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Cato Video presents a variety of speakers, interviews, and events at the Cato Institute. The wealth of Cato’s multimedia content is carefully selected and edited to portray the most pivotal issues in a concise and engaging way, inviting viewers to rethink their assumptions about liberty and the proper role of government.

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  • September 12, 2011
    Blog
    Davis-Bacon Rules Damage D.C.
    The Washington Post reports on a Labor Department decision that applies pro‐​union Davis‐​Bacon rules to the CityCenter development in Washington D.C. The ruling could push up costs on the project by $20 million by forcing firms to …
    By Chris Edwards
  • September 16, 2011
    Blog
    This Week in Government Failure
    Over at Downsizing the Federal Government, we focused on the following issues this past week: Federal Davis‐​Bacon rules could increase the price tag for Washington D.C.‘s CityCenter development by $20 million. The U.S. Postal Service is …
    By Tad DeHaven
  • March 19, 2007
    Blog
    Congress Puts Unions Above Taxpayers
    Governments are infamous for sordid policies that enrich the well‐​connected at the expense of taxpayers and consumers, and the Davis‐​Bacon law is a good example. Originally designed at least in part to block minorities from gaining jobs on …
    By Daniel J. Mitchell
  • October 16, 2011
    Blog
    The Hoover Myth Marches On
    … projects to “create jobs.” He pressured businesses not to cut wages, even in the face of deflation. He signed the Davis‐​Bacon Act and the Norris‐​LaGuardia acts to prop up unions. He signed the Smoot‐​Hawley tariff. He created …
    By David Boaz
  • May 19, 2015
    Blog
    Reforming the Highway Trust Fund
    … highway and transit expenses. Congress can help the states by reducing federal regulations that boost transportation construction costs, such as Davis-Bacon and environmental rules. Cutting federal aid for highways and urban transit would improve the efficiency of infrastructure investment …
    By Chris Edwards
  • October 17, 2011
    Blog
    Ron Paul’s ‘Plan to Restore America’
    … aid spending would be zeroed out. Intelligent government reforms are proposed, including privatizing the Federal Aviation Administration and repealing costly Davis‐​Bacon rules. On entitlements, younger people would be given the freedom to opt out of Social Security and Medicare …
    By Tad DeHaven
  • February 22, 2010
    Blog
    Great Moments in (Anti) Stimulus
    … Allen. “It was going to cost us more money to take the money.” Stimulus funds mandate workers are paid using Davis‐​Bacon Wage Determination, which sets the pay scale for workers on federal projects and added $2.5 million to …
    By Daniel J. Mitchell
  • June 5, 2012
    Blog
    Scott Walker’s Reforms Are a Good Start
    … union laws is substantial, but often unseen, in terms of the domestic jobs and investment that the laws have discouraged. Davis‐​Bacon, the Norris‐​LaGuardia Act, and the National Labor Relations Act serve the particular interests of unionized labor rather …
    By Chris Edwards
  • December 7, 2021
    Blog
    Shining Some Much-Needed Light on America’s Real Infrastructure Problems
    … mentions how labor shortages affect domestic infrastructure projects but fails to note that, pandemic notwithstanding, federal “prevailing wage” requirements (aka Davis‐​Bacon Act) already restrict the supply of available workers for federal infrastructure projects, thus increasing costs. Additional regulations – such …
    By Scott Lincicome and Ilana Blumsack
  • August 19, 2013
    Blog
    Problems with Federal Infrastructure
    … A final problem with federal infrastructure spending is that it usually comes part and parcel with piles of regulations. Federal Davis‐​Bacon labor rules, for example, raise the cost of building state and local infrastructure. In general, federal regulations impose …
    By Chris Edwards
  • December 15, 2022
    Blog
    The Many Ways Bad Policy Worsens Your Daily Commute
    … for infrastructure projects both more costly and time-consuming. Environmental impact statements required by the National Environmental Policy Act and Davis-Bacon Act mandates that “prevailing wages” be paid on infrastructure projects contribute to both delays and increased costs. Such …
    By Colin Grabow
  • May 23, 2017
    Blog
    Trump's Budget Changes Tone On Infrastructure
    Trump’s Budget Changes Tone On Infrastructure
    … Britain? And will the administration see the logic of abolishing regulations that raise the cost of construction, such as the Davis-Bacon Act and Buy American regulations as part of their supply-side push? These, presumably, will all be answered …
    By Ryan Bourne
  • October 21, 2021
    Blog
    The Supply Chain Crisis Doesn’t Demand More Federal Infrastructure Spending
    The Supply Chain Crisis Doesn’t Demand More Federal Infrastructure Spending
    … Buy American’s many costs and risks. Most projects subsidized by the new infrastructure bill also must abide by the Davis‐​Bacon Act (Public‐​Private Partnerships would be exempt), which requires workers on federally funded infrastructure projects to be paid …
    By Scott Lincicome and Ilana Blumsack
  • January 11, 2019
    Blog
    This Is Our Emergency
    This Is Our Emergency
    Using the army to do an end-run around Congress is not how constitutional government is supposed to work.
    By Gene Healy
  • July 23, 2020
    Blog
    The Murky Origins of the H-2B Program’s Prevailing Wage Rule
    The Department of Labor (DOL) requires that businesses that hire workers under the H-2B program—America’s temporary worker program for seasonal nonagricultural jobs—pay a minimum wage known as the “prevailing wage.” This requirement substantially reduces the number of requests for H-2B workers.
    By David J. Bier
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