Out to Lunch: California’s $20 Fast-Food Wage

The Degrowth Temptation

A new Global Justice Report associated with Thomas Piketty urges near-zero growth for rich countries, sweeping redistribution, global wealth taxes, shorter working hours, and rapid decarbonization. Cato’s Ryan Bourne talks to Marian Tupy about what degrowth gets wrong—and why its promise of justice masks a dangerous agenda of government control. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Retirement System That Works Against You

Social Security crowds out private savings, the tax code penalizes investment, and Trump accounts can leave families worse off than a plain brokerage account. Cato's Romina Boccia and Adam Michel break down what's wrong with Trump accounts and why universal savings accounts are the fix. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Economics In One World Cup

Ticket prices, scalpers, tourists, visas, turf, trade, and politics: the 2026 FIFA World Cup is a rich case study for economists. Cato’s Ryan Bourne talks with AEI’s Stan Veuger about why match prices are so high, why hosting the tournament rarely delivers an economic boom, how soccer became an exemplar of globalization, and what FIFA teaches us about the benefits and risks of global governance. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

When the President Sues the Government He Controls

The Anti-Weaponization Fund started as a $10 billion lawsuit Trump filed against the IRS in his personal capacity and ended as a $1.776 billion slush fund with no appeals, no transparency, and a tax immunity addendum that looks a lot like a self-pardon. Tad DeHaven and Daniel Greenberg join Molly Nixon to unpack what happened and why it should alarm everyone. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Markets We Love to Ban

Kidneys, surrogacy, prostitution, gambling, price gouging, assisted dying: some transactions make people recoil, even when all parties consent. Cato's Ryan Bourne talks with Nobel Prize-winning economist Alvin Roth about his new book, Moral Economics, what makes markets “repugnant,” what economists can add to moral debates, and why banning exchange rarely makes scarcity, exploitation, or hard trade-offs disappear. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.