Cato Events Podcast

If the Republican Party is no longer the party of Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, limited government, or fiscal restraint, then what is it? And what's a self-respecting, small-government, fiscally conservative, socially liberal voter supposed to do? In his new book, Ryan Sager argues that George W. Bush's brand of big-government, big-religion conservatism risks causing a serious split in the GOP — in particular, between the traditional South and the "leave me alone" states of the interior West, such as Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Montana. Please join us for a spirited discussion of the Republican Party's present and future.

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In the next six to nine months, a new farm bill will be written in the United States. The World Trade Organization's Doha Development Agenda negotiations were an oft-cited reason for reforming U.S. agricultural policy. Now that those negotiations have been suspended, what are the prospects for liberalizing the farm sector and reducing the significant costs imposed on American consumers, taxpayers, and trade partners as a result of government farm policies?

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Why do so many pundits say that America's health care system is in crisis? Economist Arnold Kling says that the fundamental challenge in American health care today is that we have many highly trained specialists and advanced technologies but do not know when their use is appropriate or how we should pay for them. He calls this a Crisis of Abundance. Kling argues that markets could do a better job of allocating these resources, and he advocates cutting government health care budgets by two-thirds and reducing third-party payment as a way to encourage better medical decisions.

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On August 22, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, the most extensive reform of the nation's welfare laws since the Great Society. Ten years later, welfare rolls have declined dramatically, but poverty and long-term dependence on government programs persist. A panel of leading experts will look back at welfare reform successes and failures and forward to ask what the future of welfare reform holds.

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In Washington today, it seems the biggest impediment to reducing the size and scope of the federal government is not the Democratic Party. It’s the Republicans on Capitol Hill and in the White House. Instead of building a party that stands against Big Government, national GOP leaders have built a party of Big Government. In the book Buck Wild, Stephen Slivinski tells the surprising story of the GOP’s unfortunate transformation and reveals how Republicans have abandoned the limited-government principles that catapulted them to power in the first place and planted the seeds of their own undoing in the coming elections. At the forum, columnist Bob Novak will add his own pointed comments.

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In January 2004, President Bush called upon Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform that would secure our borders, meet our economic needs, and uphold our best traditions as an immigrant nation. In response, the House and Senate will soon begin the difficult task of reconciling two starkly different immigration bills. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, a prominent member of the president’s economic team and an immigrant himself, has called on Congress to pass an immigration bill that not only protects our borders but also “recognizes the needs of a growing economy.” In a major address, the secretary will explain why reform must include a temporary worker program and a "hard-earned path to legalization" for undocumented workers already in the United States.

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Against the backdrop of the war in Iraq, the nuclear crisis with Iran, and the deadlocked Israeli-Palestinian peace process, there is a growing sense that U.S. policy in the Middle East has failed to advance American national interests. In his book, Sandstorm: Policy Failure in the Middle East, Cato Research Fellow Leon Hadar surveys the historical evolution of what he calls the U.S. "Middle East Paradigm" and concludes that its costs have outweighed its benefits. Hadar argues instead for a policy of "constructive disengagement" from the Middle East, whereby the United States would transfer greater responsibility for security in the area to other global players while encouraging the formation of regional security institutions.

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One year after China's modest currency reforms, the issue remains a sticking point in U.S.-China trade relations. Critics argue that China's yuan remains grossly undervalued, bestowing an unfair advantage on imports from China at the expense of U.S. producers. Other observers contend that benefits from trade with China far outweigh any concerns about its currency. Policy options range from doing nothing to aggressive diplomacy to imposing steep tariffs on Chinese imports. Three experts on U.S.-China trade will discuss the status of reform in China, the impact of U.S.-China trade and exchange rates on our economy, and what change, if any, should be made in U.S. economic policy toward China.

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Today's largest corporations have mastered the art of working with government officials at every level to stifle market competition. They reap billions through a complex web of higher taxes, stricter regulations, and shameless government handouts. The Big Ripoff pulls back the curtain to show who is strangling America's tradition of free enterprise and how and why they are doing it. Author Timothy Carney will discuss how the incestuous relationship between big business and even bigger government works to the detriment of consumers, taxpayers, and entrepreneurs. Columnist and Fox News contributor Jim Pinkerton will provide comments on the book.

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