Cato Daily Dispatch for November 7, 2002
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Cato Scholars Respond to Republican Congressional AgendaBush Campaign Against Hussein Continues in U.N.
Gephardt Calls it Quits
Cato Scholars Respond to Republican Congressional Agenda
The New York Times reports that Republicans began setting plans yesterday to (1) push forward a domestic agenda of tax cuts, (2) a national energy policy, (3) creation of a vast homeland security department and (4) the confirmation of conservative judges as they savored a sweep of the midterm elections that gave them complete control of the Capitol. Cato Institute experts respond to these four new initiatives:
Tax Cuts:
Director of Fiscal Policy Studies Chris Edwards says, "There is no shortage of tax cut and tax reform ideas for the GOP to move ahead with. At the top of the agenda is making Bush's individual tax rate cuts and estate tax repeal permanent. To boost the economy, the scheduled future phase-ins of these tax cuts should be accelerated and put in place as soon as possible. After all, most of the taxpayers in the top individual rate brackets are small business people and entrepreneurs, who are the exact group that can spur renewed economic growth."
Edwards details the benefits of a consumption-based tax in a Cato Policy Analysis, "Simplifying Federal Taxes: The Advantages of Consumption-Based Taxation".
Energy Policy:
"While the Republican sweep on Tuesday might on balance prove heartening to those of us who want to restrict the role of the federal government in the affairs of businessmen, entrepreneurs and consumers, that is almost certainly not the case as far as energy policy is concerned," says Jerry Taylor, director of natural resource studies. "Both the House and Senate energy bills adopted in the last session of Congress embraced more governmental intervention in energy markets. Republicans unfortunately need to be reminded of the fact that the federal government can best advance energy interests by leaving energy markets alone. America no more needs a 'national energy policy' than it needs a 'national computer policy.' In this area, America was better served by the gridlock in the last Congress than by resurgent Republican strength in the next Congress."
In "Fueled by Pork", an op-ed published by The Washington Post, Cato President Edward H. Crane and Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope voice their opposition to this summer's energy bill.
Homeland Security Department:
"Although they criticized the Democrats during the campaign for advocating big government, the Republicans will do their own part to expand the federal bureaucracy," according to Director of Defense Policy Ivan Eland. "They will attempt to jump start President Bush's heretofore moribund initiative to create a massive homeland security department. This effort will ultimately add costs, new organizations, and layers of bureaucracy at a time when the government security and law enforcement bureaucracy should be pared to fight elusive, agile terrorists. Increasing the size of government will only exacerbate the coordination problems experienced prior to the September 11 attacks."
In a recent Cato Foreign Policy Briefing, "The New Homeland Security Apparatus Impeding the Fight Against Agile Terrorists", University of Louisiana Professor Eric R. Taylor explains that the "new Homeland Security Council is essentially an empty shell."
Judicial Confirmations:
"For nearly two years now, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have bottled up President Bush's nominees to the appellate courts of the United States. Of the 15 nominations Bush made in May of last year, 10 have yet to be confirmed, five have yet to have even a hearing before the committee. That is a Senate stall of unprecedented magnitude. And Democrats on the committee have been quite explicit about their reasons: although the nominees include some of the most accomplished legal minds in the nation, they cannot pass the Democrats' 'ideological litmus test,'" says Vice President for Legal Affairs Roger Pilon. "Now that Republicans are poised to take over the Senate Judiciary Committee, that will change. If they are true to form, Republicans will ask not about the ideology of the nominee but about whether the nominee will apply the law rather than make it."
James Swanson, senior fellow and editor in chief of the Cato Supreme Court Review, issued a statement on Oct. 30 praising Bush's plan to push his nominees through the confirmation process.
Bush Campaign Against Hussein Continues in U.N.
The United States, in what it calls Iraq's last chance to disarm or face war, is pushing the U.N. Security Council to adopt a tough resolution by Friday, and veto-holders France and Russia are edging closer to agreeing, according to Reuters.
The six-page draft gives U.N. arms inspectors far-reaching powers, including unrestricted rights to enter Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's palace compounds.
"The Bush administration's campaign to secure a strong U.N. Security Council resolution on Iraq is a classic case of misplaced priorities," according to Ted Galen Carpenter, Cato's vice president for foreign policy and defense studies. "The pertinent issue is whether Saddam Hussein poses a serious threat to the security of the United States. If he does, this country is justified in taking whatever steps are necessary to terminate the threat. Whether the U.N. approves of Washington's course is irrelevant. Conversely, if Saddam does not pose a serious threat, getting the blessing of the U.N. for coercive action does not render U.S. policy any more intelligent. A war against Iraq, with or without U.N. approval, is an unwise strategy that will reduce rather than increase America's security."
Carpenter delves deeper into the issues surrounding war with Iraq during an "Ask Our Scholars" session on the Cato Web site.
Gephardt Calls it Quits
According to Salon.com, Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.), an opponent of Social Security choice, is stepping down after eight years as House Democratic leader, looking ahead to a possible run for the White House and leaving behind a succession struggle in a party jolted by midterm election losses.
Gephardt, 61, informed party leaders yesterday night he will not seek a fifth term as House minority leader, according to several officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. He made his intentions public today.
In a letter to the editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ( http://www.socialsecurity.org/dailys/05-02-02.html ), Andrew Biggs, Cato Social Security analyst, responded to some of Gephardt's attacks on President Bush's proposed Social Security reforms: "Rep. Gephardt has refused to say what he would do to save Social Security. Until he puts a detailed plan on the table, we can only assume he favors the status quo. The trouble is, the status quo allows Social Security to go broke."
Wyatt Dubois, editor, wdubois@cato.org
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