Freedom in the 50 States

Which state is the freest? Which state the least free? Which one has the most lightly taxed and regulated economy? Which states protect personal freedoms the best and the worst? How does your state fare? The newly published 2018 edition of Freedom in the 50 States presents a completely revised and updated ranking of the American states based on how their policies promote freedom in the fiscal, regulatory, and personal realms. Authors William P. Ruger and Jason Sorens have gathered data on more than 230 variables to measure freedom now and in the past. Freedom in the 50 States is an essential work for anyone interested in state policy and in advancing a better understanding of a free society.

Unlawful Shield: A Cato Institute Website Dedicated to Abolishing Qualified Immunity

Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine invented out of whole cloth by the U.S. Supreme Court that protects government agents, including particularly law enforcement officers, who violate someone’s constitutional rights from federal civil liability. The Cato Institute is pleased to announce a new website dedicated to explaining how and why the qualified immunity doctrine needs to be eliminated.

Is Obamacare Now Truly Optional?

At long last, the Trump administration has created a “freedom option” for people suffering under Obamacare. A final rulemaking issued last week reverses an Obama-era regulation that exposed the sick to medical underwriting. The new rule will expand consumer protections for the sick, cover up to two million uninsured people, reduce premiums for millions more, protect conscience rights, and make Obamacare’s costs more transparent.

The Budgetary Effects of Ending Drug Prohibition

In the past several years, the national movement to end drug prohibition has accelerated. Nine states and Washington, DC, have legalized recreational marijuana, with at least three more states (Connecticut, Michigan, and Ohio) likely to vote on legalization by the end of 2018. A new bulletin from Cato scholar Jeffrey Miron uses the most recent available data to estimate the fiscal windfall that would be achieved through drug legalization. All told, says Miron, drug legalization could generate up to $106.7 billion in annual budgetary gains for federal, state, and local governments.

Recent Commentary

Events

August 24

Freedom in the 50 States

Featuring William P. Ruger, Vice President of Research and Policy, Charles Koch Institute; Chris Edwards, Editor, DownsizingGovernment.org, Cato Institute; and Jason Sorens, Lecturer and Program Director of the Political Economy Project, Dartmouth College; moderated by Matt Weibel, Director of Government Affairs, Cato Institute.

12:00PM to 1:00PM EDT
2045 Rayburn House Office Building

September 4

The NSA and the Road to 9/11: Lessons Learned and Unlearned

Featuring William Binney, Former Crypto-Mathematician, NSA; Kirk Wiebe, Former Senior Analyst, NSA; Edward Loomis, Former Computer Systems Analyst, NSA; Thomas Drake, Former Senior Executive Service Member, NSA; and Diane Roark, Former Professional Staff Member, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; moderated by Patrick Eddington, Policy Analyst in Homeland Security and Civil Liberties, Cato Institute.

10:00AM to 12:00PM EDT
Hayek Auditorium, Cato Institute

More Events

Of Special Note

Monetary Policy in an Uncertain World

Monetary Policy in an Uncertain World: Ten Years after the Crisis

Ten years after the 2008 financial crisis we are again facing the possibility of economic turmoil as the Fed and other central banks exit their unconventional monetary policies. Although central banks will move gradually, unforeseen circumstances could trigger a flight to safety and a collapse of asset prices. Contributors to this new Cato Institute book draw lessons from the decade of unconventional monetary policies and offer proposals for reducing monetary uncertainty, including adopting a rules-based monetary regime.

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 Supreme Court: Past and Prologue
A Look at the October 2017 and 2018 Terms

The annual Constitution Day symposium, presented by Cato’s Center for Constitutional Studies, marks the day in 1787 that the Constitutional Convention finished drafting the U.S. Constitution. We celebrate that event each year with the release of the new issue of the Cato Supreme Court Review and with a day-long symposium featuring noted scholars discussing the recently concluded Supreme Court term and the important cases coming up.