The ABA ’s 2023 Plea Bargain Task Force Report
Clark NeilyPlea bargaining is criminal “justice” on the cheap. Think of an ultra‐budget airline that eliminates co‐pilots, foregoes maintenance, carries no fuel reserves, and omits preflight safety checks in favor of quick turnaround times. Efficient? Yes. Cheaper? Certainly. But no sane person would choose to fly that airl ine because of its flagrant disregard for what a century of experience with commercial aviation has taught us about the key role that extensive safety protocols play in avoiding disaster.Another complex process that requires multiple safety protocols to avoid disaster is the adjudicat...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 22, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Clark Neily Source Type: blogs
More Cold Water Thrown on Some Alarmist Election Claims
This article is the first to tackle this important question. We examine all states’ district plans before and after th e 2020 round of redistricting at the congressional, state senate, and state house levels. Our primary finding is that there was little retrogression in formerly covered states. In sum, the number of minority ability districts in these states actually rose slightly. We also show that formerly covered states were largely indistinguishable from formerly uncovered states in terms of retrogression. If anything, states unaffected by Shelby County retrogressed marginally more than did states impacted by the rul...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 21, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Walter Olson Source Type: blogs
Immigrating to the U.S. Is The Main Way To Escape Poverty in Dozens of Countries
David J. BierImmigrating to the United States is the main way to escape poverty in many countries. For about 3 dozen countries, most of their not‐in‐poverty population lives in the United States. Indeed, under the developed world poverty standard of $30 per day, immigration is just about the only way to escape poverty for several nationalities. Since poverty is practically assured in their home c ountries, it should not surprise lawmakers that millions of people would risk everything to immigrate to the United States.In 2019, only about 16 percent of people in the United Stateslived below the $30‐per‐...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 21, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: David J. Bier Source Type: blogs
A Crime Bigger than the Murdaugh Murders
Paul MatzkoThe Cato Institute has advocated for tort reform for decades. As the CatoPolicy Handbook put it in 2017, tort litigation creates an incredible quarter of a trillion dollar annual bill that is ultimately footed by consumers. While such litigation is an important means for holding companies liable for bad behavior, in excess it is a growth ‐minimizing and innovation‐stymyingcancer.The latest example of the costs of excessive litigation comes from a surprising source: the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh in the low country of South Carolina.Murdaugh himself stole millions in settlement money f...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 21, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Paul Matzko Source Type: blogs
Cheers to President Carter
Caleb O. BrownReports of Jimmy Carter ’s death have long been premature, but if nothing else, he has been given the gift of many living wakes. We held our own for him in this space seven years ago, highlighting a podcast with Regulation Magazine editor and Cato Senior Fellow Peter Van Doren.As Peter notes in our conversation, prior to the Carter administration, very few outside the wealthy had ever flown on an airplane. It was during his tenure that the federal government looked at flights in places like California, where the lack of regulation in intrastate flights meant air travel per ‐mile was significantly chea...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 21, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Caleb O. Brown Source Type: blogs
DOJ and Treasury Silent on Financial Surveillance Statistics Despite Congressional Mandate
Nicholas AnthonyTime and time again, the biggestproponents of the Bank Secrecy Act have been quick to defend its intrusion on the liberties of Americans with the argument that it stops crime. Yet, despite tens of millions of reports being filed each year, proponents can rarely name more than a few anecdotes of crimes actually being stopped. In fact, even the agency in charge of monitoring Bank Secrecy Act surveillance can ’t say how many reports have actually been used to apprehend criminals.Luckily, not everyone in Congress is content with the status quo on the Bank Secrecy Act regime. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 21, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Nicholas Anthony Source Type: blogs
Presidents and Presidents ’ Day
David BoazAs government workers —thoughfewer than a third of private ‐sector office workers—get a day off Monday for Presidents ’ Day (legally, though not in fact, George Washington’s Birthday), I’m thinking about presidents.Every few years Siena College asks historians and political scientists torate the presidents. Presidential scholars love presidents who expand the size, scope and power of the federal government. Thus they put the Roosevelts at the top of the list. And for a long time they rated Woodrow Wilson —theanti ‐Madisonian president who gave usthe entirely unnecessary World ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 17, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: David Boaz Source Type: blogs
The Right Way to Address the Debt Limit
Jeffrey MironWith an impending showdown of the federal debt limit looming, neither Republicans nor Democrats are addressing the only real way to reign in debt and keep the U.S. fiscally solvent. In a New York Sun column today, I tell lawmakers a difficult truth:The United States currentlylimits the federal debt to $31.4 trillion. Borrowing hit this limit on January 19, but the government will notdefault until at least July due to various “extraordinary measures.” If default occurs, a major financial crisis is likely. How should the United States respond?By cutting Social Security and Medicare.The Un...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 17, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey Miron Source Type: blogs
Friday Feature: Open Sky Education
Colleen HroncichWhen it comes to education today, there are, increasingly, a wide variety of options available. The Friday Feature is evidence of this each week. But it ’s pretty rare to find one organization that provides numerous options on its own.Open Sky Education does just that —with private Christian schools, charter schools, and a newer microschool network.HOPE Christian Schools in Milwaukee, which opened in 2002, marked the modest beginning of what is now Open Sky Education. HOPE, which stands for Hold Onto the Promises Everywhere, was founded by local leaders who wanted more options to be available ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 17, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Colleen Hroncich Source Type: blogs
Buy Now, Pay Later, and the Rise of Debt
ConclusionThe buy now, pay later industry is new and will likely continue to evolve. Companies working in this space can certainly help their industry to be better understood during this evolution by being transparent and providing accessible data. However, that is not to say the government should step in to force this transparency. Considering the data available already shows there is little to be concerned about in terms of rising debt, using legislative or regulatory force to mandate disclosures from buy now, pay later companies does not seem justified. (Source: Cato-at-liberty)
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 17, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Nicholas Anthony Source Type: blogs
Poppin ’ (Baby) Bottles for the One Year Anniversary of the Formula Crisis
Gabriella Beaumont-SmithOne year agotoday, Abbott Nutrition issued recalls of infant formula produced at its plant in Sturgis, Michigan. At the same time, Abbott closed the factory leading to a nationwidecrisis—the supply shock couldn ’t be remedied by the two other major U.S. formula‐makers, rigid policies prevented imports from filling the gap, and parents began hoarding supplies. In May 2022, national weekly out ‐of‐stock rates reached74% and continued to climb, reaching over 90% in June.Since then, national out ‐of‐stock rates have improved (thanks in large part totemporarytradeliberal...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 17, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Gabriella Beaumont-Smith Source Type: blogs
Socialism in Theory and Practice
David BoazSixty-five percent of Democrats have a favorable view of socialism,according to Gallup. Gallup says 39 percent of Americans overall view socialism favorably, and 45 percent wouldvote for a socialist for president. Of course, they may have varying views of what " socialism " means. Some presumably mean government ownership of the means of production, the standard definition. Others may have in mind what Europeans call " social democracy, " as when Sen. Bernie Sanders defended his self-proclaimed socialism by saying he wanted the United States to be more like Denmark. The prime minister of Denmark promptly responde...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 16, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: David Boaz Source Type: blogs
New Hampshire Governor Seeks Radical Occupational Licensing Reform
Marc JoffeNew Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu ’s new budget proposal includes a call for occupational licensing reform. In his February 14budget message, Sununu expressed a commitment to “breaking down regulatory barriers, lowering the cost of entry to do business here, increasing free‐market competition, and signaling to the rest of America that New Hampshire is the #1 state in America for Economic Freedom.”Details of the licensing reforms outlined in Governor Sununu ’sExecutive Budget summary included the following:[T]he budget eliminates 692 unnecessary statutory provisions, 14 unnecessary regulat...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 16, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Marc Joffe Source Type: blogs
CBO on Medicare and Social Security
Chris EdwardsNew Congressional Budget Officeprojections show that federal budget deficits will rise from $1.41 trillion in 2023 to $2.85 trillion by 2033. In 2023, federal spending of $6.22 trillion is 29 percent higher than federal taxes of $4.81 trillion. By 2033, projected spending of $9.95 trillion would be 40 percent higher than taxes of $7.10 trillion. Deficits are projected to explode even though Republican tax cuts are set to expire after 2025.Without budget reforms, accumulated federal debt held by the public will almost double from $26 trillion in 2023 to $46 trillion by 2033. That vast expansion in debt willunde...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 15, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Chris Edwards Source Type: blogs
The CBO Budget and Economic Outlook in the Post ‐COVID Fiscal Era
Romina Boccia and Dominik LettThe Congressional Budget Office (CBO) just released its latestBudget and Economic Outlook for 2023 to 2033, providing 10 ‐year fiscal projections for the post‐COVID fiscal era. The United States is on the tail‐end of an unprecedented surge in emergency spending during which inflation hit a 40‐year record high. To control this surge in inflation, the Federal Reserve adopted a tighter monetary stan ce by increasing interest rates. In this context, CBO’s report forecasts a worsening fiscal trajectory characterized by high and rising federal debt. Pandemic spending followe...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 15, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Romina Boccia, Dominik Lett Source Type: blogs
