In the Cato-at-Liberty blog post "Earmarks," Chris Edwards, director of Cato's tax policy studies, writes:

"[T]he real issue is federalism, not earmarks. Many of these funding projects are not federal responsibilities at all. But the idea of federalism has disappeared from public discussion in an orgy of state and local lobbying of compliant Washington politicians."

John Samples, director of Cato's Center for Representative Government, comments:

"It's no surprise that Congress is passing lots of resolutions. Such praise and admonitions offers benefits to some constituents and cost little to everyone else, apart from the cost of having Congress in session, a cost taxpayers are struck with in any case. Beyond that, we should be wary of measuring Congress' performance by legislation. By that standard, the most successful Congress would be the 89th which served from 1965 to 1967 and passed over 200 laws that expanded the federal government well beyond its Constitutional constraints. Congress is not the solution to most problems in the society, and we should stop expecting legislation about every complaint. A 'do-nothing' Congress might well be a tonic for what ails the nation."

In the Cato-at-Liberty blog post "Chavez: Do We Need Any More Evidence?," Cato's Executive Vice President David Boaz writes:

"We know from theory and history that socialism -- state ownership of the means of production and the attempt to eliminate for-profit economic activity -- leads inevitably to tyranny. We saw it in Russia, China, and Cuba. ... Chavez has promised to bring socialism to Venezuela. If he succeeds, we know that the result will be tyranny."

Malou Innocent, Cato foreign policy analyst, comments:

"Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's resignation is an important development with unpredictable implications. Those people who hope that Pakistan's turbulent politics will disappear along with Musharraf are likely to be disappointed. Pakistan's political class has been a revolving door of military and civilian leaders for most of its 60-year history. Exacerbating that country's political and constitutional roller coaster has been numerous American administrations, both during the Cold War and the so-called 'War on Terror,' which continually sought the assistance of Pakistani army generals even at the cost of that country's rule of law. After Musharraf, it is important for leaders in Washington to understand that America's heavy reliance on Pakistani military leaders is a policy not passively accepted by the majority of Pakistan's population. Perhaps the next administration can learn from President Bush's mistakes and begin to step away from the belief that a particular leader can serve as the linchpin in the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban."

In "Cracks in the Foundation: NATO's New Troubles," Stanley Kober, Cato research fellow in foreign policy studies, writes:

"When the Cold War ended and the Warsaw Pact dissolved, Russia agreed to live with NATO -- even with a NATO that expanded to include a united Germany. But a triumphant alliance decided it should expand and take in new members. Incredibly, like Germany's leaders a century before, American leaders (and their foreign allies) did not appreciate that alliances provoke the formation of counter-alliances. [A]s NATO has expanded, Russia's relations with China, in particular, have grown apace, leading initially to the formation of the Shanghai Five and then to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. In other words, just as the Triple Entente gradually emerged in opposition to the Triple Alliance, so the SCO seems to be emerging in response to NATO expansion."

But for the majority of analysts, the price decline still is not enough to put the sector on the road to recovery."

Cato Senior Fellow Jagadeesh Gokhale comments:

"The travails of the housing and financial sectors appear unlikely to end soon. According to recent studies, home price declines will not stop until excess numbers of homes for sale have left the market.  Despite the slowdown in home construction, excess home inventories won't be reduced quickly unless potential home buyers step up to the plate and begin buying again. But with home prices falling, the incentive is to wait: Why buy a home immediately when prices will likely be lower after a few weeks or months? And the sluggish economy--which means larger unemployment and smaller incomes--is constraining the budgets of potential home purchasers. 

"One silver lining on the horizon, however, is that oil price increases are reversing. That means one of the two compounding shocks to economic growth is abating and the economic slowdown may not turn out to be as long-lasting as predicted earlier.  If the general economy improves soon after the end of this year, we may see housing and financial sectors stabilize--perhaps even reverse course and begin growing again.  Thereafter, promoting robust economic growth will require congressional intervention to maintain low taxes by making the growth-promoting Bush tax cuts permanent."    

Stanley Kober, Cato research fellow in foreign policy studies, comments:

"The conclusion of a missile defense deal between the United States and Poland, following on the heels of the conflict in the Caucasus, raises the specter of a new Cold War.  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has canceled a visit to Poland scheduled for September.  'Europe is dividing.  A few small countries dependent on the USA are following the political path of Washington. Poland is among them,' Gennadiy Gudkow, deputy chairman of the Russian Parliamentary Safety Committee, has warned.  The implication is that Russia will respond by exploiting the divide among other European countries, attempting to undermine the unity of NATO."

In "Sink This SCHIP," Michael F. Cannon, Cato's director of health policy studies and co-author of Healthy Competition: What's Holding Back Health Care and How to Free It, writes:

"SCHIP is senseless. Like its much larger sibling, Medicaid, the program forces taxpayers to send their money to Washington so that Congress can send it back to state governments with strings attached. Both programs force taxpayers to subsidize people who don't need help, discourage low-income families from climbing the economic ladder -- and make private insurance more expensive for everyone else."

Cato Foreign Policy Analyst Malou Innocent comments from Pakistan:

"[D]espite the widespread sense that [President Musharraf] has drastically eroded the public trust, there is growing doubt that a civilian government is any better equipped to improve Pakistan's shaken economy and fragile rule of law.

"In the looting and lawlessness that followed last December's assassination of opposition politician Benazir Bhutto, Pakistanis went to the polls and voted out Musharraf's ruling party, and voted in civilian leaders of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), led by Asif Ali Zardari, and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. As luck would have it, immediately after civilians came to power the country experienced a precipitous economic downturn. Now, there is a growing consensus among some of Pakistan's business elite that the army should be back in power."

In "A Boon Rather Than a Burden," Daniel Griswold, director of Cato's Center for Trade Policy Studies, writes:

"For the U.S. economy, foreign-born workers provide needed flexibility, allowing the supply of workers to increase relatively quickly to meet rising demand. ... According to the Department of Labor, the largest growth in absolute numbers of jobs during the next decade will be in several categories that require onl' 'short-term on-the-job training' of one month or less. We all know what those jobs are: retail sales, food preparation, landscaping and grounds keeping, janitors, cashiers, waiters and waitresses, teaching assistants, and home health aides. The net employment growth in those categories in the next decade will total more than four million.

"Meanwhile, the supply of American workers willing and happy to fill such jobs continues to shrink. We are getting older and better educated. The median age of workers in the U.S. labor force will soon reach 41.6 years, the highest level ever recorded in U.S. history. At the same time, workers in the U.S. labor force are more educated than ever."

In the Cato-@-Liberty blog post "Much Ado about Offshore Drilling," Thomas Firey, the managing editor of Regulation magazine, writes:

"Good public policy would examine the risks and costs underlying [the environmental and economic considerations], and then make a decision (or perhaps a compromise) about drilling. However, this issue will not be decided in such a rational way. The debate will be dominated by two ideological camps -- the 'drill at any cost' crowd and the 'don't drill at any cost' -- and their ideological priors and political power will preempt any good policy discussion. Unfortunately, that's how we roll here in Washington, D.C."

In "The Big Squeeze," Cato Senior Fellow Michael D. Tanner writes:

"Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama owe the American people an explanation of how they are going to deal with the entitlement crisis. Are they willing to cut benefits and reform these programs? Or do they think we can tax our way out of the problem? Do we really want government taking more than a third of GDP? There is no doubt that we are currently going through some tough economic times. But the current slow-down is nothing compared to the economic crisis we will face if the government fails to get its financial house in order."

Stanley Kober, Cato research fellow in foreign policy studies, comments:

"Many foreign policy experts are outraged by Russia's behavior in the Caucasus but seem at a loss to provide useful recommendations.  For example: Ronald Asmus and Richard Holbrooke warn that 'Moscow is sending a message that, in its part of the world, being close to Washington and the West does not pay (Washington Post, Aug. 11)."  And what should Washington and its allies do to change that perception?  They should tell Moscow that 'its own prestige project -- the Sochi Olympics -- will be affected by its behavior.'  If that is the best response proponents of NATO expansion can devise, we might as well roll up the alliance right now. The Western guarantee has morphed from the three musketeers to the three little pigs, but all that huffing and puffing will not blow Putin's house down."

Chris Edwards, Cato's director of tax policy studies, comments:

"The GAO report did not make any determination about whether corporations were doing anything abusive at all. Thus Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) is using his vivid imagination to claim that the GAO study shows that U.S. corporate behavior is 'shameful.' Dorgan also opined that corporations were not paying their 'fair share,' yet federal corporate income tax payments have soared in recent years from $207 billion at the peak of the last boom to $345 billion this year. The GAO report identifies numerous legitimate reasons why some companies don't pay taxes in some years. In particular, many do not earn any profits in some years -- just look at the airlines and automobile companies."

Daniel Griswold, director of Cato's Center for Trade Policy Studies, comments:

"Contrary to the claims of free trade critics, the trade deficit tells us almost nothing about the success or failure of U.S. trade policy. The deficit reflects the continuing inflow of foreign investment to the U.S. economy. Without that investment, millions of homeowners and businesses would be saddled with higher interest payments. 

"It's ironic to hear Democrats complain about the trade deficit. Under President Clinton in the 1990s, the trade deficit exploded from $70 billion to $380 billion and by all accounts the American economy performed well. The biggest failure of U.S. trade policy is not the trade deficit, but a protectionist and subsidy-laden farm bill, continuing high tariffs on mass consumer goods such as shoes and clothing, unfair and much-abused antidumping laws, and a Congress that refuses to even vote on free trade agreements with key allies."

Stanley Kober, research fellow in foreign policy studies, comments:

"The conflict between Russia and Georgia, like the conflicts in the Balkans, underlines one of the problems accompanying the spread of democracy.  Democracy means government by the people, but how are the people to be defined?  Unfortunately, this question is frequently decided by violence: you are a people if you win a war.  These wars, which frequently are the expression of powerful emotions held by the people themselves, do not respond well to our traditional means of regulating conflict, which are based on rational means of calculating state interest.  Just as South Vietnam's membership in SEATO did not deter North Vietnam from seeking national unification, it is questionable whether NATO membership for Georgia would have much of a deterrent effect, especially given the over-committed state of the alliance."

Cato Senior Fellow Daniel Mitchell comments:

"All nations experience economic downturns, so it would be misleading to over-interpret the current malaise in much of Europe. The real problem is not short-term slumps in selected nations, but rather the long-term trend of slow growth, anemic job creation, and stagnant living standards. Many of Europe's major economies are burdened by onerous tax levels and bloated welfare states, and it is very unlikely that these nations will ever enjoy strong growth without sweeping reform. Fortunately, there are some nations in Europe that are role models. Like much of Europe, Ireland's economy has hit a bump in the road, but the long-term trend remains very positive thanks to low levels of taxation and spending. Likewise, several Eastern European economies, such as Estonia and Slovakia, are enjoying strong long-term growth thanks to reforms such as the flat tax."

In "Get Ready for the Oil-Price Drop," published in June 2008, Cato Senior Fellow Alan Reynolds wrote:

"Market analysts often claim oil prices are almost entirely determined by supply. Demand is said to be insensitive ('inelastic') to price. The standard example is that many Americans have to drive to work and most gas-guzzling SUVs will still be on the road even if the affluent few can trade theirs for a Prius. This idea rests on two fallacies. The first is to exaggerate the United States' importance when it comes to ups and downs in worldwide oil demand. In fact, America is using no more oil than we did in 2004. The second fallacy is to greatly exaggerate the importance of passenger cars in the United States. ... When the price of anything gets unbearably high, it discourages demand. The resulting drop in sales, in turn, causes inventories to pile up and the price to come down. That has proven true of overpriced houses -- and it will likewise prove true of overpriced oil."

Justin Logan, Cato's associate director of foreign policy studies, comments:

"The latest somber news from Georgia gives little cause for optimism.  Georgia's entreaties for a cease-fire with Russia don't appear likely to sway the Kremlin.  Even the Western proposals regarding a cease-fire and return to the status quo ante appear unlikely to stop the conflict.  The situation shows how quickly wars can erupt, particularly with nationalist emotions in play, and how difficult they are to end once started.

"What this situation should highlight is the recklessness of the bipartisan American support before the recent Bucharest NATO summit for providing a Membership Action Plan to Georgia.  The last thing the United States should be contemplating is expanding NATO, an alliance without a mission, to include a country with two unresolved territorial disputes with Russia.  Further, there is reason to wonder to what extent such robust American support led the Georgian government to believe that they had American backing, should further problems with Russia arise.

"The loss of life in any conflict, whether in Darfur or South Ossetia, is to be regretted.  But American national interests call for restraint and discrimination, and in this case we must face the fact that the defense of far-away countries from much larger, more powerful neighbors who have permanent seats on the UN Security Council would be a dangerous venture indeed."

Chris Edwards, director of Cato's tax policy studies, comments:

"The more important issue is whether the McCain and Obama plans are sound tax policy. McCain's tax proposals, in general, would promote economic growth and provide broad-based benefits. By contrast, Obama's tax proposals embrace economic micromanagment and would add further discrimination to the tax code, meaning that his proposed narrow breaks would treat Americans differently based on social engineering criteria established by the government. Further, Obama's proposals would increase marginal tax rates on individuals and businesses, the single most damaging change that could be made to a tax system. On tax policy, the differences between the candidates are stark."

For more information, please see Edwards' Cato-@-Liberty blog post Obama Tax Proposals and Cato Senior Fellow Daniel Mitchell's comment.

Juan Carlos Hidalgo, project coordinator for Latin America, comments:

"In renewing his push for turning Bolivia into a socialist country after handily winning yesterday's recall vote, Evo Morales would be well advised to respect Bolivia's laws and Constitution, something he has candidly admitted not doing in the past. The results from the referendum show that Bolivia is a deeply divided nation. If Morales continues to disregard the country's laws and institutions, we should not be surprised if even more polarization and even violence results."

For more information, please see Hidalgo's Cato-@-Liberty blog post Evo Morales' Candid Disregard for the Law.

Justin Logan, associate director of Cato's foreign policy studies, comments:

"It appears likely that full-blown war could break out between Russian troops and Georgia. While it is unclear who fired the first shot, very strong nationalist impulses are at work on both sides. Georgia sees the conflict as an incursion of Russian troops onto sovereign Georgian territory, and Russia sees it as the oppression and slaughter of Russian citizens, since most people in South Ossetia, the disputed province in question, are Russian nationals.  This makes it very difficult for either side to climb down.

"What makes the conflict relevant to the U.S. is that President Bush, as well as both presidential candidates, have supported giving Georgia a security guarantee via NATO membership. Why an American president would want to risk American blood and treasure--not to mention another Cold War--over a breakaway province in a country few Americans could even point to on a map is inexplicable and reckless."

James Dorn, Cato's vice president for academic affairs and editor of Cato Journal, comments:

"As the leader of the free world, President Bush should use the bully pulpit to remind leaders in China and elsewhere that basic human rights to life, liberty and property pre-exist the state, and that a just government's role is to safeguard those sacred rights. The best way to help China move toward a freer society is to continue on the path of economic engagement and not surrender to protectionist forces.  The U.S. should practice what it preaches."

Malou Innocent, Cato foreign policy analyst, comments from Pakistan:

"Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf tried to throw a wrench in the ruling coalition's plan to impeach him by re-appointing eight deposed judges of the Sindh High Court. Until now, Musharraf and PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari have had a personal agreement not to reinstate the judges. But the ruling coalition's recent push for impeachment prompted Musharraf to make concessions by reinstating some of the judges. This move may well divide the lawyers' movement, and place Zardari and PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif in a very tenuous position. While Musharraf's future remains uncertain, America's policy in the region will most likely remain intact due to the support it receives from the Chief of Army Staff, Gen Ashfaq Kayani, who seems to be backing the present policy of the Unites States and Musharraf in the tribal areas."