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Labor unions play a diminishing role in the private sector, but they still claim a large share of the public-sector workforce. Public-sector unions are important to examine because they have a major influence on government policies, particularly in states that allow monopoly unionization through collective bargaining. In a new paper, Cato scholar Chris Edwards argues that, to put citizens and taxpayers back in control of their governments, collective bargaining and forced union dues should be outlawed in the public sector.
In December, it was announced that the United States would enter into formal negotiations on a regional, Asia-Pacific trade agreement known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. The first negotiating session of this group will meet this week. In a new paper, Cato scholar Sallie James says that the Obama administration's interest in engaging in trade liberalization is a good sign, but "the burden is on the administration to demonstrate that TPP negotiations are not a stalling tactic designed to distract policymakers from the more promising gains to be made from broader multilateral or, preferably, unilateral trade liberalization."
Although public schools are usually the biggest item in state and local budgets, spending figures provided by public school officials and reported in the media often leave out major costs of education and thus understate what is actually spent. In a new study, Cato scholar Adam B. Schaeffer reviews district budgets and state records for the nation's five largest metro areas and the District of Columbia. Schaeffer finds that, on average, per-pupil spending in these areas is 44 percent higher than officially reported.
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Gridlock
America's transportation system is on the verge of collapse and Gridlock reveals how we got into this mess and how to fix it by focusing on free market improvements to methods of transportation that pay for themselves and increase everyone's mobility.
Shifting Superpowers
This book aims to energize the debate over the proper direction of U.S. foreign policy in Asia, urging America to adapt to the realities of a changing world in which China is not automatically America's enemy, while India is not consistently America's ally.
Financial Fiasco
An easily accessible work on the economic crisis, the book guides readers through a world of irresponsible behavior, showing how many of the "solutions" being implemented are repeating the mistakes that caused the crisis.
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