Cato University is Cato’s premier educational event of the year. This annual program brings together outstanding faculty and participants from around the country and globe – for sharing experiences and perspectives in a one-of-a-kind, brain-energizing environment. Above, Senator Rand Paul – who will be giving a presentation at this year’s program – speaks at last year’s Cato University. This year’s program will be held at the Cato Institute, in the heart of Washington, D.C – the perfect setting for examining the roots of our commitment to liberty and limited government and for exploring the ideas and values on which the American republic was founded.

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President Obama recently warned Ohio State graduates that “you’ve grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that’s at the root of all our problems … that tyranny is always lurking just around the corner. You should reject these voices.” Not so fast.  With the recent IRS scandal and reports of the Justice Department peeking at AP phone records, Cato VP David Boaz points out that these abuses of federal power should fuel a healthy skepticism of government, and perhaps even a broader shift towards libertarianism.

• “Is This the Libertarian Moment?,” by David Boaz
• “Scandals Keep Eroding Our Faith in Benevolent Government,” by David Boaz
• “Nothing to Joke about in a Partisan IRS,” by Gene Healy
• “Conspiracy Not Required,” by Trevor Burrus

The Senate has turned its attention to the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” immigration reform bill. Recent criticism of the plan has focused on the potential costs to American taxpayers.  But Cato scholar Alex Nowrasteh argues that any credible analysis must employ “dynamic fiscal scoring,” which more accurately measures the total impact of legislation on the economy.  “Using dynamic scoring to predict the effects of legislation is as relevant for immigration reform as it is for tax cuts,” says Nowrasteh. “Any analysis that doesn’t must be judged as lacking.”

• “Heritage’s Flawed Immigration Analysis,” by Alex Nowrasteh
• “How to Make Guest Worker Visas Work,” by Alex Nowrasteh
• “Poor Immigrants Use Public Benefits at a Lower Rate than Poor Native-Born Citizens,” by Leighton Ku and Brian Bruen
• Cato Research on Immigration

In the new issue of Cato Policy Report, Cato President and CEO John A. Allison argues that the Federal Reserve is increasing the long-term risk in our financial system through both its monetary and regulatory policies. Also in this issue, James D. Gwartney looks at the incomplete “public choice revolution,” and explains how mainstream economics is leaving both current students and the general public with a misleading, false, and romantic view of government and the operation of the democratic political process.

• May/June 2013 Issue of Cato Policy Report