U.S. SLIPS IN ECONOMIC FREEDOM RANKINGS
Economic freedom around the world remains on the rise but it has declined
notably in the U.S. since the year 2000, according to the Economic Freedom of
the World: 2008 Annual Report,
released by the Cato Institute in conjunction with the Fraser Institute of
Canada. In 2000 the U.S. was ranked the second-freest economy, but has fallen
to 8th place this year. "The rule of law, government
spending, and regulation are the areas where the United States saw the most
troubling declines in its ratings this decade," comments Cato scholar Ian
Vasquez.
TRADE, PROTECTIONISM, AND THE U.S. ECONOMY
The expansion of international trade has provided considerable benefits to the
United States and its trading partners. Yet the growth of trade also raises
concerns about its impact on domestic firms and their workers. In "Trade,
Protectionism, and the U.S. Economy," author Robert Krol surveys the economic
research on the causes of expanded international trade, the benefits of trade,
the impact of trade on employment and wages, and the
cost of international trade restrictions.
COMMENTARY
NEW!
Light-Rail Systems Are a False Promise, by Randal
O'Toole. Rail transit is expensive to build, to operate and maintain. One of
rail transits dirty secrets is that the entire system - rails, cars,
electrical facilities, stations - must be replaced, rebuilt or rehabilitated
roughly every 30 years. This costs almost as much as the original
construction, which means for taxpayers that rails are a "pay now, pay more
later" proposition. Light rail is a hoax perpetrated on taxpayers by companies
that profit from designing and building rail lines. Buses can provide better,
faster, safer transit service than light rail at a far lower cost.
NEW!
What Price Stability? by James A. Dorn. Fundamentally,
the Fannie and Freddie debacle is about the role of government in a free
society. If government is limited to protecting
people and property, and individuals are allowed to keep the fruits of their
labour and to bear the risks of loss, then
capital will be efficiently allocated. The secret to a harmonious financial
system is to get institutions and incentives
right. Experience has shown that market liberalism best directs resources to
where they have the most value to society.
DAILY
PODCAST
(Subscribe on iTunes,
)
NEW!
New Frontiers in Free Trade, featuring
Razeen Sally, 9/16/2008
NEW!
Constitution Day Preview 2008, featuring
Ilya Shapiro, 9/16/2008
What's Wrong With No-Knock Raids, featuring
Radley Balko, 9/15/2008
CATO BLOG
HIGHLIGHTS - SUPPRESSING TERRORISM VIDEOS DOES NO GOOD
NEW! On Cato's daily blog, [EMAIL PROTECTED], Jim Harper suggests a new
approach to fighting terrorism. "It exalts
terrorists and terrorism to try chasing their videos off the Internet, and it
doesnt work. Senator Liebermans quest to
cleanse the Internet of terrorism has won a battle in a losing war by
convincing Google to take down such videos. The better
approach is to treat terrorists as the losers that they are. Their videos do
not scare us, but provide us opportunities to
observe, comment, and deplore them, perhaps even mocking their foolishness." To
read more, check out Jim Harper's recent post.
VIDEO
HIGHLIGHTS (Subscribe on iTunes,
)
On today's video
highlight, Cato's Timothy Lynch discusses civil liberties after 9/11 on CBS
WUSA's News 9.
RECENT PAPERS, TESTIMONY,
& LEGAL BRIEFS
NEW! Trade, Protectionism, and the U.S.
Economy: Examining the Evidence, by Robert Krol (September 16, 2008)
NEW! Executive Pay: Regulation vs. Market
Competition, by Steven Van Putten and Ira T. Kay (September 10, 2008)
NEW! Markets vs. Monopolies in Education:
A Global Review of the Evidence, by Andrew J. Coulson (September 10, 2008)
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae: An Exit Strategy for the
Taxpayer, by Arnold Kling (September 8, 2008)
FASB: Making Financial Statements Mysterious, by T. J.
Rodgers (August 19, 2008)
BOOKS AND
PERIODICALS
NEW! Economic Freedom of the World: 2008 Annual Report, by James Gwartney and
Robert Lawson with Seth Norton
NEW! Global
Tax Revolution: The Rise of Tax Competition and the Battle to Defend It, by
Chris Edwards and Daniel J. Mitchell
NEW! New
Frontiers in Free Trade: Globalizations Future and Asias Rising Role, by
Razeen Sally
The Encyclopedia of
Libertarianism, edited by Ronald Hamowy
Cato Handbook On Policy, 6th Edition, edited
by Edward H. Crane and David Boaz
UPCOMING
EVENTS
TODAY, September 16, 2008
New Frontiers in Free Trade: Globalization's Future and Asia's Rising
Role
12:00 pm
Cato Book Forum
Featuring the author Razeen Sally, European Center for International Political
Economy with comments by Carlos
Primo Braga, World Bank. Moderated by Daniel Griswold, Cato Institute.
TOMORROW, September 17, 2008
7th Annual Constitution Day
10:30 am - 7:00 pm
Cato Conference
September 22,
2008
Greatest Emancipations: How the West Abolished Slavery
12:00 pm
Cato Book Forum
Featuring the author, Jim Powell, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute, and author of
The Triumph of Liberty, FDR's
Folly, Wilson's War, and Bully Boy.
Video and audio of all Cato events are archived online here.
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© Copyright
2008 Cato Institute
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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