40 Facts About Cato Institute

1.

Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D C It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.

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2.

Cato Institute was established to have a focus on public advocacy, media exposure and societal influence.

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3.

Cato Institute is libertarian in its political philosophy, and advocates a limited role for government in domestic and foreign affairs as well as a strong protection of civil liberties.

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4.

Cato Institute was named the fifth-ranked think tank in the world for 2009 in a study of think tanks by James G McGann, PhD of the University of Pennsylvania, based on a criterion of excellence in "producing rigorous and relevant research, publications and programs in one or more substantive areas of research".

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5.

Various Cato Institute programs were favorably ranked in a survey published by the University of Pennsylvania in 2012.

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6.

Cato Institute publishes numerous policy studies, briefing papers, periodicals, and books.

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7.

Additionally, Cato Institute publishes numerous white papers on a wide variety of policy topics.

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8.

Cato co-publishes the annual Human Freedom Index with the Fraser Institute and is the co-publisher with Fraser of the U S edition of the Economic Freedom of the World annual report (1996–).

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9.

Social media sponsored by Cato Institute includes pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and TikTok, as well as a presence on Clubhouse, Snapchat, Goodreads, Odysee, and other fora.

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10.

Speakers at past Cato Institute conferences have included Federal Reserve Chairmen Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato, Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus, and Avanti Financial Group Founder and CEO Caitlin Long.

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11.

The Cato Institute officially resists being labeled as part of the conservative movement because "'conservative' smacks of an unwillingness to change, of a desire to preserve the status quo".

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12.

Cato Institute argues that, as the term "liberalism" became increasingly associated with government intervention in the economy and social-welfare programs, some classical liberals abandoned the old term and began to call themselves “libertarians”.

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13.

Some Cato Institute scholars disagree with conservatives on neo-conservative foreign policy, albeit that this has not always been uniform.

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14.

Cato Institute is a former ARI board member and is reported to be an "ardent devotee" of Rand who has promoted reading her books to colleges nationwide.

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15.

Cato Institute was cited by columnist Ezra Klein as nonpartisan, saying that it is "the foremost advocate for small-government principles in American life" and it "advocates those principles when Democrats are in power, and when Republicans are in power"; and Eric Lichtblau called Cato Institute "one of the country's most widely cited research organizations.

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16.

Cato Institute scholars have consistently called for the privatization of many government services and institutions, including NASA, Social Security, the United States Postal Service, the Transportation Security Administration, public schooling, public transportation systems, and public broadcasting.

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17.

Cato Institute is an opponent of campaign finance reform, arguing that government is the ultimate form of potential corruption and that such laws undermine democracy by undermining competitive elections.

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18.

In 2006, the Cato Institute published a study proposing a Balanced Budget Veto Amendment to the United States Constitution.

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19.

In 2003, Cato filed an amicus brief in support of the Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v Texas, which struck down the remaining state laws that made private, non-commercial homosexual relations between consenting adults illegal.

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20.

Cato Institute cited the 14th Amendment, among other things, as the source of their support for the ruling.

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21.

In 2006, Cato Institute published a Policy Analysis criticising the Federal Marriage Amendment as unnecessary, anti-federalist, and anti-democratic.

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22.

Cato Institute has published numerous studies criticizing what it calls "corporate welfare", the practice of public officials funneling taxpayer money, usually via targeted budgetary spending, to politically connected corporate interests.

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23.

Cato Institute scholars seek to promote a better understanding around the world of the benefits of market-liberal policies and institutions, openness and engagement in the global economy, and a principled and restrained foreign policy.

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24.

Cato Institute argues those benefits include notable improvements in human well-being as countries increase their levels of economic, civil, and personal freedoms.

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25.

Cato Institute's scholars seek to advance policies and support institutions in developing and developed countries that protect human rights and extend the range of personal choice.

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26.

In particular, Cato Institute's research explores the central role that freedom in its various dimensions—economic, civil, and personal—plays in human progress and in solving some of the world's most pressing problems, including global poverty.

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27.

Cato Institute argues that most Americans are immigrants or descended from immigrants who sought opportunity and freedom on American shores, and that this continues today with immigrants continuing to become Americans, in the process, making the United States a wealthier, freer, and safer country.

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28.

Cato Institute's research indicates that the current US immigration system excludes most peaceful and healthy immigrants, and urges Congress to look to America's past for inspiration to expand and deregulate legal immigration.

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29.

Cato Institute scholars have written about the issues of the environment, including global warming, environmental regulation, and energy policy.

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30.

The Cato Institute has criticized political attempts to stop global warming as expensive and ineffective.

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31.

Cato Institute scholars have been critical of the Bush administration's views on energy policy.

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32.

In 2019, Cato closed its "Center for the Study of Science" after its head Pat Michaels had left the institute over disagreements, along with his collaborator Ryan Maue, a meteorologist.

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33.

Cato Institute has criticized President Obama's stances on policy issues such as fiscal stimulus, healthcare reform, foreign policy, and drug-related matters, while supporting his stance on the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the DREAM Act.

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34.

Cato Institute was critical of Trump's immigration ban, which was enacted in January 2017.

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35.

Cato Institute is classified as a 50(3) organization under U S Internal Revenue Code.

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36.

Sponsors of Cato Institute have included FedEx, Google, CME Group and Whole Foods Market.

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37.

In June 2012, Cato announced an agreement in principle to settle the dispute by changing the institute's governing structure.

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38.

Since 2002, the Cato Institute has awarded the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty every two years to "an individual who has made a significant contribution to advancing human freedom.

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39.

Cato Institute is an associate member of the State Policy Network, a U S national network of free-market oriented think tanks.

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40.

Cato Institute topped the 2014 list of the budget-adjusted ranking of international development think tanks.

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