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Lessons from the Sub-Prime Crisis
November 19, 2008
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"National Debt Soars under Bush"
by David Boaz
"Joe Biden’s Health Care Whopper"
by Michael F. Cannon
"Reagan (and Hayek), Not Entirely Off-Base"
by Michael F. Cannon
House Follows Senate’s Lead, Passes Massive Bailout
After stalling earlier in the week, the U.S. House followed the Senate in passing $700 billion in relief for the U.S. financial system -- though Cato Institute scholars point out that the price tag for this one package could ultimately sail past the trillion-dollar mark. Cato economist Daniel J. Mitchell comments: "The political insiders from both parties have come together to bail out their friends on Wall Street. This is bad news for taxpayers and will not solve the problems created by bad policy at the Federal Reserve and the corrupt subsidies at Fannie and Freddie. The best outcome now is to hope that the market is able to adjust before the politicians come back and ask for another big chunk of taxpayer money."
- "Improving the Rescue Plan," by William Poole
- "Cynical Senate Vote," by Chris Edwards
- Cato scholars assail the bailout on television and radio
- "Bailout Raises Libertarians' Market Value," by David Montgomery, Washington Post
- Additional Cato research on this topic
These issues will be dealt with in more detail at the Cato Institute's 26th Annual Monetary Conference: Lessons from the Sub-Prime Crisis, on November 19, 2008
New Regulation Looks at Climate Change, Corporate Legal Markets, and Real Estate
In the current issue of Regulation, Jason Scott Johnston takes a critical look at climate change economics and science, and Patrick J. Michaels corrects some misconceptions about global warming. In the same issue, Gillian K. Hadfield examines a cost of the modern system of professional regulation of lawyers. Also, Elizabeth Kopits, Virginia McConnell, and Margaret Walls look at real estate "clustering" rules.
New Index Puts Zimbabwe Inflation at 531 Billion Percent
Absent current official money supply and inflation data, it is difficult to quantify the depth and breadth of the still-growing crisis in Zimbabwe. To overcome this problem, Cato scholar Steve H. Hanke has developed the Hanke Hyperinflation Index for Zimbabwe (HHIZ). This new metric is derived from market-based price data and is available for January 2007 thru the present. As of September 26, 2008, Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate was 531 billion percent.
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The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism
A compilation of and introduction to libertarian scholarship, this comprehensive book includes more than 300 succinct, original articles on libertarian ideas, institutions, and thinkers.
Global Tax Revolution
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