Michael D. Tanner (Author at The Cato Institute)

Baucus's Bad Bill (Commentary)

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

Given the problems facing our health care system—high costs, uneven quality, millions of Americans without health insurance—it seems that things couldn’t get any worse. But they can, and they would, if the health care plan being proposed by Sen. Max Baucus were to become law, with Americans facing h...

A Repudiation, But of What? (Commentary)

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

Tuesday's massive Democratic landslide cannot be seen as anything but a repudiation of the Republican Party's tenure in power. Combined with the equally large Democratic victory in 2006, Republicans have now lost the presidency, more than 50 House seats, and at least a dozen seats in the Senate in j...

The New Face of the GOP (Daily Podcast)

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

The Voters' Message to Republicans (Commentary)

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

Voters sent a big message to Republicans last week. Combined with the equally large Democratic victory in 2006, Republicans have now lost the presidency, more than 50 House seats, and at least a dozen seats in the Senate in just two years. This is the biggest back-to-back defeat that any party has s...

Cato Scholar Comments on Election Landslide (Scholar Comments)

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

Yesterday's massive Democratic landslide cannot be seen as anything but a repudiation of George Bush and the current Republican congressional leadership. But to suggest that in electing Barack Obama and a Democratic congressional majority, voters were choosing big-government over small-government would imply that either the Bush administration, the current Republican congressional leadership, or, for that matter, John McCain actually supported smaller government. In reality, by almost every measure, government grew bigger, more expensive, and more intrusive under President Bush and the Republican Congress.

Exit polls show that Republican losses were heaviest among upscale suburban voters who tend to be economically conservative but socially moderate. These formerly reliable Republican voters did not suddenly decide that they wanted a bigger, more expensive, and more intrusive government. But, faced with the big-government status quo or big-government "change," they opted for change.

Republicans now have two more years in the wilderness to decide whether or not they actually stand for limited government and individual liberty. One wonders, whether they will hear the message.

Will GOP Learn from This? (Commentary)

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

The Republican Party is on the verge of its second consecutive election debacle. In two years, the GOP will likely have lost the presidency, more than a dozen Senate seats, and more than 50 seats in the House—if it's lucky. Republicans will have gone from controlling every arm of government to contr...

Candidates Mum on Medicare's Ticking Clock (Daily Podcast)

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Questions and Answers About Obama's Health Plan (Commentary)

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Barack Obama has made his support for comprehensive health care reform a centerpiece of his campaign. However, the details of his proposal are getting lost amidst the swirl of campaign rhetoric. And the devil is in the details. Here are some hard questions to ask about the Obama plan. Q: Will Sen...

Did the Bailout Vote Revive Conservatism? (Daily Podcast)

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Take Advantage of Private Accounts' High Return Rate (Commentary)

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Social Security is the largest government program in the world, accounting for 23 percent of the federal budget. The Social Security tax is the largest tax the average family pays. Nearly 80 percent of Americans pay more in Social Security taxes than they do in federal income tax. Millions of senior...

Cato Scholars Comment on Selection of Sarah Palin for McCain's VP (Scholar Comments)

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

At the very least, John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin shakes up the race and steals a bit of Obama's thunder. Palin will be extremely popular with the Republican base, both social and economic conservatives. She has been a crusader against pork-barrel spending and has taken on the corrupt Alaska Republican establishment. Certainly this pick carries a great deal of risk, but it has a high upside as well.

The Palin Record in Alaska (Daily Podcast)

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Pro-Obama Youth Should Be Careful What They Wish For (Commentary)

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The sea of young people we'll see cheering Barack Obama's speech in Denver Thursday night is just a tiny slice of a nationwide movement. According to a recent poll by Harvard University's Institute of Politics, Obama leads John McCain by an astonishing 23 points, 55% to 32%, among voters younger tha...

Cato Scholars Comment on the Rising Cost of Health Care (Scholar Comments)

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The study points to a legitimate concern -- the rising cost of health care. But it ignores the role that government plays in driving up those costs. Moreover, the authors simply assume that any decision to forgo medical care results in poorer health outcomes. In reality, however, studies indicate that such decisions may be perfectly rational and have no actual impact on health. Finally, the authors assume universal insurance would solve cost and access problems. However, if one looks at national health care systems in other countries, one finds that health care costs are rising and patients often forgo care, not because of choices that they make, but because care is not available.

A Fork in the Road: Obama, McCain, and Health Care (Briefing Paper)

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Healthcare reform will be one of the top issues of the 2008 presidential election. In the face of widespread public demand for changes in the U.S. health care system, both Barack Obama and John McCain have offered detailed proposals for reform. Senator Obama's approach relies heavily on governme...

The Big Squeeze (Commentary)

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Peter Orszag is no conservative ideologue. The head of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) was a scholar at the liberal Brookings Institution before being picked for his current position by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Yet, Mr. Orszag recently warned that the rising cost of federal entitlement pro...

Cato Scholar Comments on Obama's Health Plan (Scholar Comments)

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Obama's campaign has variously estimated the cost of his plan to taxpayers as between $50 billion and $65 billion per year... Moreover, the Obama campaign may be underestimating the actual cost of his plan. Jonathan Gruber puts the cost much higher, perhaps as much as $102 billion per year. There are also some items within Obama's plan that do not yet have specific price tags. For example, it is impossible to know how much Obama's proposed expansion of Medicaid and SCHIP will cost without knowing income eligibility levels. The bill that he voted for in the Senate would have increased spending by roughly $35 billion over five years. Similarly, without knowing more details, the exact cost of his catastrophic reinsurance pool is impossible to determine, although some observers warn that it could be quite expensive.

Cato Scholar Comments on Obama's Health Care Plan (Scholar Comments)

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Both Sen. Obama's health care plan and the 1993 Clinton health care plan are based on the concept of 'managed competition.' They would leave the provision of health care in private hands, but within an artificial marketplace run under strict government control and regulation. Insurers would operate much like public utilities. The American people rejected HillaryCare because they understood that it would require massive new taxes while reducing patient choice and the quality of American health care. Sen. Obama appears determined to copy both her plan and her mistakes.

Cato Scholar Comments on Recent Medicare Bill and the President's Promised Veto (Scholar Comments)

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

This entire debate is the functional equivalent of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Facing unfunded liabilities in excess of $70 trillion, Medicare is unsustainable without major reform. Yet, Congress is tying itself in knots arguing about the proper reimbursement rates for physicians and the level of subsidies for private insurance plans. That's what you get when the government tries to run health care.

A Plea for Social Security Reform (Daily Podcast)

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Cato Scholar Comments on "Health Care for America NOW" (Scholar Comments)

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Unfortunately, the track record of the organizations in this coalition is one of big-government solutions that don't work and put a terrible strain on the economy. A government takeover of the American health care system will not make health care less expensive or more accessible to the American people. The example of national health care systems around the world shows that government-run health care leads to rationing, waiting lists, and fewer patient choices. Similarly, government-run health care in the United States hardly has a confidence-inspiring track record: the VA is a national disgrace; Medicaid delivers poor quality at high cost; and Medicare is $70 trillion in debt. Certainly American health care has problems--costs are rising, too many people lack health insurance, quality is uneven -- but the answer lies in free market incentives and competition, not with bigger and more intrusive government.

Cato Scholar Comments on Bernanke's Remarks on Health Care Spending (Scholar Comments)

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke correctly identified the need to control rising costs as the foundation of health care reform. But his solutions ran disturbingly toward increased government control. The government's track record - from the VA to Medicaid to Medicare-shows that it is incapable of managing a health care system. Only by increasing consumer involvement in heath care and unleashing the free market can we bring health care costs under control, increase access to care, and improve quality.

Voters Send Mixed Messages on Health Care (Commentary)

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Barack Obama was in St. Louis on Tuesday to discuss health care reform. That should come as no surprise. Most polls show that voters see health care as one of the top three issues in the 2008 presidential election, trailing the economy and the war in Iraq. But while Americans seem to want some ki...

Cato Scholar Comments on Bill to Extend Jobless Benefits (Scholar Comments)

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

This bill was a classic case of choosing the appearance of compassion over the real thing. The vast majority of studies show that extending unemployment insurance actually increases unemployment. And the additional taxes or borrowing necessary to fund such benefits are exactly what the economy doesn’t need if we are going to regain economic growth—the type of growth we will need if we want more jobs.

Paul Ryan's Roadmap for the GOP (Commentary)

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

There are many reasons for the Republican Party's troubles, including an unpopular war, a sputtering economy, and a long string of corruption scandals. But perhaps most important, the party no longer seems to stand for its core commitment to limited government. Enter Paul Ryan. Late last month, t...

Cato Scholar Comments on Obama's Candidacy (Scholar Comments)

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The untold story of the Democratic primaries this year is how far the contest forced Barack Obama to the left. Although he has always been a traditional liberal, Obama originally sought to campaign as a 'new-style of politician' who could work across the ideological divide. But the long primary contest increasingly forced Obama to meet a long line of liberal litmus tests. Given Sen. McCain's maverick image and moderate appeal, Obama will have to find a way to demonstrate his independence from liberal orthodoxy or he could be facing serious problems in November.