Cato’s annual Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors grades governors on their fiscal policies from a limited-government perspective. Chris Edwards, Cato’s Kilts Family Chair in Fiscal Studies, was the primary author of the 2022 report. Governors who received an A are those who cut taxes and spending the most, whereas governors who received an F have increased taxes and spending the most. In February 2023, Cato was joined by Iowa governor Kim Reynolds for Cato’s State Policy Leadership Forum. Reynolds received the highest score on the Report Card in 2022, having slashed the Iowa corporate income tax from 9.8 percent to 5.5 percent. During the forum, Edwards and Reynolds discussed the importance of tax reform in today’s competitive economy and the challenges of restraining spending and balancing an annual state budget.
Bringing Liberty to All 50 States
Bringing Liberty to All 50 States
Grading Governors
Freedom in the 50 States
The 2023 edition of Cato’s Freedom in the 50 States presents a completely revised and updated ranking of the American states on the basis of how their policies protect or infringe on individual liberty. The index has been cited dozens of times in local news and by policymakers across the country, including Governor Chris Sununu (R‑NH) and Governor Kristi Noem (R‑SD). Sununu hosted a public forum to discuss why his state earned the top spot.
Cato Leads in Colorado
Colorado governor Jared Polis (D) publicly acknowledged Cato’s role in prescribing ideas to deregulate land use. In an interview with the Colorado Sun about Senate Bill 213, which would have deregulated land use to allow for more construction, the governor said, “We took solutions from the Common Sense Institute, Cato Institute, and others that Republicans and Democrats had implemented in other states.” Polis categorized the housing price issue as a “typical example of government overreach of an artificial scarcity that’s created just by government regulations” at the “2023 Legislative Session Recap” event hosted by the Colorado Sun. In 2023, Polis issued an executive order directing his administration to streamline government rules for affordable housing development in Colorado.
Cato on the Hill
Cato continues to make substantial investments to connect our ideas to real policy change, leading to a boost in the number of invited testimonies from Cato scholars on the most pressing policy issues facing our country. In 2023, Cato had 18 federal testimonies, five more than in 2022, and 23 statements for the record and public comments, nine more than in 2022. Cato also had nine state-level testimonies and 11 Capitol Hill briefings, up by six from 2022. Cato will continue to capitalize on this momentum by expanding our outreach to federal and state policymakers.
Erec Smith, a former collegiate diversity officer, told the House Education and the Workforce Committee that contemporary diversity, equity, and inclusion programs perpetuate racism. “This ideology is infantilizing, it is anti-intellectual, and since I am a mature intellectual person, it doesn’t align with me,” Smith testified.
Travis Fisher testified before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about how policymakers have made our electric grid a dangerous liability with a multitude of subsidies, regulations, and mandates. Government has made electricity unreliable and expensive.
Vanessa Brown Calder pinpointed for the Senate Judiciary Committee some of the government restrictions on construction that exacerbate the rising cost of housing in many areas. Housing abundance is needed to promote affordability.
Chris Edwards testified before both the Senate Finance and Senate Budget Committees on the negative consequences of higher enforcement funding for the IRS, namely, the collateral damage on law-abiding citizens often being targeted.