollar; Fed chairmen Greenspan and Bernanke, who fostered bubble finance and addiction to debt and speculation; George W. Bush, who repudiated fiscal rectitude and ballooned the warfare state via senseless wars; and Barack Obama, who revived failed Keynesian "borrow and spend" policies that have driven the national debt to perilous heights. He doesn't spare Ronald Reagan and Milton Friedman, either. He's guaranteed to provoke liberals, conservatives, and libertarians. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out

The United States government practices surprisingly comprehensive surveillance of air travel, amassing data about the comings and goings of all Americans who fly. By April 2, the Transportation Security Administration will either have begun a public comment process on its policy of putting travelers through imaging machines that can see under their clothes, or it will be in clear violation of a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling requiring it to do so. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Obama administration’s recent large-scale legislative initiatives, The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, have a significant theme in common. Both acts rely on unelected and unsupervised bodies to oversee and enact new laws — a trend that threatens both our political and our economic liberties. Our panelists will discuss the constitutionality of creating these new "super-legislative" bodies – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Orderly Liquidation Authority, and the Independent Payment Advisory Board – and the implications for the rule of law. The panel will also discuss the possibility of reviving the "non-delegation" doctrine. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Is the United States moving toward legal equality between gay and straight couples? What does the U.S. Constitution have to say about the question? And should the Republican Party, long committed to opposing gay marriage, rethink its position? Two of the nation’s best-known advocates on the issue — Evan Wolfson, widely seen as the master strategist behind the movement for same-sex marriage, and Ken Mehlman, a key figure in Republican rethinking of the issue, will be joined by Ilya Shapiro, who heads the Cato Institute’s amicus program and presided over the development of Cato’s briefs in Windsor and Perry. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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What impact has immigration had on the U.S. economy over these last few decades? How will immigration reform change the economy for native-born Americans? With few exceptions, immigrants expand the size of the economic pie by creating businesses and expanding the scope and quantity of economic production—with mostly positive affects on Americans. To understand this complex phenomenon, different types of immigrants—those who are higher skilled and those who are lower skilled—and their various impacts on the American economy will be examined in detail. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.