Cato Institute

  • On the In Depth show blog, you can listen to the interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day and links to additional resources. Across-the-board mandatory cuts have a lot of people on edge, especially those who work closely with the Defense Department. Across-the-board mandatory cuts have a lot of people on edge. But some of the rhetoric could be overblown, says Benjamin Friedman, a research fellow in defense and homeland security studies at the Cato Institute.

    June 20, 2012
  • Dr. Sonja Batten, deputy chief for specialty mental health, Veterans Affairs Department, discusses the VA's plans to hire 2,000 mental health professionals and support staff. Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.) talks about two bills aimed at reducing the number of duplicative government programs.

    May 08, 2012
  • Jim Harper, senior policy analyst at the conservative Cato Institute, says that some of the cybersecurity bills Congress is considering are overreaching and may be unnecessary in the long run.

    April 04, 2012
  • Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the military is not the cause of the nation\'s debt and deficits -- but it needs to be part of the solution. And he said finding that solution could involve reexamining military pay and benefits.

    May 25, 2011
  • Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said repeatedly over recent weeks that operating the Defense Department under 2010 funding levels represented a \"crisis on my doorstep.\" Several Defense spending critics said the assessment was overblown.

    February 16, 2011
  • Research from the Cato Institute says that the new Republicans in Congress are not challenging defense spending.

    February 02, 2011
  • The Cato Institute states Fed employee compensation should be scrutinized.

    October 22, 2010
  • \"Federal and private employees are apples and oranges because the former is dependent on the latter for its existence. In the natural world, this relationship is call (sic) parasitism,\" writes Cato\'s Tad DeHaven.

    August 19, 2010
  • OPM says that it\'s unfair to compare federal workers\' compensation with private sector workers at-large. Federal workers are specialized and have a higher degree of education, and only 11 percent of employees work in blue collar jobs. In addition, OPM director John Berry told Federal News Radio that the number of healthcare and technology professionals in the federal workforce grew by 50 percent over the last 30 years. The Cato Institute reports that federal employees rank in the top five sectors based on average annual pay.

    August 17, 2010
  • Will the release of classified information on the wikileaks website and in other places hurt the search for terrorists? Cato Institute legal policy analyst David Rittgers weighs in.

    August 04, 2010
  • Jagadeesh Gokhale challenges notions about Social Security\'s financial future and explores the implications of alternative reforms for the program as a whole and for today\'s and future generations of Americans.

    June 23, 2010
  • Under proposed legislation the FDIC may be granted the ability to dip into taxpayers funds.

    September 25, 2009
  • Cybersecurity is a hot topic in Washington as we await the appointment of President Obama’s cyber czar. The House Science Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation asked four witnesses to testify about cybersecurity activities at NIST…

    June 29, 2009
  • The federal government continues to go through the White House budget proposal with a fine tooth comb. The Libertarian think tank The Cato Institute believes this budget gives “big government” a whole new meaning. Chris…

    February 27, 2009