Policy Forum 

# Harnessing the Debt Ceiling Debate to Limit Government:What Can Be Done to Check and Balance Washington? 

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Date and Time 

March 17, 2015 12 - 1:40 PM EDT 

Location 

Policy Center with Foyer 

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##### Featuring 

Featuring **Ilya Shapiro**, Senior Fellow, Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute; **Nick Dranias**, President and Executive Director, Compact for America Educational Foundation; and **Onkar Ghate**, Senior Fellow and Chief Content Officer, Ayn Rand Institute; moderated by **Roger Pilon**, Vice President, Legal Affairs, Cato Institute. 

On March 15, the statutory debt ceiling kicks in again — after a year of unlimited federal borrowing that has brought our national debt to the edge of $20 trillion. Of course, nobody is betting on the debt ceiling being maintained, which creates a huge problem for advocates of limited government. What in practical politics can hold back the growth of the federal government when unlimited borrowing capacity creates the illusion of limitless, cost-free resources? The participants on this panel will attempt to answer that question with a variety of solutions, ranging from leveraging trends in existing Supreme Court precedent to restoring the moral and social underpinnings of a free society to amending the U.S. Constitution using the Compact for a Balanced Budget. Please join us for a discussion on how to limit Leviathan.

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