Cato scholars examine federal, state, and local spending and tax issues from a limited government perspective. They explore the benefits of lower‐rate tax systems, the distortions caused by government spending, and the dangers of rising debt. A guiding principle for budget policy is federalism, the idea that federal activities should be limited and that most government activities are better handled by the states.
Tax and Budget Policy
Featured Content
The High‐Speed Rail Money Sink: Why the United States Should Not Spend Trillions on Obsolete Technology
The United States does not need an expensive new infrastructure system that will take decades to build, carry relatively few passengers, and provide no improvements to freight service.
Corporate Taxes: Rates Down, Revenues Up
Data from OECD countries since 1980 shows that a reduction in corporate tax rate does not in fact lower revenues from corporate taxes.
Biden’s Crumbling Bridges
What politicians and news stories don’t tell you is that America’s bridges have been steadily improving for three decades.
Janet Yellen Is Wrong on Tax Competition
Nations competing to have better policy is not a zero‐sum game.
Biden Corporate Tax Increase
With Biden’s increase, the U.S. federal‐state corporate tax rate would rise to 33.4 percent, far above the averages abroad.
Featured Book
A Fiscal Cliff: New Perspectives on the U.S. Federal Debt Crisis
In this timely volume, scholars and policymakers assess the United States’ fiscal constraints and provide new perspectives that are desperately needed in order to solve the nation’s debt crisis. Previous recommendations focused on the outcomes of fiscal policy, but perhaps we should take a step back and ask whether the fiscal and budget process rules themselves should be reformed. The essays in A Fiscal Cliff suggest that “unless we reform our fiscal rules and institutions, we are not likely to solve the debt crisis and restore sustainable fiscal policies.”
