Cato Event Podcast

In Unstoppable, famed political activist Ralph Nader calls for an alliance of principled libertarians, conservatives, and progressives against a corrupt and overreaching Washington establishment. Although long an iconic figure on the political left, Nader here seeks to bridge ideological divisions by identifying opportunities for left-right cooperation. According to Nader, the possibilities for joint action include opposing unnecessary wars and bloated Pentagon spending, protecting endangered civil liberties, and combating corporate welfare and bailouts. Please join us for a lively discussion of this provocative book by a man cited by The Atlantic as one of the hundred most influential figures in American history. Prominent conservative writers Daniel McCarthy and Timothy Carney will offer their comments on the book and assess both the potential and limits of Nader's envisioned alliance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Money: How the Destruction of the Dollar Threatens the Global Economy, Steve Forbes and coauthor Elizabeth Ames explain how the lack of any anchor for the U.S. dollar after President Nixon closed the gold window in August 1971 has increased uncertainty and put us on a pure discretionary government fiat money system. The Federal Reserve, now in its 100th year of operation, has become a central bank that serves as the fiscal agent of a profligate government, not the guardian of sound money. The authors argue that the 2008 financial crisis would not have occurred under a true gold standard, nor would government have become the bloated Leviathan it now is. They advocate returning to the hallmark of a liberal economic order — namely, a stable-valued dollar convertible into gold. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  On April 2, the Supreme Court issued its latest blockbuster ruling on campaign finance, McCutcheon v. FEC, striking down the "aggregate" contribution limits on how much money any one person can contribute to election campaigns (leaving untouched the "base" limits on donations to individual candidates or party committees). Within days of the decision, while pundits and activists were still battling in the media, two e-books were published about the case. One was by Shaun McCutcheon himself, an Alabama engineer who has quickly gone from political neophyte to Supreme Court plaintiff, thus providing a rare first-person layman's account of high-stakes litigation. The other was by two law professors specializing in the First Amendment, Ronald Collins and David Skover, who dissect the Court's ruling and put it in the broader context of campaign finance regulation. Please join us to hear about McCutcheon and its implications for our political system from authors with unique perspectives on the subject. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jon Stewart once derided economists' prose as being so boring that “it turned my brain off,” but it doesn't have to be that way. Pioneers in academia, the creative arts, and nonprofits have found new and provocative ways to communicate the timeless ideas of economic liberty.Amity Shlaes, the bestselling author of The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression, and Paul Rivoche, a professional illustrator whose portfolio includes Iron Man and Superman, have teamed up to produce The Forgotten Man Graphic Edition which introduces the Great Contraction of the 1930s to younger readers. Such history is vital to our time and to the future. The myths and half-truths of the 1930s remain a potent cause of current policy failures. The combination of ideas and images define much of the new media and should interest younger readers who increasingly turn to unconventional publications.Scott Barton directs LearnLiberty.org, an online education platform that seeks to be a resource for learning about the ideas of a free society. LearnLiberty has earned 19 million views from 300 videos in the past three years. In 2011 Learn Liberty earned a Templeton Freedom Award for Innovative New Media.Please join us on June 17 as we have a look at an intriguing effort to use new media to communicate free-market economics creatively and effectively. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a May 9 preliminary decision, the U.S. International Trade Commission determined "there is a reasonable indication that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of sugar from Mexico that are allegedly subsidized and sold in the United States at less than fair value." As a result, antidumping and countervailing duty investigations into the questions of domestic injury, dumping, and subsidization will proceed with final determinations expected in early 2015.If duties are imposed on imports of sugar from Mexico, the decision will mark the latest U.S. government intervention on behalf of domestic sugar producers to ensure higher-than-world-average sugar prices in the United States. This raises costs of production for sugar-using industries and discourages domestic value-added activity.What have been the real costs of U.S. sugar protection? How has it impacted consumers, industrial users, and trade relations? What mechanisms exist to prevent the U.S. trade laws from enabling one U.S. industry to impose injurious costs on another? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The United States, argues Barry R. Posen, has grown incapable of moderating its foreign policy ambitions. Since the collapse of Soviet power, it has pursued a grand strategy that has tended to overreach, generating a host of failures and encountering many unexpected difficulties along the way.In this new book, Posen explains why the dominant view among the nation’s foreign policy elites, what he calls “liberal hegemony,” has proved unnecessary, counterproductive, costly, and wasteful. His alternative — restraint — would resist the impulse to use U.S. military power, and focus the military’s and the nation’s attention on the most urgent challenges to national security. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Attorney General Eric Holder’s Department of Justice has faced much criticism in the past six years. From “Fast and Furious” to the surveillance of Fox News reporter James Rosen, Holder has attracted the ire of congressional Republicans, and even some Democrats. In 2012 Holder became the first sitting cabinet member in American history to be held in contempt by Congress.  In their new book, Obama’s Enforcer: Eric Holder’s Justice Department Hans von Spakovsky of the Heritage Foundation and John Fund of National Review argue that Holder’s Justice Department has become an enclave of radical progressive legal activism that serves as a heat shield to protect the Obama administration. In addition, argue the authors, Holder’s DOJ helps push the administration’s hidden agenda, from the war on Fox News to the targeting of Tea Party groups. Join us for a discussion of the book with Hans von Spakovsky and comments by former DOJ official J. Christian Adams. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In his new book Immigration Economics, author and noted immigration scholar George J. Borjas will discuss how immigrants affect the wages of American workers, government budgets, and virtually every other aspect of the American economy and workforce. Professor Borjas brings his years of research and his own voluminous work to bear on this issue–reaching some controversial conclusions along the way. Borjas will be joined by Amelie Constant, another well-known immigration researcher and economist, who will comment on Borjas’ new book and spark a lively discussion on immigration and the American economy. Join us as two of the most respected immigration economists discuss this timely issue. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In an article that went viral in 1989, Francis Fukuyama advanced the notion that with the death of communism history had come to an end in the sense that liberalism — democracy and market capitalism — had triumphed as an ideology. Fukuyama will be joined by other scholars to examine this proposition in the light of experience during the subsequent quarter century. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In an article that went viral in 1989, Francis Fukuyama advanced the notion that with the death of communism history had come to an end in the sense that liberalism — democracy and market capitalism — had triumphed as an ideology. Fukuyama will be joined by other scholars to examine this proposition in the light of experience during the subsequent quarter century. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.