The Unvarnished Truth about Un-American TSA | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary

The Unvarnished Truth about Un-American TSA | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "even if terrorists crashed a plane a week, 'a person who took one flight a month for a year would have only a 1-in-135,000 chance of being killed in a hijacking — a trivial risk compared with the annual 1-in-6,000 odds of being killed in a car.'"

West Exacerbates Libyans' Suffering | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary

West Exacerbates Libyans' Suffering | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "One still can argue that the policy is justified. But self-proclaimed humanitarian hawks hate to admit that it is war they are making. The mere threat of intervention is supposed to be enough: Muammar Qaddafi was just supposed to 'go.'

Still, there's nothing to worry about. Only bad guys die and only good consequences occur in humanitarian wars. When conservatives like George W. Bush bomb another country, it necessarily is a costly disaster. When liberals like Barack Obama do so, it necessarily is a grand success."

Governors' Letter Shows Why Medicaid Block Grants Are Necessary | Michael F. Cannon | Cato Institute: Commentary

Governors' Letter Shows Why Medicaid Block Grants Are Necessary | Michael F. Cannon | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The governors write that block grants 'would shift costs and risk to states.' In reality, the matching-grant system these governors seek to preserve is a massive cost-shifting scheme. Block grants would reduce this phenomenon.

For every additional dollar a high-income state spends on its Medicaid program, the federal government sends the state one matching dollar. Low-income states get as much as $4 from Washington for each additional dollar they spend.

Therefore, every time a governor expands his or her state's Medicaid program, the federal government's system of matching grants effectively shifts 50 to 80 percent of the expansion's price tag to taxpayers in other states.

The same is true in reverse. If governors tolerate waste, fraud and abuse, the matching-grant system shifts 50 to 80 percent of the cost to taxpayers in other states."

"Under block grants, states would keep 100 percent of the savings from rooting out fraud and abuse, which would encourage states to spend their Medicaid dollars wisely, reduce the cost of the program, and enable states to do more with fewer resources."

Why We Must Freeze the Debt Limit | Jagadeesh Gokhale | Cato Institute: Commentary

Why We Must Freeze the Debt Limit | Jagadeesh Gokhale | Cato Institute: Commentary: "A temporarily frozen debt limit could instead signal U.S. lawmakers' resolve to get our fiscal house in order. It may even reassure investors about long-term U.S. economic prospects."