Can Government Run a Grocery Store?

In an unprecedented expansion of its role in the marketplace, the Trump administration has acquired ownership interests in dozens of firms. Cato's Scott Lincicome joins Laura Bondank-Harmon to discuss this radical move from the US government, the seen and unseen costs of intervening in the private sector, and how should Congress act if they want to put a stop to it before it's too late.   Read more of Scott's work here:https://www.cato.org/free-society/winter-2026/conspicuous-fist-trumps-state-corporatism  Executive Producer: Kristina Kendall  Producer: Barbara Galletti Post Production: Sedona LaMarre Audio Engineer: Cecil Sherman Original Music: Cecil Sherman  Director of Photography: Darren Walker Assistant Producer: Elcid Demonteverde  Motion Graphics: Jonathan Fields Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Free health care, housing, college, paid leave, and retirement benefits may sound appealing... but how would we pay for them? Rikki Schlott sits down with Cato’s Adam Michel to unpack the Democratic Socialists of America’s ambitious agenda and the staggering cost of its proposals. If taxing the rich and corporations is not enough to foot the bill, who would be paying next? Access Adam Michel's research here:https://www.cato.org/blog/who-will-pay-democratic-socialisms-200-trillion-cost Executive Producer: Kristina Kendall Producer: Barbara GallettiPost Production: Sedona LaMarreAudio Engineer: Cecil ShermanOriginal Music: Cecil Sherman Director of Photography: Darren WalkerAssistant Producer: Elcid Demonteverde Motion Graphics: Jonathan Fields  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every Tuesday on The Cato Weekly Podcast, leading scholars and policymakers from the Cato Institute delve into the big ideas shaping our world: individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. Whether unpacking current events, debating civil liberties, exploring technological innovation, or tracing the history of classical liberal thought, we promise insightful analysis grounded in rigorous research and Cato’s signature libertarian perspective. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A number that's precise, dramatic, and politically convenient should raise your suspicion, not lower it. Aaron Brown, author of Wrong Number:How to Extract Truth from a Blizzard of Quantitative Disinformation, joins Cato's Ryan Bourne to break down the warning signs of a bad statistic, from missing context to claims that arrive straight from a press release. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear Vermont versus Cook County, its biggest Second Amendment case since Heller. The Cato Institute's Clark Neily, who worked on the original Heller case, joins Rikki Schlott to explain what's at stake for the 20 to 25 million Americans who already own an AR-15 style rifle. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rep. Kevin Fitzpatrick (R) and Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D) lead one of Washington's only bipartisan caucuses, the Problem Solvers Caucus, and they've teamed up on an affordability agenda that touches housing, energy, health care, and immigration. Ryan Bourne walks through where their plan overlaps with Cato's own affordability handbook, and where free market and interventionist solutions still diverge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New York City Mayor Mamdani wants five city owned grocery stores selling staples 30% below cost, at $70 million to build and $100 million a year to run. Cato's Rikki Schlott talks with Don Boudreaux about why private supermarkets survive on 2% profit margins, and what actually happens when government tries to run a store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nearly 60% of housing markets in the United States have been characterized as “unaffordable.” Cato's Ryan Bourne talks with Howard Husock of the American Enterprise Institute about why rent freezes, vouchers, and government run housing tend to make the problem worse, using New York City as a cautionary case study. They lay out what actually works instead: zoning reform, faster permitting, and more small multifamily housing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Earlier this year the Supreme Court ruled that the president could not use the "International Emergency Economic Powers Act" (IEEPA) to impose tariffs and the administration immediately turned to other legal mechanisms to assert that power.Laura Bondank-Harmon interviews Clark Neily and Ilya Somin to unpack the legal battles over Trump’s tariffs, the statutes the administration is now invoking, and the constitutional limits on the president’s power to tax. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most rich countries that tried annual wealth taxes eventually scrapped them, but now California and Elizabeth Warren want to run the experiment in the United States. Ryan Bourne talks with Adam Michel about how a “modest” 3 percent levy can swallow 60 percent of an asset’s 5 percent return—and leave workers footing much of the bill. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.