Cato Restoring Free Enterprise

The Cato Institute’s Restoring Free Enterprise project examines the federal government’s unprecedented ownership of private companies.

[Cato Institute @CatoInstitute]

The government's equity portfolio of 36 companies has a distressingly weak legal foundation, says Cato’s @scottlincicome.

None of the cited laws expressly authorize federal ownership stakes in private companies. #CatoRFE

https://t.co/qWz68qGyVk

[Cameron Murray @DrCameronMurray]

Very interesting.

Many countries have a functional mortgage system and high homeownership without their own Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

So what social function is being done here?

[Norbert J. Michel @norbertjmichel]

What has $7.8 trillion in federally backed mortgages actually accomplished?

• US homeownership sits at ~65% – virtually what it was in the late 1960s.

• Home price and construction volatility remain among the highest in the developed world.

Federal intervention has boosted home mortgage debt, not homeownership.

Full report: https://t.co/lRtbswwTBc

[Cato Restoring Free Enterprise @Cato_RFE]

Supporters of South Korea’s industrial policy point to the firms that thrived.
@APanagariya points to everyone else: unfavored firms, consumers, and the economy as a whole.

What that means for Washington's equity stakes:
https://t.co/aGsVjovH0W #CatoRFE

[Cato Restoring Free Enterprise @Cato_RFE]

South Korea’s heavy-industry push, Sweden’s state ownership, America’s “friendfunding” with allies, and more coming soon.

New #CatoRFE international essays offer lessons from abroad to warn Washington about its current ownership spree:
https://t.co/QYNxKFluIf

[Cato Restoring Free Enterprise @Cato_RFE]

Amtrak was supposed to become self-sufficient within a few years. Fifty-six years later, it has never earned a profit, and it lost $1.9 billion on operations in 2025.

@CatoEdwards on what government ownership did to passenger rail: https://t.co/xLqgNwzXdx #CatoRFE

[Cato Restoring Free Enterprise @Cato_RFE]

Before U.S. Steel and Intel, there was Amtrak. And Fannie and Freddie. And TARP.

Cato’s new case studies show what happens when Washington owns businesses, and why it’s so hard to get out: https://t.co/kmvSQCCZK6 #CatoRFE

[Cato Restoring Free Enterprise @Cato_RFE]

@reason on #CatoRFE
"When the government gets involved in any industry, it complicates matters for the companies in which shares are held, for competitors who must worry that regulators will put their thumbs on the scale to help favored firms, and for the market in general."

[reason @reason]

Reminder: Government ownership of private companies threatens American prosperity.
https://t.co/sq4gAmARu1

[Cato Restoring Free Enterprise @Cato_RFE]

October 2026: The CHIPS Act, along with other legal authorities pointed to by the administration, does not explicitly authorize the government to take ownership stakes in private US firms.
https://t.co/AZ1YYIGqz1

[Cato Restoring Free Enterprise @Cato_RFE]

Since 2022, @scottlincicome has argued that CHIPS Act subsidies would come with political strings and risky bets.
As of October 2026, the government has taken ownership stakes in 22 firms using CHIPS subsidies for authorization.

A quick review of Scott's work on CHIPS🧵 #CatoRFE

[Cato Restoring Free Enterprise @Cato_RFE]

August 2026: The Intel bet has ballooned into an expansive, risky portfolio.
https://t.co/oubMNFZw6f

[Cato Restoring Free Enterprise @Cato_RFE]

McKinley:
Falsely declaring TARP a success emboldens current and future administrations to cite past intervention as precedent for similar government investment programs.

[Cato Restoring Free Enterprise @Cato_RFE]

TARP was sold to Congress as a plan to buy troubled mortgage assets. Treasury quickly turned it into a program to buy stakes in banks.

@VernMcKinley on why that’s no model for today’s equity deals:
https://t.co/VXDc62bObz #CatoRFE

[Cato Restoring Free Enterprise @Cato_RFE]

McKinley:
[Secretary Henry] Paulson later described the instinct behind that moment with unusual candor: "Even if you don’t have the authorities—and frankly I didn’t have the authorities for anything—if you take charge, people will follow. Someone has to pull it all together."

[Cato Institute @CatoInstitute]

The Cato Institute has launched Restoring Free Enterprise, a new project examining the federal government’s growing ownership and control of private companies and how to reverse it. Follow @Cato_RFE for timely commentary and research. #CatoRFE

https://t.co/043qfq6x5g

[Cato Restoring Free Enterprise @Cato_RFE]

The administration has cited several laws to justify the government’s new shareholding arrangements, yet not one of them expressly authorizes the executive branch to take an ownership stake in a private US company.
@scottlincicome in @thedispatch: https://t.co/KTEF3k9zhH #CatoRFE