Crafting Policy in an Extraordinary Crisis
What should governments at the federal, state, and local level be doing to combat the spread of the Coronavirus? Cato Institute President & CEO Peter Goettler has reached out to the White House, Congress, and state‐level policymakers recommending they approach this pandemic head on, with calm and humility.
Cato offers these principles to help policymakers meet this challenge in a manner that saves human lives, preserves human dignity and gets our economy moving again as soon as the health crisis is under control.
- “A Letter to Policymakers,” by Peter Goettler
- “COVID-19 Response: Critical Guidelines for Policymakers,” from the Cato Institute
- Additional Cato commentary on COVID-19
Civil Liberties and Coronavirus
While civil libertarians have mostly accepted some intrusions on personal freedoms in the name of fighting a pandemic, Cato scholars continue to push lawmakers to justify lockdowns, curfews and other restrictions while asking for specifics on when freedoms will be restored. Would the surveillance programs being discussed even work to slow spread of the virus? Cato scholars discuss the short‐ and long‐term outlook for civil liberties.
- “How Should Civil Libertarians Respond to Pandemics?,” by Matthew Feeney
- “Preventing Liberty from Becoming a Coronavirus Fatality,” by Ted Galen Carpenter
- “Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties During a Pandemic,” Podcast featuring Patrick G. Eddington and Caleb O. Brown
Backlog for Skilled Immigrants Tops 1 Million: Over 200,000 Indians Could Die of Old Age While Awaiting Green Cards
America’s employment‐based immigration system is broken. More than 1 million immigrants are waiting for lawful permanent residence solely from outdated caps, and the current rate of increase in the backlog predicts that it will total more than 2.4 million by 2030. Per‐country limits force Indians to bear nearly the entire burden of a broken system with more recent immigrants facing lifetime waits for green cards. In a new brief, Cato scholar David J. Bier analyzes the problem, and suggests options for reform.
Does Tying Up Air Travel Make Us Less Safe?
The 737 Max crashes have made for sensational headlines at a time when air fatalities among major commercial airlines have become exceedingly rare. While the ongoing investigation may indicate that changes are warranted, federal authorities are likely to reflexively overregulate air safety. In the new issue of Regulation, Dennis L. Weisman and Peter Van Doren argue that overregulation can increase transportation fatalities as compliance costs drive up airfares and cause consumers to substitute higher‐risk highway travel for air travel.