Should Automakers Be Responsible for Accidents?

Motor vehicles are among the most dangerous products sold anywhere. But according to many auto-industry experts, the eventual transition to driverless vehicles will drastically lower the economic and noneconomic costs of auto accidents. How should the automobile tort/insurance regime be rede-signed to take into account the emergence of driverless vehicles? In the new issue of Regulation, Kyle D. Logue proposes to replace our current auto tort regime with a single comprehensive automaker enterprise liability system. Also in this issue, Ike Brannon and M. Kevin McGee argue that the Trump administration’s decision to rescind H-4 visa holders’ ability to work fails to meet any credible benefit–cost analysis.

Anyone’s Game: Sports-Betting Regulations after Murphy v. NCAA

Until very recently, sports betting was regulated — and banned in most states — by federal law. Last year, however, the Supreme Court ruled in Murphy v. NCAA the law was unconstitutional because it dictated what state law could and couldn’t be in this area. States now have the opportunity to make their own laws on sports betting for the first time in a quarter of a century, and Congress likewise is deciding if and how to regulate sports betting directly. In a new brief, Cato scholar Patrick Moran recommends that Congress employ federalism as a guiding principle when considering new legislation.

Jones Act Repeal Bill Introduced

Senator Mike Lee has introduced a bill to repeal the Jones Act. In place since 1920, the Jones Act mandates that goods transported by water between two points in the United States be done by vessels that are U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed, U.S.-owned, and U.S.-built. Justified on national security grounds, the law was meant to ensure a strong maritime sector to bolster U.S. capabilities in times of war or national emergency. These envisioned benefits, however, have proved illusory while the Jones Act has imposed a very real and ongoing economic burden. Cato scholars have written extensively on the need to rid ourselves of this antiquated law and chart a new course based on innovation and competition rather than discredited protectionism.

Gullible Superpower: U.S. Support for Bogus Democratic Movements

Over the last forty years, there is a distressing history of foreign insurgent groups being able to manipulate U.S. policymakers and opinion leaders into supporting their cause. Frequently, that support goes far beyond rhetorical endorsements to include financial and even military assistance to highly questionable individuals, organizations, and movements. Gullible Superpower: U.S. Support for Bogus Democratic Movements examines the most prominent cases in which well-meaning Americans have supported such misguided policies, and underscores the need for future U.S. leaders to adopt a policy of skepticism and restraint toward foreign movements that purport to embrace democracy.

Recent Commentary

Events

March 25

A Real Emergency: Executive Power under the National Emergencies Act

Featuring Spencer P. Boyer, Director of the Washington office, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law; Ilya Somin, Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, and Adjunct Scholar, Cato Institute; Deborah Pearlstein, Professor of Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law; and Adam J. White, Executive Director, C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, and Research Fellow, Hoover Institution; moderated by Gene Healy, Vice President, Cato Institute.

12:30PM to 2:00PM EDT
Hayek Auditorium, Cato Institute

More Events

Of Special Note

The Inclusive Economy: How to Bring Wealth to America’s Poor

The Inclusive Economy: How to Bring Wealth to America's Poor

The Inclusive Economy: How to Bring Wealth to America’s Poor energetically challenges the conventional wisdom of both the right and the left that underlies much of the contemporary debate over poverty and welfare policy. Author and national public policy expert Michael Tanner takes to task conservative critiques of a “culture of poverty” for their failure to account for the structural circumstances in which the poor live. In addition, he criticizes liberal calls for fighting poverty primarily through greater redistribution of wealth and new government programs.

Special! 10 Copies for $10

Cato Pocket Constitution

To encourage people everywhere to better understand and appreciate the principles of government that are set forth in America’s founding documents, the Cato Institute published this pocket-size edition.

Now Available

Home Study Resources

The Cato Institute offers a wealth of online educational audio and video resources, from self-paced guides on the ideas of liberty and the principles of economics, to exclusive, archived lectures by thinkers such as Milton Friedman and F. A. Hayek. Browse through some highlights of our collections, for personal study or for use in the classroom.

The Jones Act: Charting a New Course after a Century of Failure

For nearly 100 years the Jones Act has restricted the transportation of cargo between two points in the U.S. to ships that are U.S.-built, crewed, owned, and flagged. Meant to bolster the U.S. maritime industry, the Act has instead led to a steady deterioration in the number of ships, sailors, shipyards, and has imposed large economic burdens. This full-day conference examined the Act in greater detail and evaluated options for reform.