Mob Rule Is No Path to Liberty
The Cato Institute has long worked to encourage people everywhere to better understand and appreciate the principles of government that are set forth in America’s Founding documents. Among these principles is the peaceful transfer of power after free and fair elections. “The assault on the Capitol is a tragic violation of these principles,” writes Cato President and CEO Peter Goettler. “We condemn these actions in the strongest terms, support the rule of law and the Constitution, and reject the attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.”
- “Mob Rule Is No Path to Liberty,” by Peter Goettler
- “Only Impeachment Is Censure Enough,” by Gene Healy
- “Reflections on the President’s Conduct,” by Robert A. Levy
Deregulating Legal Immigration: A Blueprint for Agency Action
President Trump restricted legal immigration through a series of unprecedented regulations and presidential orders during his one term. Once President‐elect Joe Biden takes office, he will have the opportunity to reverse these actions and deregulate what is—and was even before Trump—an overly burdensome and expensive legal immigration system. This compendium of 30 concise proposals by 15 authors—including several of America’s leading immigration law experts—can help the Biden administration operate the immigration system as openly and efficiently as the laws allow.
- “Deregulating Legal Immigration: A Blueprint for Agency Action,” by David J. Bier
United States Ranks 17th in Sixth Annual Human Freedom Index
The United States ranks 17th in the sixth annual Human Freedom Index (HFI), the most comprehensive measure of freedom ever created for a large number of countries around the globe. The U.S.‘s overall freedom score decreased from the previous year of 2017, from 8.55 to 8.44 on a ten point scale. “After recent years in which the United States started to regain higher levels of overall freedom, it, unfortunately, began falling again in 2018, with the drop in economic freedom exceeding the decline in personal freedom,” says co‐author Ian Vasquez.
- “Human Freedom Index,” by Ian Vásquez and Fred McMahon
COVID-19 and the U.S. Fiscal Imbalance
Before COVID-19, the U.S. debt burden was large and on an unsustainable path. In a new paper, Cato scholar Jeffrey Miron looks at the fiscal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ensuing recession, and subsequent policy responses. Miron concludes that, in the long run, the pandemic will not dramatically alter the debt burden’s path. So rather than focusing on cutting spending for COVID-19 relief, Congress should focus on curbing the growth in mandatory entitlement spending.
- “COVID-19 and the U.S. Fiscal Imbalance,” by Jeffrey Miron