A Reform Agenda for the Next Indian Government

India’s economic reforms since 1991 have largely been a tale of private-sector success, government failure, and institutional erosion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2014 election slogan of “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance” exactly epitomized the agenda that India needs. Alas, he neither minimized government nor maximized governance. A new paper from Cato scholar Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar lays out an agenda for the next government, which will come to power after the general election in May 2019.

Restoring Responsible Government by Cutting Federal Aid to the States

The federal government has a large presence in state and local policy activities such as education, housing, and transportation.That presence is facilitated by “grants-in-aid” programs, which are subsidies to state and local governments accompanied by top-down regulations. In a new paper, Cato scholar Chris Edwards argues that the aid system produces irresponsible policymaking, and discusses numerous reasons why it is better to fund state activities with state revenues rather than with aid from Washington.

Remembering the Risks of Confrontation with Iran

The New York Times has an article detailing an updated military plan that calls for up to 120,000 U.S. troops to be deployed to the Persian Gulf region “should Iran attack American forces or accelerate work on nuclear weapons.” Cato scholars have written extensively on the risks of confrontation with Iran, including the dangers of direct military intervention.

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Amash Note on Impeachment

Gene Healy

Rep. Justin Amash has a better grasp of the constitutional issues surrounding impeachment than his colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

Memorial Day Thoughts

David Boaz

On Memorial Day we should mourn those who gave their lives in war, and we should resolve not to risk American lives in the future except when our vital national interests are at stake.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Sphere Summit: Teaching Civic Culture Together

For more than four decades, the Cato Institute has introduced people, including millions of young people, to the ideas of freedom. Many Cato books are already taught in high school curricula across the country. To advance the ideas of liberal democracy and the rule of law, Cato has developed the Sphere Summit for educators. The opening Summit seminar, “Teaching Civic Culture Together,” will be held at the Cato Institute in Washington, DC, on July 14–18, 2019.