Cato advocates for a limited governmental role in domestic and foreign affairs and strong protection ofcivil liberties, including support for lowering or abolishing most taxes, opposition to theFederal Reserve system and theAffordable Care Act, the privatization of numerous government agencies and programs includingSocial Security and theUnited States Postal Service, demilitarization of the police, open borders and adhering to anon-interventionist foreign policy.
In 2009, Cato Institute was the fifth-ranked think tank in the world in a study of think tanks by James G. McGann, at theUniversity of Pennsylvania, based on a criterion of excellence in "producing rigorous and relevant research, publications and programs in one or more substantive areas of research".[12]
In 2015, Cato's revenue exceeded $37 million, and the organization had 124 employees on staff.[13] In 2024, its revenue was reported at more than $71 million.[14][15]
Social Security: The Inherent Contradiction (Peter J. Ferrara, 1980, Cato's first book and the first case for privatization)
Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought (Jonathan Rauch, 1993, a Cato co-pub with University of Chicago Press)
Patient Power: Solving America's Health Care Crisis (John C. Goodman and Gerald L. Musgrave, 1994)
Cato Handbook for Congress (1995, the first in a series that eventually became the Cato Handbook for Policymakers)
Cato Pocket Constitution (2002)
In Defense of Global Capitalism (Johan Norberg, 2003)
The Improving State of the World: Why We're Living Longer, Healthier, More Comfortable Lives on a Cleaner Planet (Indur Goklany, 2007)
The Cult of the Presidency: America's Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power (Gene Healy, 2008)
The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey into How the World's Poorest People are Educating Themselves (James Tooley, 2009, winner of the Sir Antony Fisher International Memorial Award)
The Cato Daily Podcast,[30] hosted by Caleb O. Brown, allows Cato Institute scholars and other commenters to discuss relevant news and libertarian thought in a conversational, informal manner.
Power Problems,[31] hosted by John Glaser, is a bi-weekly podcast offering a skeptical take on U.S. foreign policy, and discussion of today's big questions in international security with guests from across the political spectrum.
Cato Events[32] offers listeners a chance to stay up-to-date on a wide range of essential contemporary issues through presentations by leading national authorities.
Cato Audio[33] covers important policy debates in Washington.
Cato Out Loud,[34] provides the most notable of Cato's print publications in an audio format.
Free Thoughts, hosted by Aaron Ross Powell and Trevor Burrus, is a weekly show about politics and liberty, featuring conversations with top scholars, philosophers, historians, economists, and public policy experts.
Building Tomorrow, hosted by Paul Matzko, explores the ways technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship are creating a freer, wealthier, and more peaceful world.
Pop & Locke, hosted by Landry Ayres and Natalie Dowzicky, explores the intersection of political ideas and pop culture.
Portraits of Liberty investigates the lives and philosophies of thinkers throughout history who argued in favor of a freer world.
The Pursuit, hosted by Tess Terrible, Landry Ayres, and Natalie Dowzicky, is a podcast about government action and individual liberty.
Liberty Chronicles, hosted by Anthony Comegna, combines innovative libertarian thinking about history with specialist interviews, primary and secondary sources, and answers to listener questions.
Excursions into Libertarian Thought, hosted by George H. Smith, explores the history of libertarian ideas.
Classics of Liberty, hosted by Caleb O. Brown, relives classic works and speeches of classical liberals
The Human Progress Podcast, hosted by Marian L. Tupy and Chelsea Follett, explores different aspects of progress and the challenges to progress.
In addition to maintaining its own website in English and Spanish,[35] Cato maintains websites focused on particular topics:
"Downsizing the Federal Government" contains essays on the size of the U.S. federal government and recommendations for decreasing various programs.[36]
Libertarianism.org is a website focused on the theory and practice oflibertarianism.[37]
Cato Unbound, a web-only publication that features a monthly open debate among four people. The conversation begins with one lead essay, followed by three response essays by separate people. After that, all four participants can write as many responses and counter-responses as they want for the duration of that month.
PoliceMisconduct.net contains reports and stories from Cato's National Police Misconduct Reporting Project and the National Police Misconduct News Feed.[38]
The Cato Institute hosts conferences throughout the year. Topics include monetary policy, the U.S. Constitution, poverty and social welfare, technology and privacy, financial regulation, and civic culture.[42]
Many Cato scholars have advocated support for civil liberties, liberal immigration policies,[52] drug liberalization,[53] and the repeal ofDon't Ask Don't Tell and laws restricting consensual sexual activity.[54][55] The Cato Institute officially resists being labeled as part of the conservative movement because "'conservative' smacks of an unwillingness to change, of a desire to preserve the status quo".[56]
Cato has strong ties to the political philosophy ofclassical liberalism.[57][58][59] According to executive vice presidentDavid Boaz, libertarians are classical liberals who strongly emphasize the individual right to liberty. He argues that, as the term "liberalism" became increasingly associated with government intervention in the economy and social welfare programs, some classical liberals abandoned the old term and began to call themselves “libertarians”.[60] Officially, Cato admits that the term “classical liberal” comes close to the mark of labeling its position, but fails to capture the contemporary vibrancy of the ideas of freedom. According to Cato's mission statement, the Jeffersonian philosophy that animates Cato's work has increasingly come to be called 'libertarianism' or 'market liberalism.' It combines an appreciation for entrepreneurship, the market process, and lower taxes with strict respect for civil liberties and skepticism about the benefits of both the welfare state and foreign military adventurism.[61][62]
In 2006,Markos Moulitsas of theDaily Kos proposed the term "Libertarian Democrat" to describe his particular liberal position, suggesting that libertarians should be allies of theDemocratic Party. Replying, Cato's vice president for researchBrink Lindsey agreed that libertarians and liberals should view each other as natural ideological allies,[63] and noted continuing differences between mainstream liberal views on economic policy and Cato's "Jeffersonian philosophy".
John A. Allison IV, former president of the Cato Institute from 2012 to 2015, speaking at the 2014 International Students for Liberty Conference (ISFLC)
The relationship between Cato and theAyn Rand Institute (ARI) improved with the nomination of Cato's new presidentJohn A. Allison IV in 2012. He is a former ARI board member and is reported to be an "ardent devotee" of Rand who has promoted reading her books to colleges nationwide.[64] In March 2015, Allison retired as president, remaining on the board; he was succeeded by Peter Goettler.[65]
The Cato Institute advocates policies that advance "individualliberty,limited government,free markets, andpeace". They are libertarian in their policy positions, typically advocating diminished government intervention in domestic, social, and economic policies and decreased military and political intervention worldwide. Cato was cited by columnistEzra Klein as nonpartisan, saying that it is "the foremost advocate for small-government principles in American life" and it "advocates those principles when Democrats are in power, and when Republicans are in power";[66] andEric Lichtblau called Cato "one of the country's most widely cited research organizations."[67] Nina Eastman reported in 1995 that "on any given day, House Majority WhipTom DeLay of Texas might be visiting for lunch. Or Cato staffers might be plotting strategy with House Majority LeaderDick Armey, another Texan, and his staff."[68]
Ted Galen Carpenter, Cato's vice president for defense and foreign policy studies, criticized many of the arguments offered to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq. One of the war's earliest critics, Carpenter wrote in January 2002: "Ousting Saddam would make Washington responsible for Iraq's political future and entangle the United States in an endless nation-building mission beset by intractable problems."[72] Carpenter also predicted: "Most notably there is the issue posed by two persistent regional secession movements: the Kurds in the north and the Shiites in the south."[72] But in 2002 Carpenter wrote, "the United States should not shrink from confronting al-Qaeda in its Pakistani lair,"[73] a position echoed in the institute's policy recommendations for the 108th Congress.[74] Cato's director of foreign policy studies, Christopher Preble, argues inThe Power Problem: How American Military Dominance Makes Us Less Safe, Less Prosperous, and Less Free, that America's position as an unrivaled superpower tempts policymakers to constantly overreach and to redefine ever more broadly the "national interest".[75]
Christopher Preble has said that the "scare campaign" to protect military spending from cuts under theBudget Control Act of 2011 has backfired.[76]
Cato's foreign and defense policies are guided by the view that the United States is relatively secure and so should engage the world, trade freely, and work with other countries on common concerns—but avoid trying to dominate it militarily. As a result, Cato advocates the United States should be an example of democracy and human rights, not their armed vindicator abroad, claiming it has a rich history, fromGeorge Washington toCold War realists likeGeorge Kennan. Cato scholars aim to restore this view, with a principled and restrained foreign policy recommendation, to keep the nation out of most foreign conflicts and be cheaper, more ethical, and less destructive of civil liberties.[77][independent source needed]
The institute is opposed to expandingovertime regulations, arguing that it will benefit some employees in the short term, while costing jobs or lowering wages of others, and have no meaningful long-term impact.[88][89] It opposeschild labor prohibitions,[90][91][92] opposes public sectorunions, and supportsright-to-work laws.[93][94] It opposesuniversal health care, arguing that it is harmful to patients and an intrusion onto individual liberty.[95][96] It is againstaffirmative action.[97] It has also called for total abolition of thewelfare state, and has argued that it should be replaced with reduced business regulations to create more jobs, and argues that private charities are fully capable of replacing it.[98][99] Cato has also opposed antitrust laws.[100][101]
Cato is an opponent ofcampaign finance reform, arguing that government is the ultimate form of potential corruption and that such laws undermine democracy by undermining competitive elections. Cato also supports the repeal of theFederal Election Campaign Act.[102][103]
Cato is a fierce foe of thewar on drugs, arguing that consenting adults have the right to put any substance they wish to in their bodies and that drug prohibition drivesmass incarceration while fueling violent competition between gangs and failing to prevent drug abuse.[104]
Cato has published numerous studies criticizing what it calls "corporate welfare", the practice of public officials funneling taxpayer money, usually via targeted budgetary spending, to politically connected corporate interests.[105][106][107][108]
Cato president Ed Crane andSierra Club executive directorCarl Pope co-wrote a 2002op-ed piece inThe Washington Post calling for the abandonment of the Republican energy bill, arguing that it had become little more than a gravy train for Washington, D.C., lobbyists.[110] Again in 2005, Cato scholar Jerry Taylor teamed up with Daniel Becker of the Sierra Club to attack the RepublicanEnergy Bill as a give-away to corporate interests.[111]
In 2003, Cato filed anamicus brief in support of the Supreme Court's decision inLawrence v. Texas, which struck down the remaining state laws that made private, non-commercial homosexual relations between consenting adults illegal. Cato cited the14th Amendment, among other things, as the source of their support for the ruling. The amicus brief was cited in Justice Kennedy's majority opinion for the Court.[112]
In 2004, Cato scholar Daniel Griswold wrote in support of President George W. Bush's failed proposal to grant temporary work visas to otherwise undocumented laborers which would have granted limited residency for the purpose of employment in the U.S.[113]
In 2004, the institute published a paper arguing in favor of "drug reimportation".[114]
In 2006, Cato published a Policy Analysis criticising theFederal Marriage Amendment as unnecessary, anti-federalist, and anti-democratic.[116] The amendment would have changed the United States Constitution to prohibitsame-sex marriage; the amendment failed in both houses of Congress.
A 2006 Cato report byRadley Balko strongly criticized U.S. drug policy and the perceived growing militarization of U.S. law enforcement.[117]
Cato supports same-sex marriage and filed anamicus brief in the case ofObergefell v. Hodges supporting a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.[119]
Cato does not formally opposecapital punishment; however, they have frequently criticized the practice.[120][121]
Cato scholars have written about the issues of the environment, including global warming, environmental regulation, and energy policy. According to social scientists Riley Dunlap and Aaron McCright the Cato Institute is one of the "particularly crucial elements of the denial machine", thatrejects global warming.[122]
Cato scholars were critical of theBush administration's views on energy policy. In 2003, Cato scholars Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren said the Republican Energy Bill was "hundreds of pages of corporate welfare, symbolic gestures, empty promises, and pork-barrel projects".[127] They also spoke out against the former president's calls for larger ethanol subsidies.[128]
With regard to the"Takings Clause" of the United States Constitution and environmental protection, libertarians associated with Cato contended in 2003 that the Constitution is not adequate to guarantee the protection of private property rights.[129]
In 2019, Cato closed its "Center for the Study of Science", whichE&E News characterized as "a program that for years sought to raise uncertainty about climate science" after its head Pat Michaels had left the institute over disagreements, along with his collaborator Ryan Maue, a meteorologist.[130] By that time, the Cato Institute was also no longer affiliated with its former distinguished fellowRichard Lindzen, anotherdenier of thescientific consensus on climate change.[130]
Cato's scholars seek to advance policies and support institutions in developing and developed countries that protect human rights and extend the range of personal choices. In particular, Cato's research explores the central role that freedom in its various dimensions—economic, civil, and personal—plays in human progress and in solving some of the world's most pressing problems, including global poverty. To this end Cato co-publishes the annualHuman Freedom Index (2015–)[28] with theFraser Institute and is the co-publisher with Fraser of the U.S. edition of theEconomic Freedom of the World annual report (1996–).[29]
Cato argues that most Americans are immigrants or descended from immigrants who sought opportunity and freedom on American shores, and they believe that this continues today with immigrants continuing to become Americans, making the United States a wealthier, freer, and safer country. Cato's research indicates that the current US immigration system excludes the most peaceful and healthy immigrants, and urges policymakers to expand and deregulate legal immigration.[131] Further, Cato supportsopen borders.[132]
Cato opposedExecutive Order 13769, which was enacted in January 2017, which decreased the number of refugees admitted into the United States and suspended entry to individuals whose countries do not meet adjudication standards under U.S. immigration law.[147]
Cato advocates that policymakers must be constantly reminded of the benefits of free trade and the costs of protectionism, arguing free trade is the extension of free markets across political borders. It promotes the idea that enlarging markets to integrate more buyers, sellers, investors, and workers enables more refined specialization and economies of scale, which produce more wealth and higher living standards, and argues that Protectionism does the opposite. Cato's policy recommendations focus on congress and the administration pursuing policies that expand the freedom of Americans to participate in the international marketplace.[148]
The Cato Institute is classified as a501(c)(3) organization under the U.S.Internal Revenue Code. For revenue, the institute is largely dependent on private contributions and does not receive government funding.[149] The Cato Institute reported the fiscal year 2015 revenue of $37.3 million and expenses of $29.4 million.[150] According to the organization's annual report, $32.1 million came from individual donors, $2.9 million came from foundations, $1.2 million came from program revenue and other income, and $1 million came from corporations.[150]
The Nation reported support for Cato from the tobacco industry in a 2012 story.[151]
In 2011, there were four shareholders of the Cato Institute:Charles andDavid Koch, Ed Crane,[153] andWilliam A. Niskanen. Niskanen died in October 2011.[154] In March 2012, a dispute broke out over the ownership of Niskanen's shares.[153][154] Charles and David Koch filed suit in Kansas, seeking to void his shareholder seat. The Kochs argued that Niskanen's shares should first be offered to the board of the institute, and then to the remaining shareholders,[155] while Crane contended that Niskanen's shares belonged to his widow, Kathryn Washburn, and that the move by the Kochs was an attempt to turn Cato into "some sort of auxiliary for the G.O.P ... It's detrimental to Cato, it's detrimental to Koch Industries, it's detrimental to the libertarian movement."[67] Those who supported Cato's existing management rallied around the "Save Cato" banner,[156] while those who supported the Koch brothers, called "For a Better Cato".[157]
In 2018, several former Cato employees alleged longtimesexual harassment by Crane, going back to the 1990s and continuing until his departure in 2012.Politico reported that he settled one such claim in 2012. Crane denied the allegations.[161]
Since 2002, the Cato Institute has awarded the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty every two years to "an individual who has made a significant contribution to advancing human freedom."[164] The prize comes with a cash award of US$250,000.[165]
According to the2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report (Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program,University of Pennsylvania), Cato is number 27 in the "Top Think Tanks Worldwide" and number 13 in the "Top Think Tanks in the United States".[7] Other "Top Think Tank" rankings include # 13 (of 85) in Defense and National Security, #5 (of 80) in Domestic Economic Policy, #4 (of 55) in Education Policy, #17 (of 85) in Foreign Policy and International Affairs, #8 (of 30) in Domestic Health Policy, #14 (of 25) in Global Health Policy, #18 (of 80) in International Development, #14 (of 50) in International Economic Policy, #8 (of 50) in Social Policy, #8 (of 75) for Best Advocacy Campaign, #17 (of 60) for Best Think Tank Network, #3 (of 60) for best Use of Social Networks, #9 (of 50) for Best External Relations/Public Engagement Program, #2 (of 40) for Best Use of the Internet, #12 (of 40) for Best Use of Media, #5 (of 30) for Most Innovative Policy Ideas/Proposals, #11 (of 70) for the Most Significant Impact on Public Policy, and #9 (of 60) for Outstanding Policy-Oriented Public Programs. Cato also topped the 2014 list of the budget-adjusted ranking of international development think tanks.[180]
^Koch Industries is the second largest privately held company by revenue in the United States."Forbes List".Forbes.Archived from the original on November 7, 2010. RetrievedNovember 13, 2011.
^The essays, named afterCato the Younger, the defender of republican institutions inRome, expounded on the political views of philosopherJohn Locke, that had a strong influence on theAmerican Revolution's intellectual environment. See:Mitchell, Annie (July 2004). "A Liberal Republican "Cato"".American Journal of Political Science.48 (3):588–603.doi:10.1111/j.0092-5853.2004.00089.x.
^Jones, Caleb."Bernanke". AP Images. Archived fromthe original on June 10, 2014. RetrievedAugust 18, 2013.Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks at the Cato Institute's annual Monetary Conference...
^Carpenter, Ted Galen."Take the War on Terrorism to Pakistan". Cato Institute. Archived from the original on June 1, 2002. RetrievedNovember 9, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Peña, Charles V."Waging an Effective War"(PDF).Cato Handbook for Congress: Policy Recommendations for the 108th Congress. p. 53.Archived(PDF) from the original on April 12, 2019. RetrievedNovember 9, 2017.
^Riley E. Dunlap, Aaron M. McCright:Organized Climate Change Denial, in: John S. Dryzek, Richard B. Norgaard, David Schlosberg (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society. Oxford University Press 2011, p. 144–160, here p. 149
^abMichaels, Patrick J."Global Warming"(PDF).Cato Handbook for Congress: Policy Recommendations for the 108th Congress. p. 474. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on April 6, 2012. RetrievedJuly 4, 2012.
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