Cato Video

Follow the link below to watch the full event:http://www.cato.org/multimedia/events/mugged-state-when-regulators-prosecutors-bully-citizens Featuring Kevin Gates, Vice President, Powhatan Energy Fund; William Hurwitz, M.D., Pain Treatment Specialist; Lawrence Lewis, Engineer and Building Manager; and William Yeatman, Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute; moderated by Tim Lynch, Director, Project on Criminal Justice, Cato Institute. The federal regulatory code has become so voluminous that it now bewilders ordinary citizens. The web of rules and regulations is now so vast that people can become ensnared in circumstances where they meant no harm. Even when there is no infraction, it can be financially ruinous to mount a legal defense against powerful agencies that seem bent on coercing a plea deal or settlement. And what about the reputations, livelihoods, and civil liberties that are sacrificed in that process? Join us for a discussion of these troubling trends and what can be done about them. Video produced by Blair Gwaltney.

Follow the link below to watch the full event: http://www.cato.org/multimedia/events/intellectual-privilege Featuring the author Tom W. Bell, Professor, Chapman University School of Law; with comments by Christopher Newman, Assistant Professor, George Mason University School of Law; moderated by Jim Harper, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute. The debate over copyright seems to consist of two irreconcilable poles. One side dismisses copyright as a plaything of political forces, imposing illegitimate restraints on freedom of expression. The opposing side regards copyrights as fundamental property rights that deserve the fullest protection of the law—like rights to houses, cars, and other forms of property. Neither view, however, captures the essence of copyright. In his new book, Intellectual Privilege, Chapman University law professor Tom W. Bell reveals copyright as a statutory privilege that threatens not just constitutional rights, but natural rights as well. He proposes a new libertarian view of copyright that reconciles the desire to create incentives for creators with our inalienable liberties. From this fresh perspective come solutions to copyright's problems and a path toward a world less encumbered by legal restrictions and yet richer in art, music, and other expressive works. Video produced by Blair Gwaltney.

In his new book, No Place to Hide, Glenn Greenwald traces the discovery and extent of the massive surveillance apparatus constructed by the National Security Agency. Audio-only version: http://www.cato.org/multimedia/daily-podcast/no-place-hide Video produced by Caleb O. Brown, Austin Bragg and Kevin Sennett.

Follow the link below to watch the full event: http://www.cato.org/multimedia/events/beyond-individual-mandate-obamacare-tax-still-unconstitutional Featuring Timothy Sandefur, Principal Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation; Ilya Somin, Professor of Law, George Mason University; and Simon Lazarus, Senior Counsel, Constitutional Accountability Center; moderated by Ilya Shapiro, Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute. President Obama recently declared that "the debate" over the Affordable Care Act "is over." That may be wishful thinking given that the law continues to be unpopular and its implementation keeps hitting snags. Moreover, lawsuits challenging Obamacare are once again reaching the nation's highest courts. On May 8, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear arguments in Sissel v. Department of Health & Human Services, which involves the claim that the ACA's "tax" on people without health insurance—as the Supreme Court deemed it two years ago—still violates the Constitution. The Constitution's Origination Clause requires all tax bills to "originate" in the House of Representatives, while Obamacare came from the Senate (recall how the House voted on the Senate bill after Scott Brown won a special Senate election in Massachusetts and deprived the Democrats of their filibuster-proof majority). Please join us to hear about Sissel and its implications for limited government from the attorney who will have just argued the case, Cato adjunct scholar Timothy Sandefur. Video produced by Blair Gwaltney.

Follow the link below to watch the full event: http://www.cato.org/multimedia/events/bruno-leoni-101 Featuring Roger Pilon, Vice President for Legal Affairs, Cato Institute; Peter Boettke, University Professor of Economics and Philosophy, George Mason University; and Todd J. Zywicki, George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law; moderated by Alberto Mingardi, Director General, Istituto Bruno Leoni. The Italian law scholar Bruno Leoni was a champion of law over legislation. In his classic Freedom and the Law (1961), he presented the case for organic legal systems that adjust to human behavior and against legal systems that attempt to adjust human behavior to fit the needs and desires of the politically powerful. It's a message still urgently needed today. Please join us for a discussion of Leoni's contributions to classical liberal thought as we celebrate his 101st birthday. Video produced by Blair Gwaltney.

Follow the link below to watch the full event: http://www.cato.org/multimedia/events/tyranny-experts-economists-dictators-forgotten-rights-poor Featuring the author William Easterly; Professor of Economics, New York University; moderated by Ian Vasquez, Director, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute. The technocratic approach to ending global poverty favored by development experts often strengthens authoritarian governments and neglects or undermines the preferences and personal choices of poor people. William Easterly will explain why a different branch of economics emerged for poor countries and how it has served the interests of decisionmakers in powerful countries, political leaders in poor countries, and humanitarians in rich countries. Join us to hear Professor Easterly make a case in favor of liberty that has so far been disregarded by the experts: poverty can only be ended and development sustained by respecting the individual rights of the world's poor. Video produced by Blair Gwaltney.

Follow the link below to watch the full event: http://www.cato.org/multimedia/events/tyranny-experts-economists-dictators-forgotten-rights-poor Featuring the author William Easterly; Professor of Economics, New York University; moderated by Ian Vasquez, Director, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute. The technocratic approach to ending global poverty favored by development experts often strengthens authoritarian governments and neglects or undermines the preferences and personal choices of poor people. William Easterly will explain why a different branch of economics emerged for poor countries and how it has served the interests of decisionmakers in powerful countries, political leaders in poor countries, and humanitarians in rich countries. Join us to hear Professor Easterly make a case in favor of liberty that has so far been disregarded by the experts: poverty can only be ended and development sustained by respecting the individual rights of the world's poor. Video produced by Blair Gwaltney.

http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/social-security-administration The Social Security Administration was created in 1935 and operates three large programs that provide benefits to millions of Americans: Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI), Disability Insurance (SSDI), and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Today the agency takes up one quarter of the us budget, spending $914 billion a year, around $7,600 for each U.S. household.

Featuring Judith Eaton, President, Council for Higher Education Accreditation; Andrew Kelly, Director, Center on Higher Education Reform, American Enterprise Institute; Neal McCluskey, Associate Director, Center for Educational Freedom, Cato Institute; moderated by Doug Lederman, Editor, Inside Higher Ed American higher education is being swept by two potentially irresistible waves of change. The first is intense scrutiny of academia's costs and benefits, driven by soaring prices, student debt, and the ensuing public anger. The second is the emergence of postsecondary models that threaten to replace traditional colleges and universities on a major scale. In this special forum, we'll look at the threats to accreditors — and through them, schools — stemming from federal reactions to public unhappiness, and at ways to foster quality in the many postsecondary options coming our way. Follow the link below to watch the full panel: http://www.cato.org/events/college-accreditation-crosshairs Video produced by Blair Gwaltney.

Featuring Vance Fried, Riata Professor of Entrepreneurship, Oklahoma State University, and Adjunct Scholar, Cato Institute; Sally Johnstone, Vice President for Academic Advancement, Western Governors University; and Jeff Martineau, Managing Partner, Higher Education Partners; moderated by Eric Kelderman, Staff Reporter, Chronicle of Higher Education. American higher education is being swept by two potentially irresistible waves of change. The first is intense scrutiny of academia's costs and benefits, driven by soaring prices, student debt, and the ensuing public anger. The second is the emergence of postsecondary models that threaten to replace traditional colleges and universities on a major scale. In this special forum, we'll look at the threats to accreditors — and through them, schools — stemming from federal reactions to public unhappiness, and at ways to foster quality in the many postsecondary options coming our way. Follow the link below to watch the full panel: http://www.cato.org/events/college-accreditation-crosshairs Video produced by Blair Gwaltney.

Ilya Shapiro is a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute and editor-in-chief of the Cato Supreme Court Review. Before joining Cato, he was a special assistant/advisor to the Multi-National Force in Iraq on rule of law issues and practiced international, political, commercial, and antitrust litigation at Patton Boggs and Cleary Gottlieb. Shapiro has contributed to a variety of academic, popular, and professional publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, L.A. Times, USA Today, National Law Journal, Weekly Standard, New York Times Online, and National Review Online. He also regularly provides commentary for various media outlets, including CNN, Fox News, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision and Telemundo, The Colbert Report, NPR, and American Public Media's Marketplace. Shapiro has provided testimony to Congress and state legislatures and, as coordinator of Cato's amicus brief program, filed more than 100 "friend of the court" briefs in the Supreme Court. He lectures regularly on behalf of the Federalist Society and other groups, is a member of the Legal Studies Institute's board of visitors at The Fund for American Studies, was an inaugural Washington Fellow at the National Review Institute, and has been an adjunct professor at the George Washington University Law School. Before entering private practice, Shapiro clerked for Judge E. Grady Jolly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, while living in Mississippi and traveling around the Deep South. He holds an A.B. from Princeton University, an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics, and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School (where he became a Tony Patiño Fellow). Shapiro is a member of the bars of New York, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a native speaker of English and Russian, is fluent in Spanish and French, and is proficient in Italian and Portuguese. Ilya Shapiro Amicus Brief - Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus Video produced by Blair Gwaltney.

Daniel J. Mitchell is a top expert on tax reform and supply-side tax policy. Mitchell is a strong advocate of a flat tax and international tax competition. Prior to joining Cato, Mitchell was a senior fellow with The Heritage Foundation, and an economist for Senator Bob Packwood and the Senate Finance Committee. He also served on the 1988 Bush/Quayle transition team and was Director of Tax and Budget Policy for Citizens for a Sound Economy. His articles can be found in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Investor's Business Daily, and Washington Times. He is a frequent guest on radio and television and a popular speaker on the lecture circuit. Mitchell holds bachelor's and master's degrees in economics from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University. Daniel J. Mitchell Tax and Budget Policy Video produced by Blair Gwaltney.

Follow the link below to watch the full event: http://www.cato.org/multimedia/events/why-government-fails-so-often-how-it-can-do-better From the doctor's office to the workplace, the federal government is taking on ever more responsibility for managing our lives. At the same time, Americans have never been more disaffected with Washington, seeing it as an intrusive, incompetent, wasteful giant. In this book, lawyer and political scientist Peter Schuck lays out a wide range of examples and an enormous body of evidence to explain why so many domestic policies go awry. Economist David Henderson, research fellow at the Hoover Institution and coeditor of EconLog, lauds the book as full of "gems" and "juicy" insights: "Schuck does a beautiful job of laying out all the problems with government intervention." But can the state get better results by pursuing more thoughtfully conceived policies designed to compensate for its structural flaws? Schuck believes it can. Many libertarians will disagree — and that debate will enliven our discussion. Video produced by Blair Gwaltney.

Follow the link below to watch the full event: http://www.cato.org/events/burglary-discovery-j-edgar-hoovers-secret-fbi "What do you think of burglarizing an FBI office?" That was the question a mild-mannered physics professor at Haverford College privately asked a few fellow antiwar activists in late 1970. Soon, as part of an unlikely band calling itself "the Citizens Commission to Investigate the FBI," he did just that. On March 8, 1971, the group broke into a Bureau branch office outside of Philadelphia, seeking evidence for what they'd long suspected: that Hoover's FBI was engaged in a secret, illegal campaign of surveillance and harassment of American citizens. The documents they found revealed massive abuses of power and helped lead to new legal checks on domestic surveillance. As a young Washington Post reporter, Betty Medsger was the first to receive and write about the secret files. Now, 43 years later, in The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI, she reveals the never-before-told full story of that history-changing break-in, bringing the activists into the public eye for the first time. It's a riveting story, and one that, in the wake of last summer's Snowden revelations, could hardly be more relevant today. Video produced by Blair Gwaltney.

Follow the link below to watch the full event: http://www.cato.org/events/kidney-sellers-journey-discovery-iran One of the most contentious ethical issues surrounding transplantation today is the question of organ selling. Given the shortage of donated organs, should people be able to sell their organs either directly or indirectly? Today, organ selling is illegal in nearly all industrialized countries. One of the few that does allow it is the Islamic Republic of Iran. Until recently, that country's experience has gone largely unreported. But Sigrid Fry-Revere, a leading medical ethicist, traveled to Iran and observed how the market in organs functions in practice. Now in her new book, The Kidney Sellers, she describes her experience. Video produced by Blair Gwaltney.