Think Tank West

Welcome to Our War-torn World, Health Care

By Neal McCluskey

Cato adjunct scholar John H. Cochrane has a terrific piece in the Wall Street Journal today on the Obamacare vs. religious freedom brouhaha. In particular, though it’s not Cochrane’s main point, I thought this was spot-on: Our nation is divided on social issues. The natural compromise is simple: Birth control, abortion and other contentious practices are [...]

Welcome to Our War-torn World, Health Care is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

Which Way Is Inflation Headed?

First let me admit I do not have a crystal ball, nor does anyone I know, so given the limitations of economic forecasting, one can only attempt educated guesses as to the direction of any economic variable. That said, I found the chart below, taken from the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price [...]

Which Way Is Inflation Headed? is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

Cutting the Government—Greek Style

After much wrangling and consternation, the Greek government has agreed to the latest round of “drastic austerity measures,” the most significant of which is the promise to cut 15,000 government jobs. In return, the Greeks will receive 130 billion euros ($170 billion) of European bailout money to keep the Greek state afloat and, crucially, in [...]

Cutting the Government—Greek Style is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

CBO Forecast Accuracy

Economic variables are key drivers of the numbers in CBO’s budget projections. I noted last week that CBO’s new outlook assumes substantially lower interest rates, which appears to produce more than a trillion dollars of savings over the next decade. Policymakers should be aware, however, that macroeconomic forecasts are not very accurate, despite the sophisticated [...]

CBO Forecast Accuracy is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

The Case for Gold — Again

In the New York Times, Floyd Norris reminds us: The 1980 presidential election was fought by a Democratic incumbent weakened by a poor economy amid worries that the United States had lost its ability to compete in the world. Gold prices had risen to unprecedented levels as the election approached, and the Republican nominee hinted [...]

The Case for Gold — Again is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

The Case for Gold — Again

The Case for Gold — Again is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

The Real Tragedy of the Komen/Planned Parenthood Flapdoodle

…is that it overshadowed news that the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to repeal one of two new entitlement programs created by Obamacare—the ironically named CLASS Act—with a bipartisan three-fifths majority. (With numbers like that, Congress could even repeal Obamacare’s death panel!) But really, one private organization pulling funding for another private organization is way [...]

The Real Tragedy of the Komen/Planned Parenthood Flapdoodle is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

On Afghanistan, Panetta Leaves Questions Unanswered

Secretary Panetta’s announcement that the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan will end as early as mid-2013 is a positive development. But it is long overdue and still leaves too many questions unanswered. After more than ten years of war in Afghanistan, the administration should follow through on their commitment to end combat operations and withdraw [...]

On Afghanistan, Panetta Leaves Questions Unanswered is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

Photo ID Laws Mean Some Won’t Vote

Because all of us are with ourselves all day every day, we naturally tend to think that our own lives are pretty standard fare. But that’s just not so in a country of 300+ million people ranging over a vast expanse. So I found worthwhile this NPR story on people who don’t have IDs, people [...]

Photo ID Laws Mean Some Won’t Vote is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

The EU Summit Will Fail to Calm Markets

By Marian L. Tupy

The European leaders’ meeting in Brussels yesterday will likely fail to reassure the financial markets. First, the intergovernmental agreement on stricter budget controls among the members of the eurozone will still have to be approved by national parliaments and could potentially face legal challenges in one or more countries. Second, there is no guarantee that [...]

The EU Summit Will Fail to Calm Markets is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog