Please join us for a cocktail reception and conversation in NYC this fall. We have an exciting evening of programming planned.
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) platform has some hefty promises—free health care, free housing, free college, and guaranteed jobs. In a recent analysis, Director of Tax Policy Studies Adam N. Michel tallies their nine promises and finds they would add between $71 trillion and $212 trillion in new federal spending over the next decade.
Drawing on Cato’s recently published Handbook on Affordability, Michel and Ryan Bourne, R. Evan Scharf Chair for the Public Understanding of Economics, will discuss market-based solutions with much-needed economic rigor to address the affordability crisis.
The DSA also has a solution to this crisis: wealth taxes. Do they work?
I’m sure you’ve heard rising complaints about billionaires—from “eat the rich” to “tax the rich”—often as a proxy for broader anxiety about affordability and who gets to keep what they earn. But wealth taxes are vanishing in Europe; they reduce competition and chill innovation, and consequently, growth and prosperity.
Cato’s Marian Tupy, author of Superabundance and editor of HumanProgress.org, will also join us for a discussion on wealth taxes and the folly of redistribution. Drawing on his recent Wall Street Journal article, Tupy will unpack the value that entrepreneurs such as Jeff Bezos create—including the most valuable thing they give back to us: time.
Senior Vice President for Marketing and Partnerships Harrison Moar will also provide an update on the Institute’s priorities—including the Vision for Liberty campaign, Cato’s approaching 50th anniversary in 2027, recent wins for liberty, and what we’re building next.
For more information, please contact Serena Home at shome@cato.org or (202) 218‑4602.
