Happy New Year from Cato

Our greatest challenge in 2014 is to extend the promise of individual liberty, economic freedom, and limited government. We at Cato hope that you’ll continue to support our mission.

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The Federal Reserve at 100

With the one-hundredth anniversary of the 1913 Federal Reserve Act at hand, Cato scholars assess whether the nation’s experiment with the Federal Reserve has been a success or failure. In studies and conferences, several Cato scholars argue for alternatives to the now century-old system of monetary control.

Why Trade Promotion Authority Is Wrong for the Trans-Pacific Partnership

The Obama administration has asked Congress to reinstate trade promotion authority in hopes that it will enable passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade agreement being negotiated by 12 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. While advocates of free trade generally support trade promotion authority, a new paper from Cato scholar K. William Watson suggests that, in this case, trade promotion authority will do more harm than good. “Many will argue that you need fast track to pass free trade agreements,” says Watson, “but right now trade promotion authority is largely useless and unacceptably costly.”

Garry Kasparov to Deliver Keynote Address at Friedman Prize Dinner

Former world chess champion, Garry Kasparov, now a leading pro-democracy activist in Russia and champion of global human rights, will be delivering the Keynote Address at the 2014 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty Award Dinner.  Nominations just closed for the 2014 prize – which will be presented on May 21, 2014 at the Award’s dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.

Recent Commentary

The War on Terror’s Jedi Mind Trick

National-security officials insist new violations of privacy are essential for keeping Americans safe from terror — but there’s no evidence the programs have stopped any attacks.

Events

January 7

Preschool Education: What the Research Says

Featuring David J. Armor, Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, George Mason University; Deborah A. Phillips, Professor of Psychology, Georgetown University; Grover J. “Russ” Whitehurst, Director, Brown Center on Education Policy, Brookings Institution; and William T. Gormley, University Professor of Public Policy, Georgetown University; moderated by Neal P. McCluskey, Associate Director, Center for Educational Freedom, Cato Institute.

12:00pm Hayek Auditorium

Of Special Note

The Conscience of the Constitution: The Declaration of Independence and the Right to Liberty

The Conscience of the Constitution: The Declaration of Independence and the Right to Liberty

Timothy Sandefur’s insightful new book documents a vital, forgotten truth: our Constitution was written to secure liberty, not to empower democracy. Yet today’s overemphasis on democracy has helped expand the scope of government power at the expense of individual rights. Now, more than ever, the Declaration of Independence should be the framework for interpreting our fundamental law. It is the conscience of the Constitution.

Special! 10 Copies for $10

Cato Pocket Constitution

To encourage people everywhere to better understand and appreciate the principles of government that are set forth in America’s founding documents, the Cato Institute published this pocket-size edition.

P. J. O'Rourke at Cato

P. J. O’Rourke at Cato * January 22

An H. L. Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute, P.J. O’Rourke has reported on the inner workings of the U.S. government, explained the global economy, and written on the American automobile industry. At this Cato Book Forum, he tackles the big, broad problems stemming from the generation that, for better or worse, changed everything – covered in his new book The Baby Boom: How It Got That Way…And It Wasn’t My Fault…And I’ll Never Do It Again – his first book of all new, previously unpublished material since 2007.