# Cato in the News March 20, 2024 • Free Society News Notes Matt Taibbi Praises Cato Best-selling author and investigative reporter Matt Taibbi said this at Cato’s exclusive New York City seminar for Sponsors and the public: “Cato has a position of critical importance in American society.… There’s a new rising movement that believes that free speech and liberal democracy don’t work.… This is completely at odds with the ideas that the Cato Institute stands for—the whole idea of individual liberty, rule of law, and pluralism.” Preventing a Budget Crisis Romina Boccia, Cato’s director of budget and entitlement policy, earned major support for a Base Realignment and Closure-like fiscal commission tasked with reining in federal spending. She advised members of the Problem Solvers Caucus and Bipartisan Fiscal Forum, while former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R‑CA) promoted the broad contours of her proposal. A version of her proposal passed in the House Budget Committee in January. It is now a top issue for Speaker Mike Johnson (R‑LA). Protecting Your Digital Wallet The scholars of Cato’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, led by Norbert Michel, vice president and director, made key recommendations improving bills that would prevent the creation of a central bank digital currency, including bills introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R‑UT) and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R‑MN). Reducing Chaos at the Border David J. Bier, Cato’s associate director of immigration studies, and Alex Nowrasteh, vice president for economic and social policy studies, worked with key officials in the Biden administration. Their discussions inspired a new program that permits Americans to sponsor immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The program reduced illegal immigration from those nations by about 90 percent. ### Recent Op‑Eds [The Obscure Maritime Law That Ruins Your Commute](/commentary/obscure-maritime-law-ruins-commute) –by Scott Lincicome --- [Biden Can’t Stop Immigration. Time to Embrace It.](/commentary/biden-cant-stop-immigration-time-embrace-it) –by David J. Bier --- [She Tried to Start a Business but Was Told It Wasn’t Needed. Supreme Court Should Change That.](/commentary/she-tried-start-business-was-told-it-wasnt-needed-supreme-court-should-change) –by Anastasia P. Boden --- [We Will Never Run Out of Resources](/commentary/we-will-never-run-out-resources) –by Marian Tupy --- [Erdoğan Triumphed by Vowing to Make Turkey Great Again](/commentary/erdogan-triumphed-vowing-make-turkey-great-again) –by Mustafa Akyol --- ### TV Highlights [ ![](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser_2x/public/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_13255.jpg?itok=-1vFWOYl) Clark Neily discusses the SCOTUS case *United States v. Rahimi* on *PBS Newshour* ](/node/106243/embed) [ ![](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser_2x/public/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_13379.jpg?itok=Ersfsssb) Romina Boccia discusses debt and the federal budget on C‑SPAN’s *Washington Journal* ](/node/106321/embed) [ ![](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser_2x/public/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_14154.jpg?itok=BwF9OXGm) Norbert Michel testifies at the hearing, “Housing Affordability: Governmental Barriers and Market-Based Solutions,” before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services on C‑SPAN.org ](/node/106636/embed) [ ![](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser_2x/public/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_14384.jpg?itok=hnPEy_fD) David J. Bier’s policy analysis, “Why Legal Immigration Is Nearly Impossible,” is cited on CNN International ](/node/106862/embed) [ ![](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser_2x/public/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_14523.jpg?itok=0W4xfbB-) Scott Lincicome discusses the Federal Reserve’s war on inflation on CNBC’s *Squawk Box* ](/node/106956/embed) [ ![](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser_2x/public/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_14507.jpg?itok=igxaduHU) Cato Institute event, “Old Right, New Right? What History Suggests about the Future of GOP Foreign Policy,” airs on C‑SPAN ](/node/106948/embed)