…and citizens in the bottom quartile earn less than 1/10^th this amount. I think the United States needs to take immediate steps to stem its decline in human freedom and get a lot higher on this index don’t you? By the way, I didn’t see Cuba on this list (my guess is they would be at or near the bottom), but here are some other countries (that are all well-known to be socialistic and fairly totalitarian/anti-democratic) and where they stand: #111 Russia, #132 China, #144 Venezuela, and in dead last #152 Iran!!!! (Really makes you feel good about negotiating a nuclear deal with a country ranked dead last in freedom, which included The Rule of Law!).” Mike Perry

Cato Headlines

United States Ranks 20th on New Human Freedom Index

The United States ranks 20th on a new index that presents the state of human freedom in the world. The Human Freedom Index (HFI) is the most comprehensive measure of freedom ever created for a large number of countries around the globe. “The
U.S. performance is worrisome and shows that the United Sta
tes can no long
er claim to be the leading bastion of liberty in the world,” said co-author Ian Vasquez. “In addition to the expansion of the regulatory state and drop in economic freedom, the war on terror, the war on drugs and the erosion of property rights due to greater use of eminent domain all likely have contributed to the U.S. decline.”

Human Freedom Index, by Ian Vásquez and Tanja Porčnik. Co-published by the Cato Institute, the Fraser Institute in Canada, and the Liberales Institut at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in Germany.

Will the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Live Up to Its Promise?

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations were launched to great fanfare in mid-2013 with the pronouncement that a comprehensive deal would be reached by the end of 2014 on a “single tank of gas.” But after more than two years and 10 rounds of negotiations, an agreement is nowhere in sight and substantive differences remain between the parties. What are the prospects for fulfilling the promise of a comprehensive trade and investment deal between the United States and the European Union?

“Will the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Live Up to Its Promise?,” Upcoming Cato Conference

Why the Federal Government Fails

Most Americans think that the federal government is incompetent and wasteful. What causes all the failures? A new study from Cato scholar Chris Edwards examines views on government failure, and outlines five key sources of federal failure. Edwards concludes that the only way to substantially reduce failure is to downsize the federal government: “Political and bureaucratic incentives and the huge size of the federal government are causing endemic failure. The causes of federal failure are deeply structural, and they will not be solved by appointing more competent officials or putting a different party in charge.”

“Why the Federal Government Fails,” by Chris Edwards

Going for Broke Michael D. Tanner Going for Broke: Deficits, Debt, and the Entitlement Crisis examines the growing national debt and its dire implications for our future and explains why a looming financial meltdown may be far worse than anyone expects.

The Libertarian Mind By David Boaz The Libertarian Mind is a comprehensive guide to the history, philosophy, and growth of the liberation movement, with incisive analyses of today’s most pressing issues and policies.

The Tyranny of Silence By Flemming Rose When the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published the cartoons of the prophet Muhammad nine years ago, Denmark found itself at the center of a global battle about the freedom of speech. The paper’s culture editor, Flemming Rose, defended the decision to print the 12 drawings, and he quickly came to play a central part in the debate about the limitations to freedom of speech in the 21st century.

A Dangerous World? Threat Perception And U.S. National Security Edited by Christopher Preble and John Mueller The authors examine the most frequently referenced threats, including wars between nations and civil wars within nations, and discuss the impact of rising nations, weapons proliferation, general unrest, transnational crime, and state failures.

Bootleggers & Baptists By Adam C. Smith and Bruce Yandle Economists Bruce Yandle and Adam Smith explain how money and morality are often combined in politics to produce arbitrary regulations benefiting cronies, while constraining productive economic activities by the general public.

Upcoming Cato Events:

September 2, 2015
Race, Housing, and Education

September 9, 2015
Magna Carta and Modern Controversies from Multiculturalism to Political Correctness

September 17, 2015
14th Annual Constitution Day

September 24, 2015 to September 27, 2015
Cato Club 200 Retreat
The Cloister
Sea Island, GA
(By invitation only)

October 2, 2015
Fifty Years after Reform: The Successes, Failures, and the Lessons from the Immigration Act of 1965

October 12, 2015
Will the Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership Live Up to Its Promise

October 23, 2015
Cato Institute Policy Perspectives 2015
Four Seasons – 2050 University Avenue, East Palo Alto, CA

November 5, 2015
Cato Institute Policy Perspectives 2015
Waldorf-Astoria – New York, 301 Park Avenue, New York, NY

November 12, 2015
33rd Annual Monetary Conference

December 2, 2015
Cato Institute Policy Perspectives 2015
The Drake – 140 East Walton Place, Chicago, IL