Cato Event Podcast

On Tuesday, March 28, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, which concerns a legal challenge to the military tribunals that are seeking to try certain prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay for war crimes. The Bush administration maintains that the president can convene military tribunals to try and punish enemy combatants for offenses against the law of war. Others dispute the idea that the president can presume to decide what rights a prisoner will have and to adjudicate the prisoner's guilt or innocence. Join us for a debate on these matters one day before the Supreme Court hears the controversy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Congress has been moving rapidly toward enacting new ethics and lobbying regulations. Such regulations have consequences for the elections in the fall, the public's views of Congress as an institution, and the basic political rights of all Americans. Please join us for an examination of the proposed ethics and lobbying regulations by Bradley A. Smith, former chairman of the Federal Election Commission and senior adviser to the Center for Competitive Politics, and Nan Aron, president of the Alliance for Justice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many conservatives questioned the wisdom and efficacy of using the U.S. military for humanitarian missions in Somalia in 1993 and Haiti in 1994. More recently, however, voices on both the left and the right have called for U.S. military intervention in Darfur, Congo, and elsewhere.What should trigger U.S. military intervention? Some observers advocate an expansive definition of the national interest to include consideration of America's moral obligations. Those who favor a more constrained view of American interests worry that so-called moral missions carry high and frequently overlooked costs, and could therefore distract us from the business of defending America. Should policymakers focus their attention solely on U.S. security, or is the United States obligated to prevent genocide, ethnic cleansing, or wholesale violations of human rights?The panelists will explore these and other questions in an attempt to frame the debate over the proper role of U.S. power in the world today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russia has become richer but less free since President Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000. Andrei Illarionov will describe how the Kremlin's policy decisions in the past few years have given rise to a new corporate state in which state-owned enterprises are governed by personal interests and private corporations have become subject to arbitrary intervention to serve state interests. The reduction in economic freedom is negatively affecting political freedom, civil society, and foreign relations. Illarionov —who, in protest of government policies, recently resigned the post he had held for six years— will discuss the role that oil wealth has played in creating the corporate state, Russia's dim development prospects, and the possibility of restoring basic liberties. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bruce Bartlett, a veteran of the Reagan White House and Treasury Department, argues that George W. Bush has betrayed the Reagan legacy by expanding the size and scope of the federal government and letting the federal budget mushroom out of control. He charges that the Medicare expansion of 2003 may be "the worst legislation in history" and raises the question of whether Bill Clinton was a better fiscal conservative than Bush. Bartlett writes as a fiscally conservative Republican and worries that his party will have little future if it loses the trust of voters who want small government and fiscal responsibility. Blogger extraordinaire Andrew Sullivan will comment on Bartlett's critique and the state of American conservatism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when large companies and powerful governments reigned supreme over the little guy. But new technologies are empowering individuals like never before, and the Davids of the world—the amateur journalists, musicians, and owners of small businesses—are suddenly making a huge economic and social impact.In An Army of Davids, author Glenn Reynolds, the man behind the immensely popular Instapundit.com, provides an in-depth, big-picture view of a world where the small guys matter more and more. Reynolds explores the birth and growth of the individual's surprisingly strong influence in arts and entertainment, anti-terrorism, nanotech and space research, and much more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Constitution was written and ratified to secure liberty through limited government. Central to its design were two principles: federalism and economic liberty. But at the beginning of the 20th century, Progressives began a frontal assault on those principles. Drawing on the new social sciences and a primitive understanding of economic relationships, their efforts reached fruition during the New Deal when the Constitution was essentially rewritten, without benefit of amendment. In a new Cato book, Richard Epstein traces this history, showing how Progressives replaced competitive markets with government-created cartels and monopolies. Please join us for a discussion of the roots of modern government in the Progressive Era. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite a federal budget deficit of about $400 billion, President Bush and Republicans in Congress say that spending is under control and that the budget outlook is improving. Proposed spending growth in President Bush's fiscal year 2007 budget is below the large increases of prior years. But are the White House and Congress doing enough to restrain spending? What will happen to the budget as entitlement costs explode in coming years? Have Republicans created enough budget room to extend the president's supply side tax cuts? Donald Marron will discuss the newly released CBO projections for federal revenues and spending. Stephen Slivinski will discuss the outlook for spending and the administration's proposed changes in department and agency funding. Chris Edwards will discuss the budget's tax proposals and comment on the danger of rising taxes if spending is not cut in coming years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The federal government grows each year. Taxes rise and regulations pile higher — and our quality of life suffers. Bristling with data and drama, Size Matters warns of big government's measurable negative impact on the lives of ordinary Americans. The book argues that excessive government reduces family income, drives up the cost of housing and health care, hurts employment, and stifles vital marketplace creativity and innovation. Please join us for a discussion of how the federal government impedes the pursuit of happiness with the author, Joel Miller, and award-winning journalist Jonathan Rauch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Parental choice is the most contentious educational policy issue in America, and no choice plan is more closely watched than the District of Columbia’s school voucher program. Critics of parental choice frequently allege that such programs would increase costs and that public schools would suffer.In "Spreading Freedom and Saving Money," economists Susan Aud and Leon Michos analyze the impact of the D.C. voucher program and find no support for either allegation. They report that the program saves taxpayers money as it is currently structured and that it would save taxpayers even more money if expanded to include all students. They also find that principals are able to cut spending when enrollment declines. Aud and Michos conclude, however, that the voucher program's current design is problematic, rewarding D.C. Public Schools for declining enrollment instead of creating incentives for improved fiscal responsibility and accountability.Former D.C. city councilman Kevin Chavous will conclude the program by sharing his insights on the struggle for educational freedom in the nation's capital.Please join us for a discussion of these nationally relevant findings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.