Longtime Cato Institute chairman William Niskanen died this week after a massive stroke that followed a September heart surgery.

In 2008, the last year of his chairmanship at Cato, Niskanen delivered the annual Pope Lecture at N.C. State University. He also granted an interview with Carolina Journal Radio. Before the Great Recession had taken its toll on the economy, Niskanen already had predicted that the federal government would be unable to meet the spending promises it had made to the American people.

Click play below to watch the full 9-minute interview.