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Begin New Search Content Type Working Paper Publishing Institution The Cato Institute Publication Year within 25 Years

31. Central Banks: Reform or Abolish?

Author:
Gerald P. O'Driscoll Jr.
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Advocates of central bank reform must examine why central banks emerged and what forces sustain them. They did not arise in an institutional vacuum, and will not be reformed in an institutional vacuum. The historical origins of central banks explain how they came into existence. The forces sustaining and feeding their growth may differ from those explaining their origin.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Monetary Policy, and Governance
Political Geography:
United States

32. Mitt Romney's Energy Plan

Author:
Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Whenever gasoline prices are substantially above historic norms – which they are today, as we don't need to tell you – energy policy takes center stage in American politics. And whenever pollsters in presidential campaigns find swing states in energy country, you can bet that the stage will be lit like never before.
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, and Oil
Political Geography:
United States

33. The Misuse of Top 1 Percent Income Shares as a Measure of Inequality

Author:
Alan Reynolds
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
This paper confirms recent studies which find little or no sustained increase in the inequality of disposable income for the U.S. population as a whole over the past 20 years, even though estimates of the top 1 percent's share of pretax, pretransfer (market) income spiked upward in 1986-88, 1997-2000 and 2003-2007.
Topic:
Economics, Government, Markets, and Social Stratification
Political Geography:
United States

34. Still a Better Deal: Private Investment vs. Social Security

Author:
Michael Tanner
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Opponents of allowing younger workers to privately invest a portion of their Social Security taxes through personal accounts have long pointed to the supposed riskiness of private investment. The volatility of private capital markets over the past several years, and especially recent declines in the stock market, have seemed to bolster their argument.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States

35. Renewing Federalism by Reforming Article V: Defects in the Constitutional Amendment Process and a Reform Proposal

Author:
Michael B. Rappaport
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The constitutional amendment procedure of Article V is defective because the national convention amendment method does not work. Because no amendment can be enacted without Congress's approval, limitations on the federal government that Congress opposes are virtually impossible to pass. This defect may have prevented the enactment of several constitutional amendments that would have constrained Congress, such as amendments establishing a balanced budget limitation, a line-item veto, or congressional term limits. The increasingly nationalist character of our constitutional charter may not be the result of modern values or circumstances, but an artifact of a distorted amendment procedure. Article V should be reformed to allow two-thirds of the state legislatures to propose a constitutional amendment which would then be ratified or rejected by the states, acting through state conventions or state ballot measures. Such a return of power to the states would militate against our overly centralized government by helping to restore the federalist character of our Constitution. Moreover, a strategy exists that would allow this reform to be enacted.
Topic:
Civil Society, Government, Law Enforcement, and Law
Political Geography:
United States

36. The Negative Effects of Minimum Wage Laws

Author:
Mark Wilson
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The federal government has imposed a minimum wage since 1938, and nearly all the states impose their own minimum wages. These laws prevent employers from paying wages below a mandated level. While the aim is to help workers, decades of economic research show that minimum wages usually end up harming workers and the broader economy. Minimum wages particularly stifle job opportunities for low-skill workers, youth, and minorities, which are the groups that policymakers are often trying to help with these policies.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, and Governance
Political Geography:
United States

37. The Independent Payment Advisory Board: PPACA's Anti-Constitutional and Authoritarian Super-Legislature

Author:
Michael F. Cannon and Diane Cohen
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
When a member of Congress introduces legislation, the Constitution requires that legislative proposal to secure the approval of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the president (unless Congress overrides a presidential veto) before it can become law. In all cases, either chamber of Congress may block it.
Topic:
Government, Politics, Governance, and Law
Political Geography:
United States

38. The Great Streetcar Conspiracy

Author:
Randal O'Toole
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Streetcars are the latest urban planning fad, stimulated partly by the Obama administration's preference for funding transportation projects that promote "livability" (meaning living without automobiles) rather than mobility or cost-effective transportation. Toward that end, the administration wants to eliminate cost-effectiveness requirements for federal transportation grants, instead allowing non-cost-effective grants for projects promoting so-called livability. In anticipation of this change, numerous cities are preparing to apply for federal funds to build streetcar lines.
Topic:
Economics, Environment, Government, Political Economy, and Infrastructure
Political Geography:
United States

39. Competition in Currency: The Potential for Private Money

Author:
Thomas L. Hogan
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Privately issued money can benefit consumers in many ways, particularly in the areas of value stability and product variety. Decentralized currency production can benefit consumers by reducing inflation and increasing economic stability. Unlike a central bank, competing private banks must attract customers by providing innovative products, restricting the quantity of notes issued, and limiting the riskiness of their investing activities. Although the Federal Reserve currently has a de facto monopoly on the provision of currency in the United States, this was not always the case. Throughout most of U.S. history, private banks issued their own banknotes as currency. This practice continues today in a few countries and could be reinstituted in the United States with minimal changes to the banking system.
Topic:
Economics, Government, Markets, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
United States

40. If You Love Something, Set It Free A Case for Defunding Public Broadcasting

Author:
Trevor Burrus
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Public broadcasting has been in critics' crosshairs since its creation in 1967. Assailed from all sides with allegations of bias, charges of political influence, and threats to defund their operations, public broadcasters have responded with everything from outright denial to personnel changes, but never have they squarely faced the fundamental problem: government-funded media companies are inherently problematic and impossible to reconcile with either the First Amendment or a government of constitutionally limited powers.
Topic:
Government, Communications, Mass Media, and Law
Political Geography:
United States