Interest in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) has dramatically increased over the past few years. What was once limited to passing ideas in academic papers has now become a leading policy discussion. Yet with it has also come a growing concern for the future of freedom. Will CBDCs spell doom for financial privacy? Do they pose a fundamental threat to the banking system? And how should policymakers think about the future of money?
The Cato Institute is pleased to welcome Representative Tom Emmer (R‑MN) to provide an opening address as the first member of Congress to introduce legislation prohibiting the Fed from launching a retail CBDC. Following Rep. Emmer’s address, Norbert Michel, vice president and director of the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at Cato, will moderate a panel discussion with Greg Baer, Christina Skinner, Christian Kameir, and Nicholas Anthony. Come join us on March 9 for this important conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Exploring the Risks of Central Bank Digital Currencies

Podcast of policy and book forums, Capitol Hill briefings and other events from the Cato Institute Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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“We hold these truths to be self‐​evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The second sentence of the Declaration of Independence is perhaps one of the most resonant of all phrases from the American Founding. But what did the Founders mean by “Happiness”? And how, exactly, was it to be pursued? In his new book, The Pursuit of Happiness, Jeffrey Rosen examines the many ways that key figures of the American Founding turned to ancient Greek and Roman philosophers as guides toward a better understanding of happiness and the good life. Through the eyes of American figures such as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Frederick Douglass, Rosen explores virtues such as temperance, humility, and moderation and their relationship to self‐​improvement and good governance. What emerges is a set of important insights about the relationship between the quality of character and the nature and success of political and social organization. Rosen’s concluding pages offer a sobering set of reflections about our own culture currently marinating in social media and internet excess and asks how we might rediscover a path that the Founders themselves worked to keep alive more than 200 years ago.
Join Jonathan Fortier, director of Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org, for a discussion with author Jeffrey Rosen and Michael Poliakoff, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Pursuit of Happiness How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America

It has been two years since more than $2 trillion in new US industrial policy initiatives were signed into law. However, despite the much‐​publicized increases in construction spending and numerous announcements of future investments—there has been little actual evidence of the manufacturing boom that these government programs were supposed to catalyze. Instead, many projects have been delayed or, in the case of electric vehicles and offshore wind, canceled altogether, owed to both changing market conditions and many of the same economic, regulatory, and political hurdles that have long plagued US industrial policy efforts.
Please join the Cato Institute as we detail past US industrial policy efforts, the long‐​standing problems these initiatives have faced, and whether today’s US industrial policy projects appear to be heading for the same unfortunate conclusion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Electric Vehicle Subsidies and the State of US Industrial Policy

A complex array of government policies and market forces cause drug prices to be higher in the United States than other nations. Is this a problem? If so, are there better policies for determining drug prices? What is the “right” price for a drug? Panelists will discuss evidence suggesting that US drug prices are excessive and what policymakers should and should not do in response. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At What Price: Determining Pharmaceutical Prices in Medicare

May is National Small Business Month. Small businesses and startups play an important part in the technology sector, and many proposed policy changes could be particularly impactful on them. While often antitrust is thought of as a “big business” issue, the reality is that changes to competition policy, such as restrictions on mergers and acquisitions, affect businesses of all sizes.
Many proponents of antitrust policy changes assert that these changes are necessary to protect small businesses particularly in the technology sector. Some assert that there is currently a “kill zone” where successful startups are gobbled up by today’s tech giants before they can become rivals, while others say these transactions occur in a healthy market for a variety of reasons that often benefit small companies and consumers as well as larger companies. Do the data support the idea of a “kill zone”? How might antitrust changes impact the evolution of small businesses and the choices they have in their journey? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Would Proposed Antitrust Changes Help or Harm Startups and Small Businesses?

In January 2021, Mississippi replaced its state flag, the culmination of a process that saw years of debate, protest, and fervid disagreement. Join us on May 16 for an event cohosted by the Cato Institute, Sphere Education Initiatives, and the Moral Courage Project. We’ll explore the political and social environment surrounding the flag debate and examine the skills of productive disagreement through the story of Genesis and Louis, two young people who came together to understand and learn from each other in these polarizing times.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Exploring the Risks of Central Bank Digital Currencies

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