Cato Institute

The Cato Institute is a research organization focused on public policy, often referred to as a think tank. Its mission is to champion individual freedom, limited government, free markets, and peace. The institute's researchers and experts engage in impartial and independent studies on a variety of policy topics. Established in 1977, the Cato Institute draws its name from Cato's Letters, a collection of essays from 18th-century England that advocated for a society with minimal government interference. These writings were influential to the founders of the American Revolution. The core principles of that era—individual freedom, limited government, and free markets—remain relevant today, especially in our age of global commerce and vast information access. Promoting social and economic liberty is not just beneficial for a free society; it is essential for shaping a brighter future.

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Rachel Reeves Has a Cunning Plan to Make Shopping More Expensive

1 day ago | cato.org | Ryan Bourne

If you made a ranking of Labour’s priorities, what would you put near the top? Reviving our anaemic economic growth rate, perhaps? Slashing NHS waiting lists? Tackling Britain’s catastrophic housing shortfall? You’d probably get many pages down before writing: “Making online shopping pricier for ordinary families.” Yet, remarkably, Rachel Reeves has precisely this goal in mind.
Trump’s Afrikaner Refugees: Strange Process, Right Decision

1 day ago | cato.org | Alex Nowrasteh

Generated with ElevenLabs AI technology. In practice, the president decides which immigrants are legal, illegal, refugees, or unworthy under current US immigration law. Nowhere is this clearer than in President Donald Trump’s recent order admitting Afrikaners from South Africa as refugees after cancelling the rest of the refugee program.
Four Reasons School Choice Is Good, but Federal Is Bad

1 day ago | cato.org | Neal McCluskey

Generated with ElevenLabs AI technology. A $5 billion scholarship tax credit is a part of the budget reconciliation bill just introduced in Congress. As a member of the Educational Freedom Supporters of America in good standing, few would doubt that I think school choice is an excellent thing. And I certainly understand the desire to take it nationwide via one big, beautiful, federal bill.
Trump's WWI Victory Day Is a Bad Idea

2 days ago | cato.org | Doug Bandow

The United States looms large on the world stage, but it wasn’t always so important.
Does DOGE Show That There's Little Government Waste?

5 days ago | cato.org | Ryan Bourne

Matt Yglesias makes a point that we will hear a lot from Democrats in the coming months. Progressives will claim that because DOGE “failed” to live up to its ambitions to slash government spending by trillions, there must be little government waste. Indeed, economist Alan Blinder even says that Elon Musk should examine Social Security as a model of efficiency, given its administration costs only 0.5 percent of benefits paid out. Hmm.
Please Stop Feeding the Insatiable Film Subsidy Monster

1 week ago | cato.org | Ryan Bourne

British TV and film producers have developed one skill beyond storytelling: extracting cash from taxpayers. Our politicians seem hypnotised by the glamour of high-end shows and movies. The latest culture, media and sport select committee report regurgitates industry complaints, calling for even more subsidies.
Donald Trump Should Fight Globalism, Not Globalisation

1 week ago | cato.org | Ryan Bourne |Daniel Klein

Globalism is a menace. Globalisation is not. So what’s the difference? GlobalisationIn the first chapter of ‘The Wealth of Nations’, Adam Smith marvelled that the ordinary woolen coat is made of materials ‘which often come from the remotest corners of the world’. Globalisation happens when people from different corners of the world interact through trade, investment, cultural exchange and technology.
Foreign Governments Have Themselves to Blame for Trump's Movie Tariffs

1 week ago | cato.org | Ryan Bourne

Donald Trump has thrown another trade grenade. His latest idea – a 100 percent tariff on all foreign-made films – is crude, impractical and potentially disastrous for his frenemies in the Hollywood industry that he has suddenly decided to champion. Announcing the tariffs via Truth Social, Trump tried to paint movies produced overseas as a danger: not just to America’s film production industry, but national security too. “WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!” he thundered.
Carousel of Contempt

1 week ago | cato.org | Walter Olson

Two federal judges in high-profile deportation cases have asked the Trump administration to show cause why it should not be held in contempt of court over its appointees’ refusal to follow court orders. Are we finally getting some sort of pushback on the administration’s seemingly calculated strategy of moving fast and breaking so many laws that it’s hard for opponents to keep up?
Social Security's Financial Crisis: The Trust Fund Myth Uncovered

1 week ago | cato.org | Romina Boccia |Ivane Nachkebia

May 7, 2025 • Visual Feature May 7, 2025 • Visual Feature There’s a big problem with Social Security. Most people misunderstand its trust fund, believing it holds real financial assets that ensure future benefits—the equivalent of a piggy bank stuffed with dollar bills. But the truth is that piggy bank is empty.