News Release

December 10, 2004

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Cato experts available to discuss Bush economic summit
Scholars available on Social Security, taxes, health care, trade, legal reform and education

WASHINGTON-- The Cato Institute has dozens of experts available to discuss President Bush's economic summit next week. Below, several Cato scholars offer recommendations for the president's second term and the summit.

Federal Budget - Stephen Slivinski, director of budget studies:

"Thanks to massive spending increases over the last four years -- unrelated to the war on terrorism or Iraq -- and deficits predicted for as far as the eye can see, it is vital that the Bush administration focus its sights on controlling spending. An honest discussion of ways to reduce the size of government could be a vital element in a second-term economic agenda. For instance, corporate welfare programs that harm the economy and serve only to bolster special interests are prime targets. Getting rid of these sorts of programs should be considered at the president's economic summit or, at the very least, in the president's next budget."

Tax Reform - Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies:

"Despite President Bush's tax cuts, the federal tax system remains horrendously complex and inefficient. To set the agenda for the president's upcoming Tax Reform Commission, the summit should review the high costs, distortions, and inequities in the current tax system. It should consider how the tax code makes U.S. companies less competitive in the global economy. Tax reform is an urgent priority in the second term. There is no reason why the United States should not have one of the world's best tax codes, rather than one of the worst."

Social Security Reform - Michael Tanner, director of the Project on Social Security Choice:

"President Bush's recent remarks underscore his commitment to make Social Security the top domestic issue of his second term. Clearly, the president understands the need for reform. Failing to enact private accounts will only pass on an intolerable legacy of debt and higher taxes to our children and grandchildren. The president also understands that we have an opportunity to use Social Security's financial crisis to create a better retirement system, one that gives workers ownership and control over their retirement benefits through large individual accounts."

Health Care - Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies:

"The principles of consumer choice and competition that guide health savings accounts should be applied to every area of the health care sector. Lawmakers must expand and enhance HSAs in the private sector and introduce them into Medicare, Medicaid, and other government programs. To meet Medicare's unfunded liabilities, Congress must pre-fund those obligations through personal savings accounts. Finally, lawmakers should follow the Federal Trade Commission's recommendations and deregulate the most heavily regulated sector of the U.S. economy. Lawmakers should enable consumers to avoid excessive regulatory costs by allowing consumers to choose the level of health insurance regulation and liability protection they desire."

Legal Reform - Roger Pilon, vice president for legal affairs:

"If the 'Ownership Society' is to be the centerpiece of President Bush's economic summit, nothing could better serve that end than restoring constitutional limits on government power. The Constitution was written to secure the Ownership Society, not to empower government to 'manage' the economy. Unlike the New Deal, Fair Deal, or Great Society, the Ownership Society leaves power in the hands of people and private businesses. Government's main job is to protect their right to do so. Those principles should frame the summit and any proposals for legal and regulatory reform. But most important, the Ownership Society needs judges who actively enforce that constitutional design."

Trade - Daniel Griswold, director, Center for Trade Policy Studies:

"President Bush and business leaders at the economic summit should reaffirm their commitment to a free and open U.S. economy. A quarter of a million U.S. companies now export to global markets. They have a huge stake in opening up markets abroad through new trade agreements. Thousands of other U.S. companies depend on imports for raw materials, component parts, and capital machinery. Remaining U.S. trade barriers, such as antidumping orders on steel and quotas on sugar, drive up costs for U.S. manufacturers, making them less competitive in global markets. Expanding our trade with the rest of the world should be an important part of any strategic plan to boost the U.S. economy."

Education - David Salisbury, Director of the Center for Educational Freedom:

"Results from a recent study show that open flexible education systems outperform rigid centralized ones around the world. Therefore, the United States should work to decentralize education and promote school choice so that schools have a large degree of autonomy and operate more like private schools. Reforms should be encouraged at the state and local level rather than instituting federal programs. Similarly, the competition that makes our higher education system the best in the world should be expanded. We should cut government institutional aid, letting students direct resources to the schools that are best preparing them for the future."