The U.S. fiscal imbalance—the excess of what we expect to spend, including repayment of our debt, over what government expects to receive in revenue—is large and growing. And with politicians proposing large new expenditures, little is being done to rectify the country’s fiscal health. Although some policymakers argue that fiscal meltdowns have never happened in U.S. history and that therefore “this time is no different,” the reality is that the nation’s fiscal situation has been deteriorating since the mid-1960s, is far worse than ever before, and could lead to a fiscal crisis if no major spending adjustments occur in the next few decades.
Committed to bringing attention to this growing danger, the Cato Institute inaugurated a significant project to investigate and document the federal government’s current financial position and the implications of federal fiscal policies and practices on the government’s financial sustainability. Two key project reports were to be crafted and distributed, both written by Jeffrey Miron, director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Economics at Harvard University.
The first report, issued several months ago, wasFiscal Imbalance: A Primer– which detailed the key principles necessary for understanding the true state of government financial health.
We are now able to provide, for free reading and downloading, the project’s second and most advanced report – U.S. Fiscal Imbalance over Time: This Time Is Different. This paper illustrates that while fiscal meltdown may not be imminent, the nation’s fiscal situation has been deteriorating since the mid 1960s, is far worse than ever before, and will continue to deteriorate if no adjustments occur as time moves forward.
The paper projects fiscal imbalance as of every year between 1965 and 2014, using data-supported assumptions about GDP growth, revenue, and trends in mandatory spending on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs. What does the paper reveal? The only way to restore fiscal balance is to scale back mandatory spending policies – particularly on large health care programs. This is a vast challenge of paramount importance.
It is our goal – and Cato’s ongoing commitment – that these reports help limit the unsustainable spending the federal government is undertaking, and provide effective strategies for diminishing our government’s dangerous fiscal instability.
In this new ebook, two scientists with more than half a century of experience between them explore the realities and myths of global warming.
With December’s U.N. Paris Climate Conference in the headlines, it has become increasingly difficult to differentiate climate science from rhetoric. In Lukewarming: The New Climate Science that Changes Everything, Pat Michaels and Chip Knappenberger explain the real science and spin behind the headlines and come to a provocative conclusion: global warming is not hot—it’s lukewarm. While that may not sound massive, it does, as the book’s subtitle notes, change everything. Climate change is real, it is partially man-made, but it is clearer than ever that its impact has been exaggerated—with many of the headline-grabbing predictions now being rendered implausible or impossible. This fresh analysis is engaging and enlightening to readers of all backgrounds, and provides an invaluable foundation of information to those interested in being genuinely informed about global warming and the solid base of facts behind it.
Now in its fourteenth edition, the Review is the first scholarly journal to appear after each SCOTUS term ends and the only one grounded in the nation’s first principles, liberty, and limited government.
The Review has built quite a reputation over the years, and has earned some high praise from notable SCOTUS experts:
“Cato, with its emphasis on limited government and individual rights, has weighed in with a book of essays by academics and practicing lawyers that manages to skewer liberal and conservative justices alike.” – Tony Mauro, Supreme Court correspondent, The National Law Journal and Legal Times
“Unquestionably, the definitive volume on the Supreme Court’s term.” – Tom Goldstein, founder of SCOTUSblog (and co-chair of litigation and Supreme Court practice at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP)
In this year’s issue, Shapiro and other leading legal scholars analyze the 2014-2015 Supreme Court term, specifically focusing on the most important and far-reaching cases of the year, as well as upcoming cases to watch.
Has your summer reading list been missing a book on a current public policy debate? This week only, the Cato Store is discounting a selection of its titles — save 50% off select print books and ebooks are $1.99!
Of special note, if you purchase a copy of David Boaz’s The Libertarian Mind for the discounted price of $14.95, we’ll include a free copy of The Libertarian Reader. These two books are the ultimate resources for understanding the libertarian movement.
Author James Tooley braids together personal experience, community action, individual courage, and family devotion to tell the story of the small, parent-funded schools he first came upon in India that could help achieve universal education.
Tooley details his travels from the largest shanty town in Africa to the mountains of China, and the children, parents, teachers, and entrepreneurs who taught him that the poor are not waiting for educational handouts. They are building their own schools and learning to save themselves.
The Beautiful Tree is not another book lamenting what has gone wrong in some of the world’s poorest communities. It is a book about what is going right, and powerfully demonstrates how the entrepreneurial spirit and the love of parents for their children can be found in every corner of the globe.
The FREE audiobook version of Individualism: A Reader is now available for download on our website! It provides a wealth of illuminating essays about individualism, often from unusual perspectives.
Did you get an eReader this holiday season? Do you already have one but need new books? For a limited time, select Cato ebooks are available for $1.99. Our ebooks are available for all devices through the Cato Store, Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, and Google Play. Fill your eReader with new titles and best sellers from the Cato Institute today!
Prophetic in the insightful analysis it revealed when first published in 2012, The Libertarian Vote: Swing Voters, Tea Parties, and the Fiscally Conservative, Socially Liberal Center provides details on the millions of American voters who are now the subject of major news stories on the growing influence of libertarian views and factions on the upcoming midterm elections, domestic policies, foreign policy, and much more. The dominating theme of political commentary over the past decade has been that we are a polarized, red vs. blue nation, but between 10 and 20 percent of American voters do not fit squarely into these boxes. The Libertarian Vote offers some of the most authoritative insights available on this large and influential block of voters.
Replacing Obamacare: The Cato Institute on Health Care Reform contains the work of over a dozen national experts who have dedicated their professional lives to enabling effective health care reforms. Issued in 2012, this nearly 800 page work represents the Cato Institute’s best work on Obamacare, focusing on how free markets can make health care better (with an extensive chapter offering a detailed proposal for replacing Obamacare), more affordable, and more secure. By the book’s conclusion, you will clearly understand how the solid, proven solution set forth in Replacing Obamacare can lead to real health care reform.
A D.C.-based public policy research organization (or "think tank") dedicated to the values of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace.
