Episodios

  • The Disaster Aid System: How FEMA Rewards Risk

    The Disaster Aid System: How FEMA Rewards Risk
    Nov 20 2025
    FEMA was meant to help only when disasters exceeded state capacity. Yet today it functions primarily as a national subsidy machine, encouraging development in floodplains, bailing out wealthy coastal states, and shifting costs onto taxpayers far from the danger zones. The Cato Institute's Dominik Lett and Chris Edwards discuss how well-intentioned federal aid has created perverse incentives, bureaucratic delays, and a long tail of spending that continues decades after storms like Katrina.

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    29 m
  • The Shutdown That Solved Nothing

    The Shutdown That Solved Nothing
    Nov 18 2025
    Romina Boccia, Michael F. Cannon, and Adam Michel break down the 43-day government shutdown driven by demands to extend temporary Obamacare subsidies for upper-income households earning well into six figures. The trio examines how the stalemate exposed deeper structural problems: runaway entitlement growth, perverse state incentives, a fragile food stamp and air-traffic control system, and a federal budget process unable to handle partisan deadlock.

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    32 m
  • Don’t Do It, Mr. President: The Prospect of a US War in Venezuela

    Don’t Do It, Mr. President: The Prospect of a US War in Venezuela
    Nov 13 2025

    The Cato Institute's Justin Logan and Brandan P. Buck unpack the Trump administration’s shifting justifications for military action in Venezuela, from fentanyl and cocaine interdiction to Monroe Doctrine revivalism. They explore the legal and strategic risks of invoking war powers under dubious pretenses, warning that the push for regime change could repeat the mistakes of Libya and Iraq while doing little to solve the hemisphere’s drug or governance problems.


    Show Notes:

    https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dont-do-it-mr-president/

    https://www.theamericanconservative.com/when-peace-through-strength-means-war-is-peace/

    https://www.cato.org/commentary/us-military-cant-solve-fentanyl-crisis

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    32 m
  • The Supreme Court’s $300 Billion Tariff Showdown

    The Supreme Court’s $300 Billion Tariff Showdown
    Nov 11 2025

    Can a president tax Americans at will under the guise of a national emergency? The Cato Institute's Scott Lincicome and Brent Skorup dissect the high-stakes Supreme Court battle over Trump’s “fentanyl tariffs,” the broadest assertion of trade power in modern U.S. history. They explore how the case could reshape executive authority, revive dormant constitutional doctrines, and determine whether Congress or the White House truly controls U.S. trade policy.


    Show Notes:

    https://www.cato.org/blog/emergency-tariff-refunds-theres-easy-way-very-hard-way

    https://www.cato.org/blog/why-three-cato-trade-scholars-filed-amicus-brief-us-supreme-court

    https://www.cato.org/commentary/striking-down-tariffs-wont-hurt-anybody

    https://www.cato.org/legal-briefs/trump-v-vos-selections-learning-resources-v-trump

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    39 m
  • What a Long Shutdown It's Been

    What a Long Shutdown It's Been
    Nov 5 2025

    Romina Boccia joins Nicholas Anthony to discuss how the shutdown centers on demands to extend subsidies for earners making well above median household income—all the way up to $500,000 annually. Federal workers and SNAP recipients have been offered up as political collateral for a deal that would cause an unprecedented $1.5 trillion in additional deficit spending—all while we continue trucking toward a fiscal cliff.


    Show Notes:

    Romina Boccia and Tyler Turman, "Food Stamp Shutdown Reveals the Fragility of Federal Welfare," Cato at Liberty Blog, October 30, 2025

    Romina Boccia and Tyler Turman, "End Obamacare’s Welfare for the Wealthy COVID Credits," Cato at Liberty Blog, October 23, 2025

    Romina Boccia and Tyler Turman, "Welfare Digest | End the ACA Subsidies for the Well-Off," Debt Dispatch, October 22, 2025

    Romina Boccia and Ritvik Thakur, "Debt Digest | Remove Obamacare Regulations Instead of Extending COVID-era Credits," Debt Dispatch, October 14, 2025

    Romina Boccia, "Shutdown Theatrics Just Distract Us from the Real Problem: Obscene National Debt," New York Post, October 2, 2025

    Romina Boccia and Ritvik Thakur, "Debt Digest | Let Obamacare COVID Credits Expire," Debt Dispatch, October 2, 2025

    Romina Boccia, "Thoughts About the Government Shutdown," Cato at Liberty Blog, October 1, 2025

    Romina Boccia, Ritvik Thakur, and Ivane Nachkebia, "Debt Digest | Government Shutdown Is Likely," Debt Dispatch, September 8, 2025

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    34 m
  • The $650,000 Question: How Steel Protectionism Fails

    The $650,000 Question: How Steel Protectionism Fails
    Nov 4 2025

    For 60 years, the U.S. government has protected the steel industry through tariffs, quotas, and Buy American mandates. Yet steel costs remain among the highest globally, and protectionism has extracted a staggering price: $650,000 in economic damage for every steel job saved, and 75,000 manufacturing jobs lost in 2019 alone. Cato's Clark Packard and Alfredo Carrillo Obregon investigate why protectionism failed and what market-based solutions would actually work.


    Show Notes:

    https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/steeled-protectionism

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    38 m
  • Five* Types of Innovative "Schools"

    Five* Types of Innovative "Schools"
    Oct 30 2025
    School choice isn’t just about choosing different schools—it’s about unbundling education itself and trying new things to get kids excited about learning. Cato scholars Neal McCluskey and Colleen Hroncich envision a future where adults educated through innovative institutions bring diverse perspectives to workplaces and communities.

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    41 m
  • Political Pressure and Monetary Policy

    Political Pressure and Monetary Policy
    Oct 28 2025
    Both Republicans and Democrats pressure the Fed toward different agendas, revealing deeper institutional problems. Norbert Michel and Jai Kedia argue that broad discretion and an inflated view of the Fed's influence enable mission creep and capture regardless of who holds power. The solution? Congressional legislation establishing clear rules.

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    32 m