• Tear Down This Wall … between the U.S. and Cuba (Ian Vásquez, director, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity. November 19, 2009)

  The decades-old U.S. embargo against Cuba has failed to promote any kind of reform or respect for human…

• Don't Buy $849B Price Tag for Reid Bill (Michael D. Tanner, senior fellow. November 19, 2009)

  We shouldn't get too excited about the selected leaks that suggest this bill will cost just $849 billion and actually trim the budget deficit. If history is any guide –judging…

• Frank Bill Will Politicize Bailouts, Not Eliminate Them (Mark A. Calabria, director of financial regulation studies. November 17, 2009)

  Instead of eliminating the Federal Reserve's ability to bail out companies deemed "too big to fail," …

• Where's Obama's "Change" on Asia Policy? (Doug Bandow, senior fellow. November 12, 2009)

  The agenda for President Obama's Asia trip appears mainly focused on reinforcing the status quo--namely, Washington's Cold War-era security ties. The U.S. will remain engaged in East Asia. But America is…

• Want More Jobs, Mr. President? Butt Out of the Economy (Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies. November 12, 2009)

  When in doubt, hold a summit. President Obama wondered aloud from a White House podium this …

• Duncan's Race to Nowhere (Neal McCluskey, associate director of the Center for Educational Freedom; Andrew J. Coulson, director of the Center for Educational Freedom. November 12, 2009)

  This should really be called the Over the Top Fund. The guidelines for the program should please no one, because they are simultaneously too weak and too much. They…

• Sacrificing the Economy for Climate Change (Patrick J. Michaels, senior fellow in environmental studies. November 3, 2009)

  Newspapers covering the Boxer-Kerry climate bill are reporting that the legislation suddenly faces long …

• Election Day: A Test for Democrats (Michael D. Tanner, senior fellow; John Samples, director, Center for Representative Government. November 3, 2009)

  If Republicans make significant gains in statewide and special elections today, it will be a shot across the bow to Democrats in marginal districts, warning that Americans are deeply troubled…

• Election Outcome Won't Stabilize Kabul (Malou Innocent, foreign policy analyst. November 2, 2009)

  President Karzai's "victory" in the Afghan presidential election does little to increase the legitimacy of the government in Kabul. A necessary condition for a successful counterinsurgency campaign--the current American strategy--is…

• NAEP Scores Are In But Not Up (Neal McCluskey, associate director of the Center for Educational Freedom. October 29, 2009)

  Today's report, "Mapping State Proficiency Standards Onto NAEP Scores: 2005-2007" makes one thing very clear: Government control of education has put us on a road to failure. And no, national…

• Congress Hurting Diplomatic Progress with Iran (Justin Logan, associate director of foreign policy studies. October 29, 2009)

  Congress seems determined to diminish the already low chances of a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear program. In addition to pushing forward with unilateral sanctions on Iran, Congress has now drawn…

• Feds Giveth Jobs & Cars, Then Taketh Away Again (Tad DeHaven, budget analyst. October 29, 2009)

  The bad news this morning on the impact of both the federal stimulus and the Cash for Clunkers…

• Can't Achieve Public Option Without Deception (Michael F. Cannon, director of health policy studies; Michael D. Tanner, senior fellow. October 29, 2009)

  Nearly every claim that House Democrats make about their bill is a deception. …

• Hate Crime Law Kills One Bird with Two Stones (Tim Lynch, director, Project on Criminal Justice. October 28, 2009)

  The hate crime measure President Obama will sign into law today will be—and should be—challenged in …

• More Hot Air for the Home Ownership Bubble (Mark A. Calabria, director of financial regulation studies. October 27, 2009)

  Rather than seeing the financial and mortgage crisis as the result of a housing bubble, Washington …

• Happy 8th Anniversary, Patriot Act (Julian Sanchez, research fellow. October 26, 2009)

  We've now had eight years to assess the effects of the sprawling USA PATRIOT Act, passed with extraordinary haste in the panic-stricken aftermath of 9/11. It has become clear in the…

• Obama Faces Chilly Reception to Warming Goals (Patrick J. Michaels, senior fellow in environmental studies. October 23, 2009)

  President Obama's renewed push for cap-and-trade legislation is absolutely the wrong move at the wrong time, in terms of both policy and politics. For one thing, lawmakers in his own party…

• 'Consumer Protections' Achieve the Opposite (Mark A. Calabria, director of financial regulation studies. October 22, 2009)

  On the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act of 2009: Perhaps this proposal's greatest flaw is that it will do nothing to avoid the next financial crisis and would not have avoided…

• Net Neutrality Regs: Still Unnecessary (Timothy B. Lee, adjunct scholar. October 22, 2009)

  When Congress was first considering network neutrality regulations in 2006, pro-regulation activists insisted that neutrality rules were critical to preserve the open Internet. Congress chose not to enact regulations, and…

• Afghan Runoff Election Will Not Create Legitimacy (Malou Innocent, foreign policy analyst. October 20, 2009)

  In Afghanistan, whether a second-round presidential election takes place or not, the fact remains there will not be a legitimate central government for some time to come. Long-term success in counterinsurgency--the…

• An Outbreak of Scruples on Health Reform Budgeting? (Michael D. Tanner, senior fellow; Michael F. Cannon, director of health policy studies. October 19, 2009)

  The Democratic leadership in Congress may finally have pushed the budgetary dishonesty around health care reform too far for even its own members to swallow. Principled Democrats like Kent Conrad of…

• The 'Stimulus Jobs' Oxymoron (Tad DeHaven, Budget Analyst. October 15, 2009)

  The release of jobs figures from the president's "stimulus" effort is little more than political theater. Regardless of how many jobs the government claims to create, the economic facts are…

• Health Care Bill Creates National ID Program (Jim Harper, director of information policy studies. October 12, 2009)

  Thanks to the push for a more transparent Congress, we’re getting a better look at what new health…

• For Obama, Peace in the Morning, War in the Afternoon (Ted Galen Carpenter, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies. October 9, 2009)

  Hours after thanking the world for the Nobel Peace Prize this morning, President Obama will gather with his war advisors to ponder sending 40,000 more troops into a country where…

• The Real Cost of the Baucus Bill: $2 Trillion+ (Michael D. Tanner, senior fellow; Michael F. Cannon, director of health policy studies. October 8, 2009)

  The CBO scoring makes it clear that the Baucus bill's reduction in future budget deficits comes not from…

• Behind the CBO’s Baucus Bill Score (Michael D. Tanner, senior fellow. October 7, 2009)

  This is moderation? Although the bill being considered by the Senate Finance Committee is being …

• Eight Years Later, Coherence Still Eludes U.S. Afghanistan Policy (Malou Innocent, foreign policy analyst. October 7, 2009)

  After the better part of a decade, the United States' military effort in Afghanistan still suffers from a lack of clearly defined objectives. In pondering his next moves in the…

• Diminishing School Violence By Increasing School Choice (Adam B. Schaeffer, policy analyst, Center for Educational Freedom. October 7, 2009)

  Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are both right: No child should have to fear violence every day just through the simple act of going to school. Officials…

• Senators Still Buying Votes with Nation's Defense Budget (Christopher A. Preble, director of foreign policy studies. October 7, 2009)

  By funding a number of programs and weapon systems that the Pentagon does not want, and the troops do not need, members of Congress have elevated parochial interests above U.S.…

• Cato on Upcoming Supreme Court Cases (Ilya Shapiro, senior fellow and editor-in-chief of Cato Supreme Court Review. October 2, 2009)

  Continuing its trend from this past term, the Court has further front-loaded its caseload with 56 …

• Smoke, Mirrors and Hot Air on Climate Change (Patrick J. Michaels, senior fellow in environmental studies. October 1, 2009)

  The Environmental Protection Agency has just announced its first regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from large emitters such as power plants and major manufacturers. While giving no specifics, administrator Lisa…

• Sixty Years On, China Has Prosperity, Still Needs Freedom (James A. Dorn, vice president for academic affairs. October 1, 2009)

  China's rise from an isolated state-controlled economy in 1949 to the world's third largest economy with a vibrant nonstate sector is something to celebrate on the 60th anniversary of the…

• Public Option Falls Off Runaway Health Care Train (Michael D. Tanner, senior fellow. September 30, 2009)

  The cacophony surrounding whether or not a public option should or will be added to the Senate Finance Committee health care reform bill should not disguise the fact that this…

• Limited Options in Dealing with Iran (Christopher A. Preble, director of foreign policy studies. September 28, 2009)

  The revelation last week of a second secret Iranian nuclear facility, and Iran's test firings over the weekend of its short and medium range missiles, bring a new sense of…

• Cato Institute scholars comment on the vital issues surrounding the G-20 summit that begins Thursday in Pittsburgh (Ian Vásquez, director, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity; Daniel Griswold, director, Center for Trade Policy Studies; Daniel J. Ikenson, associate director, Center for Trade Policy Studies; Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar, research fellow, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity. September 24, 2009)

  "Realistic expectations" should be the watchwords for the G-20 this week. If the G-8 could not …

• Curb Your Enthusiasm: Americans Should Not Expect Much from Obama's Visit to the UN (Christopher A. Preble, director of foreign policy studies. September 23, 2009)

  President Barack Obama's address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, and his chairing of the UN Security Council on Thursday, is a grand attempt to tell the world--after…

• News Release: U.S. Is World's Sixth-freest Economy, Yearly Study Says (September 14, 2009)

  WASHINGTON -- The United States is the sixth-freest economy in the world, according to yearly rankings released today by the Cato Institute and the Canada-based Fraser Institute. The same report concludes…

• News Release: Selection Committee Announced for the 2010 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty (September 11, 2009)

  The Cato Institute today announced the international committee to select the fifth recipient of the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty, a $500,000 biennial award presented to an individual for…

• News Release: Cato Institute to Launch Ad Campaign Against Government-Run Health Care (July 22, 2009)

  The Cato Institute will launch an ad campaign Thursday highlighting under-reported poll data showing Americans' concerns that current health care reform plans will raise costs, limit choice and reduce the…

• News Release: Chávez Tries to Shut Down Pro-Free Market Educational Conference (May 27, 2009)

  CAUCAGUA, VENEZUELA -- A Cato Institute educational seminar fell victim to an attempt by the Venezuelan government to shut it down for expressing ideas critical of the Chávez regime. Numerous…

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