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The Senate is poised to open debate on a Democratic reform package that would set up new regulatory oversight of the financial sector. Writing in the New York Post, Cato scholar Mark A. Calabria argues that the bill ignores the root causes of the 2008 crisis: "The central flaw is that Dodd's bill continues bailouts as federal policy, despite his claim that he's ending 'too big to fail.' ...It wouldn't bring stability to our financial system, but further erode market discipline — while asking us to put all our faith in the same regulators who have failed repeatedly."

"Under the bill, debt holders can still be, and will likely be, bailed out," writes Calabria. "A bill that essentially says, "No more bailouts -- except under conditions A, B, C and D,' is not a bill that ends bailouts."

The bill merely gives the government more control to pick winners and losers in the marketplace. Writes Calabria, "To function properly, capital markets need certainty about how the government will respond in crisis situations. The Dodd bill doesn't provide that clarity: Instead, it massively delegates power -- allowing regulators to decide who gets rescued and who doesn't." In short, Dodd's bill makes bailouts into permanent policy.

In the Wall Street Journal, Cato scholar Gerald O'Driscoll warns that Dodd's financial regulation will increase cases of "crony capitalism":

If we want to restore our economic freedom and recover the wonderfully productive free market, we must restore truth-telling on markets. That means the end to price-distorting subsidies, which include artificially low interest rates. No one admits to preferring crony capitalism, but an expansive regulatory state undergirds it in practice.

Piling on more rules and statutes will not produce something different than it has in the past. Reliance on affirmative principles of truth-telling in accounting statements and a duty of care would be preferable. Deregulation is not some kind of libertarian mantra but an absolute necessity if we are to exit crony capitalism.

Thursday marked the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, a time designated to highlight and discuss ways to work toward a cleaner planet. While many use the time to advocate stringent government regulations, Cato scholars have shown repeatedly that markets, property rights and prosperity work to achieve the same ends. Cato's energy and environment research promotes policies that would help protect the environment without sacrificing economic liberty.

As Cato scholar Jerry Taylor explains, we have capitalism to thank for the clean air we breathe and the fresh water we drink:

It's businessmen -- not bureaucrats or environmental activists -- who deserve most of the credit for the environmental gains over the past century and who represent the best hope for a Greener tomorrow. … Indeed, we wouldn't even have environmentalists in our midst were it not for capitalism. Environmental amenities, after all, are luxury goods. America -- like much of the Third World today -- had no environmental movement to speak of until living standards rose sufficiently so that we could turn our attention from simply providing for food, shelter, and a reasonable education to higher "quality of life" issues. The richer you are, the more likely you are to be an environmentalist. And people wouldn't be rich without capitalism.

…This is not to say that government regulations haven't had an impact or aren't occasionally worthwhile. It is to say, however, that free markets are an ally -- not an enemy -- of Mother Earth. The Left, accordingly, has no special claim on Earth Day.

• Really, Senate Commerce Committee? Do you really think Hollywood actress Sigourney Weaver has important information you need to know?
• Clear and simple: It is unconstitutional for the federal government to force people to buy a private product.
• Who are these centrist, independent-minded voters some say will be crucial in the 2010 elections?  They're not conservative. Many of them may be libertarian — fiscally conservative but socially liberal or tolerant.
• Was there ever really a "libertarian golden age?"

Akbar Ganji, an Iranian writer and journalist who spent six years in a Tehran prison for advocating a secular democracy and exposing government involvement in the assassination of individuals who opposed Iran's theocratic regime, has been named the 2010 winner of the Cato Institute's Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty.

Ganji may be best known for a 1999 series of articles investigating the Chain Murders of Iran, which left five dissident intellectuals dead. Later published in the book, The Dungeon of Ghosts, his articles tied the killings to senior clerics and other officials in the Iran government, including former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Ganji was arrested for spreading propaganda against the Islamic system and "damaging national security." He was eventually sentenced to six years in prison, much of it spent in solitary confinement.

He was released from prison in March of 2006 and left Iran shortly thereafter. Many countries around the world offered him honorary citizenship, and he traveled extensively, giving talks promoting democracy in Iran and exposing major human rights abuses by the Iranian government. Despite his battle with Iran's theocracy, Ganji remains steadfastly opposed to military action by the United States in both Iran and Iraq, saying "you cannot bring democracy to a country by attacking it."

Established in 2002 and presented every two years, the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty is the leading international award for significant contributions to advancing individual liberty. The Friedman Prize biennial dinner and award presentation will be held at the Hilton Washington Hotel in Washington, D.C, on May 13, 2010. Make your reservation now.

Over the past week, those Americans frantically filling out their returns have been reminded of the tax system's increasing complexity and inefficiency. But it is also important to remember that the root cause of this woe is out-of-control government spending. And what's worse, all the spending planned by the Obama administration will result in added pressure for tax increases. Cato Institute scholars have long been pushing for cuts in spending and a renewed commitment to fiscal responsibility

At DownsizingGovernment.org, Cato scholars have outlined detailed plans for reducing major departments of the federal government. Chris Edwards has appeared on the Glenn Beck Program each night this week to discuss ways to downsize the president's budget, and will join him again tonight on Fox News at 5:00 PM EST.

Cato Budget Analyst Tad DeHaven writes:

Today is that unofficial American holiday where we mourn the loss of a year's worth of productive private resources to our bloated federal government. And it's not just the actual dollars paid to Uncle Sam — it's also the economic loss due to all the time and money wasted trying to comply with an increasingly complex tax code. …But on this Tax Day we shouldn't just mourn what we lost to Uncle Sam, nor should we celebrate what the federal government allowed us to gain from others. The federal budget is on an unsustainable trajectory that, if not reined in, will mean reduced living standards for future generations — whether they are effective taxpayers or not.

Beyond the cost of taxes, the tax system is so complicated that Americans pay billions of dollars each year just to file the documents, a cost that could be eliminated with a flat tax.