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Culture & Society: Reaching beyond politics and policy, into the art and community that shape us, is important for both understanding and changing the social landscape. Engaging with the themes and assumptions embedded in art and popular culture is a key component of succeeding in the marketplace of ideas. Discussing civil society and social entrepreneurs is essential to the motivation of the next generation. Whether it’s highlighting the work of a community organization improving lives locally or commenting on the values and message of society’s storytellers, we seek to emphasize the importance of the space between the individual and the state and the inherent dignity of every person.
Economy & Jobs: An economy based on mutually beneficial exchange is the cornerstone of our modern world. Creating an environment in which individuals are able to use their talents, interests, and skills to create value for others is essential to ensuring a truly inclusive economy that recognizes the full dignity and worth of the human person. Catalyst explores how these ideas function in our current culture and highlights ideas to improve the status quo.
Education: Without question, learning about the world and developing one's potential is the key to success in our modern world. But the current cookie-cutter approach to education ignores the different strengths, needs, and goals of today's students. Only by challenging the status quo and rethinking the rigidity of traditional educational pathways will today's students have the opportunity to achieve their true potential. By focusing on the needs and capabilities of individuals, Catalyst explores how education is being adapted to fit our modern age.
Environment: As the next generation takes up challenge of stewarding our environment, it is important to prioritize results over intentions. Creativity and innovation have radically improved our living standards; they can be harnessed to improve and protect our environment as well. Applying the same principles that have led to our historic material prosperity, such as the cooperation enabled by mutually-beneficial market exchanges, can also help sustain and preserve our environment for generations to come. By allowing more local and private control over the management of the resources in their own backyard and expanding property rights that encourage good stewardship and cooperation, we can build a culture that welcomes environmental entrepreneurship and is well-equipped to handle the challenges of conserving what matters most.
Healthcare: Overpriced and underperforming, it's no secret that America's healthcare system is in desperate need of an overhaul. However, new advances in medical and information technology are revolutionizing the way consumers search for and receive healthcare. Rather than continuing to rely on mandates and restrictions, introducing choice and flexibility will ensure that the needs of individuals are met. Catalyst explores these transformational developments and outlines ways in which to best serve individuals and families by restoring their decision-making power and increasing their options.
Housing: Moving to take advantage of new and better opportunities has always been part of the American pioneer spirit. Today, however, far too many people find themselves stuck in place and less able to fully pursue their aspirations. Even as technology makes the production of new homes cheaper and faster, public policy choices have made housing ever more expensive and unavailable. Catalyst explores how policies can be changed and technology leveraged to ensure that housing is affordable and responsive to the needs of the next generation of Americans seeking opportunity.
Privacy: The right to privacy is an essential component of liberty whose legal tradition can be traced back centuries. In today's digital and interconnected world, the platforms and context in which we exercise our right to privacy has certainly changed, but its significance has not. Catalyst highlights threats to the privacy of individuals and offers creative solutions to ensure that no person is forced to have private information made public.
Articles
Cigarette and Soda Taxes Don’t Save Many Lives
Selective excise taxes may raise revenue for the public sector by targeting the consumption of things that elites disdain, but they do not save millions of lives.
Articles
I Left My Kids in the Car Alone for a Few Minutes. You Won’t Believe What Happened Next.
People get their ideas about the risks they likely face from the news, but what makes something newsworthy is the fact that it’s unlikely.
Articles
We’re All ‘These People’ to Someone Else
Phrases like “these people” lend themselves to exaggeration and hyperbole that drown out conversation and communication.
Articles
In Praise of À La Carte
The world of pricing products and services has become far more efficient and consumer-friendly.
Articles
Let’s Ditch the Census
Innovation in enumeration can lead to more accurate data, giving policymakers a wealth of useful information without the stain of politics.
Articles
The Revolution You’ve Never Heard Of
The Group of Subversive Citizens Reclaiming the Civic Sphere
Local innovators and problems solvers across the country are working to re-weave our social fabric in our divided moment.
Articles
We Should End Tax Giveaways to Electric Vehicle Owners
They share the roads; they need to share the costs.
Articles
Prospects for Paid Family Leave
Competition or Coercion
Instead of coercion, either through increased taxes or mandates that employers provide certain compensation packages, let employers battle it out!
Articles
Hey Government! It’s Time to Make Child Care Affordable
Given that fewer than one in three children have a stay at home parent, the need for affordable nonparental childcare is imperative.