Cato Institute describes its work as broadening public-policy debate on “individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace.” For the last decade, Cato has supported Social Security reform through private accounts and championed deregulation of the drug industry. Cato was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, a chartered financial analyst and former vice president of Alliance Capital Management Group. Cato’s board is composed of business leaders and conservative economists, including David H. Koch, one of the largest donors to conservative causes, but it also includes former Democratic donor Richard J. Dennis, a longtime advocate of decriminalization of marijuana. Most of Cato's funding comes from private foundations and individuals, with only a small amount from corporations.

 

Cato argues for free markets and against taxes and government regulation. To that extent its philosophy is consistent with Republican ideology, but it also strongly rejects government infringement on individual rights and opposes broad provisions of the Patriot Act as “incompatible with civil liberties.” Extremely skeptical of foreign military intervention, Cato’s scholars also disagreed with the Bush administration’s 2003 invasion of Iraq.

 

Cato’s publications and reports can be explored by research area, which include defense and national security, constitutional issues, and a variety of domestic issues. The institute hosts a separate site focusing on Social Security.