CATO'S 32ND ANNUAL MONETARY CONFERENCE —will bring together leading scholars and advocates for fundamental monetary reform to discuss: The bitcoin revolution and future of crypto-currencies How technology will drive further innovations so that private currencies become a reality The role of gold in a decentralized monetary regime The steps necessary to return to constitutional money based on the convertibility principle and free banking When the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, its powers we...
Nov 06, 2014•1 hr 14 min
CATO'S 32ND ANNUAL MONETARY CONFERENCE —will bring together leading scholars and advocates for fundamental monetary reform to discuss: The bitcoin revolution and future of crypto-currencies How technology will drive further innovations so that private currencies become a reality The role of gold in a decentralized monetary regime The steps necessary to return to constitutional money based on the convertibility principle and free banking When the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, its powers we...
Nov 06, 2014•1 hr 16 min
CATO'S 32ND ANNUAL MONETARY CONFERENCE —will bring together leading scholars and advocates for fundamental monetary reform to discuss: The bitcoin revolution and future of crypto-currencies How technology will drive further innovations so that private currencies become a reality The role of gold in a decentralized monetary regime The steps necessary to return to constitutional money based on the convertibility principle and free banking When the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, its powers we...
Nov 06, 2014•39 min
The Ivory Tower is changing. People want to acquire new skills more often, get degrees later in life, and do so on schedules convenient to their packed lives. In response, new options are popping up all over, including online classes, for-profit institutions, and competency-based programs. How should federal policy deal with this fast-changing landscape? And what do the midterm election results, due the night before the forum, bode for federal policy? Please join us to discuss these big question...
Nov 06, 2014•1 hr 28 min
The 2014 midterm elections are being held at a time when libertarian ideas are ascending. But will more influence and media attention translate into electoral victories? Will the makeup of the next Congress be conducive or detrimental to the advancement of free markets and individual liberty? Join us for an election recap and discussion of the state of libertarian ideas in various races and prospects for the next Congress. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 05, 2014•29 min
What is the proper role of the Supreme Court under the Constitution? Should the Court be "active" or "restrained"? Or is that even the proper way to look at the question, however much we've heard it put that way for several decades now? In his new book, Damon Root traces this debate from the Constitution's conception to the present. His central focus, however, is on the emergence of the modern libertarian approach, which cuts through the often sterile debate between liberals and conservatives an...
Nov 03, 2014•1 hr 25 min
In Pruitt v. Burwell and Halbig v. Burwell , federal courts have ruled that the Internal Revenue Service is misinterpreting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, unlawfully paying billions of dollars to private health insurance companies, and unlawfully subjecting more than 50 million individuals and employers to the Act's individual and employer mandates. In King v. Burwell , another federal court found the IRS's interpretation is permissible. A fourth lawsuit, Indiana v. IRS , is due...
Oct 30, 2014•33 min
In Pruitt v. Burwell and Halbig v. Burwell , federal courts have ruled that the Internal Revenue Service is misinterpreting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, unlawfully paying billions of dollars to private health insurance companies, and unlawfully subjecting more than 50 million individuals and employers to the Act's individual and employer mandates. In King v. Burwell , another federal court found the IRS's interpretation is permissible. A fourth lawsuit, Indiana v. IRS , is due...
Oct 30, 2014•1 hr 30 min
In Pruitt v. Burwell and Halbig v. Burwell , federal courts have ruled that the Internal Revenue Service is misinterpreting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, unlawfully paying billions of dollars to private health insurance companies, and unlawfully subjecting more than 50 million individuals and employers to the Act's individual and employer mandates. In King v. Burwell , another federal court found the IRS's interpretation is permissible. A fourth lawsuit, Indiana v. IRS , is due...
Oct 30, 2014•1 hr 33 min
In Pruitt v. Burwell and Halbig v. Burwell , federal courts have ruled that the Internal Revenue Service is misinterpreting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, unlawfully paying billions of dollars to private health insurance companies, and unlawfully subjecting more than 50 million individuals and employers to the Act's individual and employer mandates. In King v. Burwell , another federal court found the IRS's interpretation is permissible. A fourth lawsuit, Indiana v. IRS , is due...
Oct 30, 2014•25 min
When the Federal Reserve was founded in 1913, it was with the purpose of providing for a stable monetary and financial system. However, the Great Depression, the Great Inflation, and the Panic of 2008 serve as serious reminders of the Fed’s failure to achieve its original mission. Yet, despite this record, the Fed’s regulation of the economy has expanded. After a century, it is time to judge the Federal Reserve’s history and evaluate alternatives to central banking. To that end, the Cato Institu...
Oct 23, 2014•43 min
Police misconduct and abuse have been getting a lot of extra media attention lately. In just the past few months, Americans have been horrified by stories of grenades thrown in children's cribs , homeless men beaten to death , unwarranted anal probes , and more. The outrage in Ferguson underscored the rapid growth in police militarization , highlighting the perceived code of silence upheld by those behind the "thin blue line" and driving demand for more accountability among the nation's law enfo...
Oct 23, 2014•51 min
In 2012, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey contended that “we are living in the most dangerous time in my lifetime, right now.” In 2013, he was more assertive, stating that the world is “more dangerous than it has ever been.” Is this accurate? A Dangerous World? brings together leading experts on international security to assess the supposed dangers to American security. They examine the most frequently referenced threats, including wars between nations and civil wars, an...
Oct 22, 2014•1 hr 25 min
Ben Freeth and his father-in-law, Mike Campbell, were successful Zimbabwean farmers and model employers. The family farm, purchased after Robert Mugabe came to power in 1980, was declared of “no interest” to the government in 1999. Yet they were later evicted and savagely beaten by government thugs. Mike, who would later to die from his injuries, launched a legal battle against the Zimbabwean government. He won a landmark case in the Southern African Development Community’s regional court, the S...
Oct 21, 2014•1 hr 21 min
John Allison will discuss "The Philosophical Fight for the Future of America"—the battle of ideas and morality between Progressive collectivism and free market capitalism that will define the future well being of America. These divergent world views are not reconcilable and lead to radically different public policy outcomes. Cato’s president will examine the threat posed by the proliferation of statist ideas, as well as ways to increase public understanding of the merits of individual liberty an...
Oct 16, 2014•1 hr 22 min
Following the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, communist governments crumbled throughout the Soviet bloc. By late December 1991, the Soviet Union itself ceased to exist. The pace of transition from communist dictatorship to democracy and market economics was uneven. Some countries experienced high rates of economic growth and rapid return to political freedom, while others remained stuck in poverty and authoritarianism. Which reforms worked and which did not? What were the pre-condit...
Oct 16, 2014•1 hr 35 min
Experimental self-driving cars will be on the market by 2020 and will radically transform the 21st century. What should Washington policymakers know about the future of American mobility? How will self-driving cars affect the viability of urban transit and regional planning? What kind of regulation will be needed to protect safety and privacy? Please join us for a preview of the future of American transportation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Oct 15, 2014•55 min
The "Bootlegger and Baptist" theory, an innovative public-choice theory developed more than 30 years ago, holds that for a regulation to emerge and endure, both the "bootleggers," who seek to obtain private benefits from the regulation, and the "Baptists," who seek to serve the public interest, must support the regulation. Economists Adam Smith and Bruce Yandle provide an accessible description of the theory and cite numerous examples of coalitions of economic and moral interests that desire a c...
Oct 09, 2014•1 hr 17 min
When Congress authorized the arming and training of Syrian moderates to combat ISIS, it explicitly stated that this action should not be construed as an authorization for the introduction of U.S.armed forces into hostilities. Yet, on the orders of President Obama, the United States has begun bombing ISIS targets within Syria. Did the president violate the Constitution, which grants Congress the exclusive power to “declare War”? If intervention is in America’s national security interest, how shou...
Oct 07, 2014•36 min
Balance sheet crises, in which the prices of widely held and highly leveraged assets collapse, pose distinctive economic challenges. In what promises to be a deeply insightful event, authors Vernon L. Smith and Steven D. Gjerstad will discuss their new book Rethinking Housing Bubbles. Their book examines causes and consequences, and with both authors’ well-known backgrounds in experimental economics, analyzes the events that led to and resulted from the recent U.S. housing bubble as a case study...
Oct 01, 2014•1 hr 7 min
Why do people borrow? An attempt to live beyond their means or income smoothing that accompanies growing prosperity? Consumer Credit and the American Economy examines the economics, behavioral science, sociology, history, law, and regulation of consumer credit in the United States. The authors look at why Americans use credit and the implications for both the American economy and government regulation. With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created by the Dodd-Frank Act, spreading its wi...
Sep 30, 2014•1 hr 14 min
Originalism, which has become the most prominent theory of constitutional interpretation, holds that the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted according to its meaning at the time it was enacted. In a new book that offers an innovative defense of that theory, John McGinnis and Michael Rappaport maintain that the text of the Constitution should be followed because it was enacted by supermajorities—both its original enactment and in subsequent amendments. A text approved by supermajorities has s...
Sep 29, 2014•1 hr 25 min
To celebrate Constitution Day and the publication of the thirteenth annual Cato Supreme Court Review . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 18, 2014•1 hr
To celebrate Constitution Day and the publication of the thirteenth annual Cato Supreme Court Review . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 18, 2014•1 hr 15 min
To celebrate Constitution Day and the publication of the thirteenth annual Cato Supreme Court Review . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 18, 2014•1 hr 13 min
When government imposes new taxes, rules, or regulations, it creates outcomes that often differ from the original intent. In some cases, these outcomes are so severe that they render the policy a failure. The law of unintended consequences has taken on an increasing importance during the era of ever-expanding government, and this book explores four important examples: cigarette taxes, alcohol prohibition, the minimum wage, and federal income tax. Hall examines how the policies came into being, w...
Sep 18, 2014•1 hr 24 min
To celebrate Constitution Day and the publication of the thirteenth annual Cato Supreme Court Review . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 18, 2014•1 hr 12 min
To celebrate Constitution Day and the publication of the thirteenth annual Cato Supreme Court Review . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 18, 2014•1 hr 29 min
Following the controversial use of military vehicles and weapons by the police in Ferguson, Missouri, President Obama ordered a review of federal programs that facilitate the flow of weaponry from the Pentagon to local police departments. These military transfers raise a host of questions. Do the police need armored vehicles, M-16s, and grenade launchers to do their job effectively? Are the Pentagon programs adequately monitored? Should no-knock police raids be rare, or routine? Please join us f...
Sep 12, 2014•1 hr 19 min
The shooting of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson sparked days of protest in Ferguson, Missouri. Meanwhile, in New York City, thousands of residents have protested the violent arrest that led to Eric Garner’s death. In recent years, the Department of Justice has sought to clean up police forces in Albuquerque, New Orleans, Seattle, and Detroit. Are the tensions that boiled over in Ferguson simmering in other cities? What are the lessons to be drawn from events in Ferguson? Has Americ...
Sep 10, 2014•1 hr 30 min
