Benjamin Giltner Yesterday, the House of Representative voted on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which determines the authorized funds for next year’s defense budget. A major feat, though long overdue, is Congress’s repeal of the Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) related to Iraq. However, this NDAA still has the same problem as those of years past—namely, its insistence on ...
Jennifer Huddleston Cato Institute intern Denison Hatch contributed to this article. Last Congress saw a debate over the Open App Market Act (OAMA), which would have created numerous additional regulations, supposedly to increase competition, on how app stores operate. Now, a similar proposal has been introduced in this Congress, the App Store Fairness Act (ASFA). However, app stores still don’t require some sort ...
Jerome Famularo Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte recently grabbed headlines for floating two “innovative” mortgage ideas: a 50-year mortgage and mortgage portability. The 50-year fixed-rate mortgage idea has already drawn plenty of deserved criticism. But portability, despite receiving far less attention, also deserves more scrutiny. The flaws with a 50-year mortgage are easier to spot. Extending the mortgage ...
Alex Nowrasteh Very little new information has been released since Rahmanullah Lakanwal murdered West Virginia National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom in Washington, DC, two weeks ago. He also shot and injured Andrew Wolfe, another National Guardsman, in the same attack. Prosecutors have since charged Lakanwal with murder, assault with intent to kill while armed, and possession of a firearm during ...
Marcos Falcone Today marks two years since Javier Milei took office as president of Argentina. Since December 10, 2023, the first self-described libertarian to ever rise to power began to liberalize Argentina’s economy. Unsurprisingly for other libertarians, Milei’s policies have started to reverse the country’s long-standing decline. As of September, the economy is growing at 5 percent on a yearly basis. Poverty, ...
Nicholas Anthony One of the biggest concerns about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) is that they will undermine the financial system. In short, money held as a CBDC isn’t held in a bank, and therefore can’t be used to fund private loans. Worse yet, the issuance of a CBDC could amplify the frequency and severity of bank runs. The European ...
Adam N. Michel We went Christmas tree shopping with the kids last weekend. Every year, the ritual reminds me of some of the strangest federal taxes on the books and one of the clearest examples of government-sponsored industry collusion. Most people have never heard of this small 15-cent tax that is part of the Christmas tree check-off program or the ...
Jeffrey A. Singer In a Cato Institute policy analysis, Sofia Hamilton and I highlighted that people with opioid use disorder (OUD) in Australia, Canada, and the UK have been able to access methadone treatment through their primary care clinicians for over 50 years. Patients in the US could access treatment from their primary care clinicians before 1972, when the implementation of ...
Romina Boccia and Ivane Nachkebia Last Tuesday, President Trump said he is looking “very seriously” at the compulsory Australian retirement savings program, which former Prime Minister Julia Gillard has called “our trillion dollar sovereign wealth fund.” While President Trump offered no details about what he finds so attractive about “AustralianSuper,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave possible indications that the administration ...
Jeffrey A. Singer The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) decided on December 5 to update the CDC’s current guideline for immunizing newborns with the hepatitis B vaccine, now recommending it only if the mother tests positive for hepatitis B, not if she tests negative, as it has recommended for the past 30 years. ...