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2. Herbert Hoover: Father of the New Deal
- Author:
- Steven Horwitz
- Publication Date:
- 09-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Politicians and pundits portray Herbert Hoover as a defender of laissez faire governance whose dogmatic commitment to small government led him to stand by and do nothing while the economy collapsed in the wake of the stock market crash in 1929. In fact, Hoover had long been a critic of laissez faire. As president, he doubled federal spending in real terms in four years. He also used government to prop up wages, restricted immigration, signed the Smoot-Hawley tariff, raised taxes, and created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation-all interventionist measures and not laissez faire. Unlike many Democrats today, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's advisers knew that Hoover had started the New Deal. One of them wrote, "When we all burst into Washington ... we found every essential idea [of the New Deal] enacted in the 100-day Congress in the Hoover administration itself."
- Topic:
- Economics, Markets, Political Economy, Financial Crisis, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- United States and Washington
3. Publication Practices for Transparent Government
- Author:
- Jim Harper
- Publication Date:
- 09-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Government transparency is a widely agreed upon goal, but progress on achieving it has been very limited. Transparency promises from political leaders such as President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner have not produced a burst of information that informs stronger public oversight of government. One reason for this is the absence of specifically prescribed data practices that will foster transparency.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Political Economy, Politics, Communications, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- United States
4. Fannie, Freddie, and the Subprime Mortgage Market
- Author:
- Mark A. Calabria
- Publication Date:
- 03-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The recent financial crisis was characterized by losses in nearly every type of investment vehicle. Yet no product has attracted as much attention as the subprime mortgage.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, Markets, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States
5. The Case for Auditing the Fed Is Obvious
- Author:
- Arnold Kling
- Publication Date:
- 04-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Recently, the Federal Reserve has significantly altered the procedures and goals that it had followed for decades. It has more than doubled its balance sheet, paid interest to banks on reserves held as deposits with the Fed, made decisions about which institutions to prop up and which should be allowed to fail, invested in assets that expose taxpayers to large losses, and raised questions about how it will avoid inflation despite an unprecedented increase in the monetary base.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, Political Economy, Politics, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States
6. Does the Doctor Need a Boss?
- Author:
- Michael F. Cannon and Arnold Kling
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The traditional model of medical delivery, in which the doctor is trained, respected, and compensated as an independent craftsman, is anachronistic. When a patient has multiple ailments, there is no longer a simple doctor patient or doctor-patient-specialist relationship. Instead, there are multiple specialists who have an impact on the patient, each with a set of interdependencies and difficult coordination issues that increase exponentially with the number of ailments involved.
- Topic:
- Economics, Health, and Human Welfare
- Political Geography:
- United States
7. Massachusetts Miracle or Massachusetts Miserable: What the Failure of the "Massachusetts Model" Tells Us about Health Care Reform
- Author:
- Michael Tanner
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- When Massachusetts passed its pioneering health care reforms in 2006, critics warned that they would result in a slow but steady spiral downward toward a government-run health care system. Three years later, those predictions appear to be coming true: Although the state has reduced the number of residents without health insurance, 200,000people remain uninsured. Moreover, the increase in the number of insured is primarily due to the state's generous subsidies, not the celebrated individual mandate. Health care costs continue to rise much faster than the national average. Since 2006, total state health care spending has increased by28 percent. Insurance premiums have increased by 8–10 percent per year, nearly double the national average. New regulations and bureaucracy are limiting consumer choice and adding to healthcare costs. Program costs have skyrocketed. Despite tax increases, the program faces huge deficits. The state is considering caps on insurance premiums, cuts in reimbursements to providers, and even the possibility of a “global budget” on health care spending—with its attendant rationing. A shortage of providers, combined with increased demand, is increasing waiting times to see a physician. With the “Massachusetts model” frequently cited as a blueprint for health care reform, it is important to recognize that giving the government greater control over our health care system will have grave consequences for taxpayers, providers, and health care consumers. That is the lesson of the Massachusetts model.
- Topic:
- Health, Human Welfare, Markets, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- United States
8. High-Speed Rail Is Not "Interstate 2.0"
- Author:
- Randal O'Toole
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The administration has likened President Obama's high-speed rail plan to President Eisenhower's Interstate Highway System. Yet there are crucial differences between interstate highways and high-speed rail. First, before Congress approved the Interstate Highway System, it had a good idea how much it would cost. In contrast, Congress approved $8 billion for high-speed rail without knowing the total cost, which is likely to be at least $90 billion.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Government, and Infrastructure
- Political Geography:
- United States
9. All the President's Mandates: Compulsory Health Insurance Is a Government Takeover
- Author:
- Michael F. Cannon
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The most hazardous health reform measure before Congress is not the so-called "public option," but proposals to make health insurance compulsory via an individual or employer mandate. Compulsory health insurance could require nearly 100 million Americans to switch to a more expensive health plan and would therefore violate President Barack Obama's pledge to let people keep their current health insurance. In particular, the legislation before Congress could eliminate many or all health savings account plans. Making health insurance compulsory would also spark an unnecessary fight over abortion and would enable government to ration care to those with private health insurance.
- Topic:
- Government, Health, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
10. The Citizens' Guide to Transportation Reauthorization
- Author:
- Randal O'Toole
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Sometime in 2010 or 2011, Congress expects to decide how to spend the $250 billion or more of federal gas taxes and other highway user fees that will be collected over the next six years. The process of doing so is called surface transportation reauthorization. A major point of contention in this law is how much of our transportation system should be centrally planned and how much should be built and operated in response to the needs of actual transportation users.
- Topic:
- Economics and Infrastructure
- Political Geography:
- United States
11. A Fork in the Road: Obama, McCain, and Health Care
- Author:
- Michael Tanner
- Publication Date:
- 07-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Healthcare reform will be one of the top issues of the 2008 presidential election. In the face of widespread public demand for changes in the U.S. health care system, both Barack Obama and John McCain have offered detailed proposals for reform.
- Topic:
- Government, Health, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States
12. Asset Bubbles and Their Consequences
- Author:
- Gerald P. O'Driscoll Jr.
- Publication Date:
- 05-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- In the past, the federal government has introduced moral hazard in the banking system through deposit insurance. Banks underpriced risk because of the federal guarantee that backed deposits. After banking crises in the 1980s and 1990s, deposit insurance was put on a sound basis and that source of moral hazard was mitigated. In its place, monetary policy has become a source of moral hazard. In acting to counter the economic effects of declining asset prices, the Federal Reserve has come to be viewed as underwriting risky investments. Policy pronouncements by senior Fed officials have reinforced that perception. These actions and pronouncements are mutually reinforcing and destructive to the operation of financial markets. The current financial crisis began in the subprime housing market and then spread throughout credit markets. The new Fed policy fueled the housing boom. Refusing to accept responsibility for the housing bubble, the Fed's recent actions will likely fuel a new asset bubble. The cumulative effects of recent monetary policy undermine the case for free markets.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- United States
13. FASB: Making Financial Statements Mysterious
- Author:
- T.J. Rodgers
- Publication Date:
- 08-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Since the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has passed rules that it promises will make corporate accounting more transparent. In fact, its revised Generally Accepted Accounting Principles have made it difficult for investors — or even CEOs — to understand a company's financial report.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- United States
14. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae: An Exit Strategy for the Taxpayer
- Author:
- Arnold Kling
- Publication Date:
- 09-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac crisis may have been the most avoidable financial crisis in history. Economists have long complained that the risks posed by the government-sponsored enterprises were large relative to any social benefits.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States
15. Rails Won't Save America
- Author:
- Randal O'Toole
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Rising gas prices and concerns about greenhouse gases have stimulated calls to build more rail transit lines in urban areas, increase subsidies to Amtrak, and construct a large-scale intercity high-speed rail system. These megaprojects will cost hundreds of billions of dollars, but they won't save energy or significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and Government
- Political Geography:
- United States
16. Does Barack Obama Support Socialized Medicine?
- Author:
- Michael F. Cannon
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (IL) has proposed an ambitious plan to restructure America's health care sector. Rather than engage in a detailed critique of Obama's health care plan, many critics prefer to label it "socialized medicine." Is that a fair description of the Obama plan and similar plans? Over the past year, prominent media outlets and respectable think tanks have investigated that question and come to a unanimous answer: no.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, Health, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- United States
17. Greenspan's Monetary Policy in Retrospect
- Author:
- David R. Henderson and Jeffrey Hummel
- Publication Date:
- 11-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Is Alan Greenspan to blame for the current housing bubble and the ongoing financial crisis? A growing chorus charges the former Federal Reserve chairman with being an "inflationist" whose loose monetary policy caused or significantly contributed to our current economic troubles. However, although Greenspan's policies weren't perfect, his monetary policy was in fact tight, and his legacy is one of having overseen low and stable inflation and a striking dampening of the business cycle.
- Topic:
- Economics
- Political Geography:
- United States
18. How Did We Get into This Financial Mess?
- Author:
- Lawrence H. White
- Publication Date:
- 11-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- As policymakers confront the ongoing U.S. financial crisis, it is important to take a step back and understand its origins. Those who fault "deregulation," "unfettered capitalism," or "greed" would do well to look instead at flawed institutions and misguided policies. The expansion in risky mortgages to under qualified borrowers was encouraged by the federal government. The growth of "creative" nonprime lending followed Congress's strengthening of the Community Reinvestment Act, the Federal Housing Administration's loosening of down-payment standards, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's pressuring lenders to extend mortgages to borrowers who previously would not have qualified.
- Topic:
- Economics and Government
- Political Geography:
- United States
19. Is the Gold Standard Still the Gold Standard among Monetary Systems?
- Author:
- Lawrence H. White
- Publication Date:
- 02-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Critics have raised a number of theoretical and historical objections to the gold standard. Some have called the gold standard a “crazy” idea. The gold standard is not a flawless monetary system. Neither is the fiat money alternative. In light of historical evidence about the comparative magnitude of these flaws, however, the gold standard is a policy option that deserves serious consideration.
- Topic:
- Economics and Government
- Political Geography:
- United States
20. WHO's Fooling Who? The World Health Organization's Problematic Ranking of Health Care Systems
- Author:
- Glen Whitman
- Publication Date:
- 02-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The World Health Report 2000, prepared by the World Health Organization, presented performance rankings of 191 nations' health care systems. These rankings have been widely cited in public debates about health care, particularly by those interested in reforming the U.S. health care system to resemble more closely those of other countries. Michael Moore, for instance, famously stated in his film SiCKO that the United States placed only 37th in the WHO report. CNN.com, in verifying Moore's claim, noted that France and Canada both placed in the top 10.
- Topic:
- Health, Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, and International Organization
- Political Geography:
- United States
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