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Private Notes
TRUST ON THE INTERNET: A website called Task Rabbit now allows people to advertise for things like: someone to come to my house and mop the floor. Or buy my groceries and deliver them. Sounds creepy. Why would I trust a stranger found on the internet? Yet, the free market came up with solutions: It harnessed the power of reputation, and now there are ways to know who to trust on the internet.
PRIVATIZE IT: Margaret Thatcher was right. We should trust private companies far more than government: "The right honourable gentleman takes his customary swipe at private enterprise, he can't stand it. He'd rather have nationalization run by politicians who know nothing."
MEDICAL ADVICE FROM STRANGERS: A new company called "CrowdMed" advertises: have your medical problems solved... by the crowd. You submit your case... which means listing your medical problems... and offer a reward, usually a few hundred dollars, to anyone who can solve your case. But would you trust an Internet diagnosis like that? Should you?
IN BITCOIN WE TRUST? The $20 billion in your wallet says "In God We Trust," but right below that is a picture of the White House. Unfortunately, God is not in charge of preserving the value of the dollar... Politicians are. I don't trust them. They have inflated away the value of currencies in country after country. Thankfully, now, there's a private alternative called Bitcoin. But is it any good? It's price has fallen lately.
HOW MUCH TRUST IS TOO MUCH? One coffee shop in North Dakota has no one behind the counter-no one to make sure people pay... they rely on the honor system.
STOSSEL'S TAKE: Trust the market, and now -- the reciprocal ratings on the internet.
Goliath was a giant soldier for the Philistine army in the Bible. Now he's more likely a bureaucrat with a tie and a clipboard. And the "Davids" he attacks are mostly entrepreneurs who have the nerve to try to make a buck running a business.
GOV'T VS. ENTREPRENEURS: Some "Davids" are fortunate to find help from the Institute for Justice, a law firm that takes their cases for free when government really crosses the line. Increasingly, the institute helps fight "civil forfeiture," which sounds boring, but it's really outrageous: "civil forfeiture is when the police and prosecutors seize property they suspect is connected to a crime. If you are charged with a crime, the government must prove your guilt and provide you an attorney if you can't afford one. But in the upside-down world of civil forfeiture, it's your property that gets charged. You must prove that it isn't guilty."
"ALIENABLE" RIGHTS: Most people are not lucky enough to get a free lawyer from the Institute for Justice. Environmental inspectors demanded to search inside the home of Martha Boneta who runs a farm in Virginia. In North Carolina, government regulators told Marty Kotis, owner of Pig Pounder brewery, he couldn't sell his beer at his own restaurants because of laws designed to protect distributors.
LET THEM DRIVE! In Las Vegas, one in every three cabbies rips off customers by taking a roundabout route from the airport to the strip. This means a longer trip and a higher fare. Uber has an easy solution to this problem: technology that adjusts your fare within an hour and lets them fire drivers who keep scamming customers. But in Nevada (where politicians are cozy with cab companies) Uber was kicked out of town. Instead, politicians "solve" the problem with clumsy regulations which usually fail. I read about this in this blog post by Blake Ross, founder of Firefox.
COPS & CAMERAS: Cop filmer Antonio Buehler was arrested after he videotaped footage of cops abusing people. Recently he was f
I react to Obama's State of the Union from a libertarian perspective. Thursday at 9pm ET on FBN.
LIBERTY PANEL: President Obama will apparently offer another laundry list of initiatives that grow government and limit freedom. I discuss the speech with a panel of libertarians: Libertarian Republic founder Austin Petersen, Katherine Mangu-Ward of Reason, and Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute.
PRESIDENTIAL SCORECARD: We look back at Obama's first State of the Union to see how well he's kept his promises. Luckily, many have gone nowhere. But what about ones that did? Have any of them actually helped the country? Our libertarian panel weighs in.
LIBERAL RESPONSE: Newsday columnist Ellis Henican has supported many of Obama's policies, like executive actions on immigration and easing sanctions on Cuba. Will he like Obama's speech? I debate...
MY TAKE: I give the speech I wish Obama would give.
THE POWER OF INNOVATION: We want people to keep coming up with new ideas, but there's a problem: if others can just take your idea and make money from it, why would you spend any time inventing something?
BIRTHDAY SUITS: Intellectual property laws are supposed to protect our ideas but they can also be restricting. I can't even sing "Happy Birthday" on air without costing Fox a lot of money since Warner Music owns the rights to the tune.
PIRACY: Why call copying "piracy?" Pirates take property from others. Internet "thieves" make copies, but don't "take." Some libertarians say it would be better if America had no copyright or trademark protection laws. I push back.
EXPOSING MAGIC TRICKS: Magicians want to protect their own tricks, but patents are public. That means their secrets would get exposed! Magician Rick Lax explains how a magician protects his work.
KNOCKOFF ECONOMY: The counterfeit fashion industry is huge. Our producers go undercover in Chinatown .
MY TAKE: Libertarian journalist Matt Ridley once said human progress happens when "ideas have sex with each other, and then give birth to new, often better ideas." Trademark and copyright laws make it harder for ideas to "have sex."
But I wonder if I would have written books and done TV if publishers, cable subscribers, and advertisers didn't pay for "exclusive right." Some intellectual property laws are a good thing!
Parasites are everywhere! They take your money and your freedom. Here's our show:
POLITICAL PREDATORS: Capitalism is great because it's voluntary. Most of the time, people get rich by helping others. But there are some who use government to force people to give them money. David Boaz of the Cato Institute calls this the "parasite economy."
BEACH HOUSE BAILOUT: I was once a parasite myself... I fed off you. The government encouraged me to be a parasite, and I took the bait when I built a beach house on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. Today I'm smarter and realize this was a scam.
LEGAL PARASITES: Personal injury lawyers are high on my list of the worst kind of parasites. They get rich while doing harm and then claim they are helping us. Often they get 40% of the take!
EATING AWAY AT EDUCATION: Years ago, these protestors came after me because I criticized the teachers union and its 200 pages of rules:
Kids learn less in school because public schools are a government monopoly, and government monopolies don't serve their customers well. Charter schools offer an improvement, but they threaten the teachers union.
MY TAKE: For most of history, "experts" said leeches could cure disease. They couldn't really (George Washington died after doctors left leeches on him for 10 hours.) But using them made the experts feel like they were doing something. Similarly, when politicians pass endless rules and spend other people's money, they feel good. They're doing something. But they are parasites.
CONQUERING CAPITALISM: President Obama recently proposed to end our embargo on trade and travel to Cuba. Libertarians say, "This is one time Obama was right. This embargo hasn't worked. It's time to end it!" But some Republicans disagree. A debate...
COMMUNISM IS "COOL?" People wear Che Guevara t-shirts. Fools think Che is cool. He once said, "we executed many people by firing squad without knowing if they are fully guilty." That doesn't sound like a very good role model.
CAPITALISM UNDER FIRE: Critics of Capitalism like Michael Moore say, "Capitalism is an evil system set up to benefit the few at the expense of the many." Nonsense. Lots of people think capitalism is immoral because it creates income inequality. But so what if some people have more than others? That's part of freedom! And that's moral.
SHOPPING IN THE USSR: For ABC, I went to Russia as a consumer reporter. The only place I found any spirit was where people risked their freedom by illegally trying to practice capitalism.
DEFENDING COMMUNISM: Jesse Myerson calls himself a communist. He says the system "guarantees jobs and income, the taxation of land value, [and] public options for banking," but he doesn't acknowledge all the death and starvation! I challenge him.
MY TAKE: Real capitalism is good because it is voluntary. Transactions happen only when both parties are happy with them. That automatic "thank you-thank you" tells the truth. The relationship is fair--- not because the two parties are "equal" but because capitalism is voluntary, and so nothing gets sold unless each party thinks he came out ahead. The free market is voluntary. Government is force. Voluntary is better.
I'm back in Washington, D.C. for the Students for Liberty conference! 1,500 college students gather to discuss liberty.
Here's our show:
MY TAKE: Young people sure know more about liberty and life than I did when I was their age. That's good news.
CAPITAL FREEDOM: Washington D.C.'s politicians could use a lesson in liberty. But Congressman Justin Amash is an exception because he actually promotes freedom.
REAL OR FAKE: Political correctness on campus is now so out of control that people can't even tell what's real or fake. I test the student audience to see if they can tell the difference between real problems and things my staff just made up.
CAMPUS COMMUNISTS: In some countries, if you talk about capitalism in the classroom, others physically attack you.
GUNS ON CAMPUS: The group Students for Concealed Carry says college is safer when students carry guns.
UNDERSTANDING FREE MARKETS: Young people tend to think making money is bad. But Brian Brenberg teaches students that making money helps people.
Sometimes it seems like America is governed by an angry mob. Here's our show:
THE LIBERAL MOB: Ann Coulter says "the Democratic Party activates mobs... depends on mobs... coddles mobs... publicizes and celebrates mobs... it is the mob."
THE REPUBLICAN MOB: But Democrats say Republicans act like mobs. On balance, I side with Coulter, because I get yelled at by liberal mobs.
THE MEAN GREEN MOB: The left does act like a mob when they get hysterical about climate change. Robert Kennedy Jr. says he wants to jail skeptics and treat them like war criminals.
POLICE VS. PROTESTERS: After the Ferguson protests, many Americans called the protestors the mob. But others called the police the mob. A debate.
BUY AMERICAN: A mob of unions and politicians tells us to "Buy American." But "buying American" does not actually put more Americans to work.
KOCH CONSPIRACY: A mob of people hate the Koch brothers, and some say they want to kill them. I defend the Kochs.
MY TAKE: You might call me a hypocrite for doing a show criticizing mob rule. After all, in search of ratings, I pander to the mob. But one big difference: I can't force anyone to watch. I have to persuade you. Government is different. Government gets to use force.
RISKY BUSINESS: What's most likely to kill you? ISIS? Not likely.
Most people are killed by ordinary things: 5,000 Americans die crossing the street, 4,000 people drown, 300 drown in bathtubs, more than 4,000 Americans choke to death every year, 2,000 die in house fires, stairs kill 1,000 Americans, and every year, 50 children are killed by ordinary, five-gallon buckets. Terrorism kills but (so far) it poses a much smaller threat. Even if 3,000 Americans died every few years, such attacks would be less deadly than choking or drowning.
THE GAME OF RISK: What's riskier-walking through an airport scanner or eating a handful of Brazil nuts? The answer might surprise you. I play a new game on my show: Can Fox TV hosts Harris Faulkner, David Asman, and Judge Jeanine Pirro figure out what's riskier than what?
FORCED VACCINATIONS: Contagious disease is a special case that justifies government intervention. Stossel thinks parents who don't vaccinate their kids are anti-scientific morons. But since zero Americans have died of measles, it is not yet right for the state to force vaccination.
SAFETY VS. FREEDOM: Motorcycles are very dangerous. So should the government force bikers to wear helmets? 19 states do. We libertarians say, that's wrong. Once I'm an adult... I should get to take my own chances, even if I'm a fool. As Milton Friedman said, "Part of freedom is the freedom to be a fool."
MY TAKE: In America, thanks to free enterprise, life is pretty good. And every year, Americans live longer.
INEQUALITY IN AMERICA: What is fair? Bill Gates has more than a thousand times the money I do. Robert Downey, Jr. is also rich and better looking and more famous than me. Angelina Jolie is richer and better looking than... most everyone.
That's unfair!
Obviously we are all different and unequal. And when it comes to unequal money, politicians want to do something about it. Elizabeth Warren says we need to "raise the minimum wage," "address student loans," and give "equal pay for equal work."
Will throwing more money at inequality make anything better? My guests debate.
GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUNDS: Fox Contributor Tamara Holder complains that they get paid 77 cents on the dollar. But despite what feminists say, women are not actually paid less for the same work.
GOOD INTENTIONS GONE BAD: Before the War on Poverty began, blacks were lifting themselves out of poverty. "Please Stop Helping Us" author Jason Riley says progress stopped because today's "welfare policies do not help people develop a work ethic."
NET-NEUTRALITY: FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai says the new net neutrality plan will lead to higher prices, slower speeds, and fewer choices.
MY TAKE: Instead of talking about fairness, it would be better if we talked about justice: respecting other people, respecting their freedom and their belongings. Then EVERYONE prospers. Real fairness requires limiting government power.
THE "WOUNDED" CITY: Chicago is on fire. Moody's dropped its bond rating to two levels above junk, mostly because they have quickly rising unfunded liabilities. Once they file bankruptcy, Chicago will be the largest municipal bankruptcy in the country's history.
THE FALL OF RAHM: Leftist hero Rahm Emmanuel was once the Chief of Staff to the president. Now he is the first mayor in Chicago's history to face a runoff election instead of easily winning re-election. Weirdly, he became unpopular because he did the right thing: he closed bad schools. He may have not been progressive enough for Chicago. His opponent "Chuy" Garcia could be even more irresponsible.
GUN VIOLENCE: Chicago has one of the highest gun violence rates in the country. Economist John Lott says it's because the city has some of the strictest gun laws.
PAY-TO-PLAY: Corruption in Chicago certainly isn't new. It continues, says Adam Andrzejewski of OpenTheBooks.com. Somehow, investment firms that give money to Emmanuel's campaign are awarded fees to manage the city's money. Somehow, lawyers who give the right politicians money get lucrative contracts from the city. What a coincidence!
CHARTER SCHOOLS: One hopeful note in Chicago: almost 20% of the city's high school students now go to charter schools. This may allow a future generation to escape some of the damage done by unionized municipal bureaucracies.
GOVERNMENT MORTAGE COMPLEX: Homeownership is "good for the community" because owners care more about schools and maintaining the neighborhood. Unfortunately, our government thinks if something's good, it ought to require it...or at least subsidize it. And so it does. Now the government owns or guarantees 85% of America's mortgages and approves mortgages backed by down payments as low as 3%. America is on the road to another housing bubble, and crash that will follow.
AIRBNB: Lots of people love the new home-sharing companies like Roomarama and Airbnb. Airbnb has more than 6 million users. But whenever there's a new idea, control freaks always say "You've gotta stop that!"
GENTRIFICATION: Liberals object to gentrification, and so many other changes that make life better for the poor.
TINY HOMES: Tiny homes like the ones in Washington DC are illegal if someone tries to move in. (My guest does live in one).
HOMELESSNESS: Homelessness is a big problem, but it's solvable, say politicians. Government will provide affordable housing. And free housing for the truly needy. It's not working.
MY TAKE: Affordable housing is a good thing, but politicians who yammer the most about it are often the ones who do the most to keep us from having it. They pass endless zoning rules, safety rules, and anti-discrimination regulations. That's why housing is expensive. It's not because of greedy landlords or homebuilders. It's because of politicians.
Marx said Capitalism means destruction. Schumpeter said Marx was right, but it's creative destruction.
INNOVATION: We like our smart phones, but did you ever think about what they destroyed? I put together a list: Phone Books, Books, Snail Mail, Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Notepads, Calendars, Business Cards, Address Book/Rolodexes, Record Players, Cassette Players, Boom Boxes, Radios, Walkmen, Mp3 Players, Voice Recorders, Tape recorders, Cameras, Photo Albums, VCRs, DVDs, TV Video Game Systems, Video Cameras, Fax Machines, Maps, Compasses, GPS Units, Alarm Clocks, Stop Watches, Calculators, Flashlight, Levels, Egg Timers, Remote Controllers
Now it's all in one iPhone.
What a bargain!
FUTURE OF MUSIC: When I was born, people listened to music on phonographs. Then came cassette tapes, CDs and MP3s. Now people stream music off the internet. Companies like Napster paved the way for listening to music online. The music industry got politicians to declare that "illegal."
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: With the invention of automation and robots, could human beings become irrelevant? I look how Hollywood tries to imagine the robot-dominated future:
THE LAST OF THE 6%? Real estate brokers still charge a 6% commission. This is one profession that so far has resisted most creative destruction. Increasingly, however, people have found new and better ways to buy and sell homes. Redfin is an internet real estate brokerage who gives money back to buyers.
CASH IS TRASH? I often pay in cash...or credit cards. How primitive, I'm told! We explore what could replace my outdated modes of payment.
IMPROVING EDU : If any industry is ripe for creative destruction, it's education. Education's barely improved in 200 years because it's dominated by governments and unions. Today, some kids have more innovative... cooler... ways to learn.
WAR ON RELIGION: Some of my Fox colleagues say Christianity is under attack, but I don't see much of that. America is a Christian country. Compared to other countries, religion thrives. 90% of Americans believe in God. 40% say they go to church every week. In France and Germany, fewer than 10% go. In Denmark, 3%.
INDIANA LAW: Opponents of Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act say it discriminates against gays. Others say it's a matter of religious freedom. I say it should be about individual freedom. All debate.
SEPARATION OF CHURCH & STATE: Most Americans believe in separation of church and state. But in some towns, the 10 commandments are posted conspicuously in front of courthouses. "In God We Trust" is written all over our currency. Is this wrong? It turns out that "separation of church and state" is mentioned nowhere in the Constitution. My guests debate.
DESECRATING THE SACRED: In Texas, the Lipan Apache Indian tribe has celebrated its religion for thousands of years by conducting a ceremony that includes wearing eagle feathers. Eagles are no longer endangered, and anyway, the tribe doesn't use feathers from live birds. Nevertheless, the Fish and Wildlife service raided the tribe and confiscated feathers because the tribe didn't have a permit for feathers. "For the government to take those feathers away is like ripping the heart out of their religion" says Kristina Arriaga of the Becket Fund.
BIRTH CONTROL: Our current big-government president says he believes in freedom of religion. But that didn't stop his functionaries from forcing Christian groups that believe birth control is murder to pay for birth control pills and morning-after pills for their employees.
BLUE LAWS: Depending on what state you're in, you may not be allowed to buy alcohol on Sunday. That's because "blue laws" say Sunday should be a day of worship. But not all religions worship on Sunday. Blue laws blur the appropriate relationship between church and state.
FREE-MA
Who will be the next president? Here's our show:
LIBERTY ON THE BALLOT: We libertarians believe: "government that governs best--governs least". So what does this election mean for liberty? Matt Welch of Reason rates the candidates.
PREDICTION MARKETS: Pollsters and pundits claim they know who will win, but they have been so wrong often. Prediction markets have a much better track record because people put their money where their mouth is. Our repressive government has banned most American prediction markets, saying they're "contrary to the public interest." Nonsense. At least foreign predictions markets still exist. Betfair, based in Britain, gives these odds on our Presidential election:
GOP PRIMARY
Bush 31.59% Walker 18.09%
DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
Clinton 78.82% Warren 6.34%
WORLD'S SMALLEST POLITICAL QUIZ: Advocates for Self-Government scored each candidate on a political quiz that shows where they fall on this graph. The results are surprising. You can take the quiz at http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz/quiz.php to see where you fall.
FAITH IN POLITICS: All today's presidential candidates say they believe in God. But some make a bigger deal of it than others. Stossel looks at candidates who want to limit freedom for the sake of their religious values. Huckabee and Santorum want government to ban same sex marriage and abortion.
TEA PARTY: Fox contributor Monica Crowley says, because of the Tea Party, Republicans now fight harder for smaller government. Candidates considered "Tea Party candidates" are Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Rick Perry. They sure talk a good game...
GOVERNORS: Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson ran for president as a libertarian in 2012 and got 1.3 million votes. Stossel says he would have been a good president. Johnson rates four current governors who want to be President: Scott Walker of Wisconsin, John Kasich of Ohio, Chris Christie of New Jersey, and Mike Pence of Indiana.
JOBS, JOBS, JOBS: I'm sick of politicians saying they create jobs. Government can create the conditions where job growth happens, but government doesn't produce real jobs. Fox's Juan Williams disagrees.
JOB CREATION: So who does create jobs? Sadly, Americans have no idea. But the correct answer is: entrepreneurs, business owners, companies!
MINIMUM WAGE: Workers demand higher pay, and most Americans support a higher minimum wage-even Republicans! But how high? I asked people...One person said $50!
RIGHT TO WORK: Wisconsin recently became the 25th state to adopt right-to-work legislation. Steve Moore of the Heritage Foundation explains why right-to-work laws are great.
FIRST JOBS: My first job was as a deckhand on a sailboat. It paid me nothing but it taught me responsibility. My colleagues at Fox had similar experiences in crummy first jobs.
THANKS GOVERNMENT! Fewer people dare to start a business today because they can't even understand the rules. Government keeps adding rules. Millions lose jobs because of government regulations.
ENDING THE 9 to 5: 9 to 5 jobs might be a thing of the past, says Dan Schawbel of WorkplaceTrends.com.
MY TAKE: I asked people if they'd work if they didn't need the money. Most people said, yes! But lots of people don't work because they get paid more for not working! Our well-intended welfare state taught many people that work is for suckers. That's a terrible message.
POLITICAL SPEECH: I long for the day when a politician runs a campaign ad that speaks the truth... Instead, politicians use words like “Free” when they really mean “Give away taxpayer money”. Or “Single Payer” when they really mean “Forced Monopoly”.
Every politician obsesses over what he should say when he speaks. Which words will move people? "What will get people to like me?" Frank Luntz arranges focus groups that help decipher what these words are. He tells Stossel how it works.
CLINTON SCANDAL MANUAL: The Clintons have been at the center of a lot of scandals (sex with interns, the Whitewater scandal, deaths in Benghazi, their dubious charity, and most recently, violation of State Department email rules.) Yet, they've largely gone unpunished. The Clintons must have a Scandal Manual that helps them escape punishment: Lie or deny scandal allegations, parse the truth, and confuse the press.
POLITICANS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS: Political gaffes can often make or break a politician's campaign: Senator George Allen never recovered after he referred to a cameraman with the racial term "Macaca." I discuss the repercussions of some famous gaffes with comedian Tom Shillue.
MY TAKE: Orwell wrote, "Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable. They give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." It's another reminder of why we ought to keep government's powers limited.
What should you do when you disagree with the law?
MY TAKE: Government's endless rules strangle everyone. They delay lots of great innovation, and they will kill our future. What should we do about it? Charles Murray, in a new book says, break some rules!
BALTIMORE RIOTS: I call that ‘rioting.' But Kevin Powell calls it ‘civil disobedience.'
"LEFT" OUT? We tend to think civil disobedience is done by people on the left (draft resisters of the anti-Vietnam War movement, Martin Luther King and civil rights, and more recently, the silly people of Occupy Wall Street.) But conservatives were big supporters of Cliven Bundy and his rancher friends when they said the federal government can't touch Bundy's cattle!
WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE THAT TEST: Thousands of parents are breaking rules by resisting standardized tests they don't want their kids to take. They just let their kids sit out of required exams. They call it "opting out."
ESPIONAGE: Edward Snowden saw spying from the NSA he thought was wrong and so he leaked it. Some call him a traitor; others say he's a hero.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST MYTH: My brother Tom Stossel, a Harvard doctor and researcher, complains that endless "conflict of interest" rules banning cooperation between business and medical researchers stops medical innovation. "Pharmaphobia" is his new book about it.
WATCH YOUR MOUTH! It's hard to stay out of trouble because the PC police are so aggressive about what words are acceptable.
AMERICA, THE OFFENDED: Do you know the politically correct word for someone who is ugly? Fat? Producer Rikki Ratliff went to Times Square to give people a politically correct quiz.
OH NO YOU DIDN'T! What is the politically correct term for blacks? Columnist Deroy Murdock says "African-American" is an awful term, and only people obsessed with race use it.
VERY FUNNY : One weapon against the speech police has been comedy. A joke is often funny because it breaks the rules. "The Death of Cool" author Gavin McInnes says political correctness smothers comedy.
ACADEMIC CENSORSHIP: College is supposed to prepare you for the real world. But college is anything but the real world. Students are coddled and university administrators jump through hoops not to offend them.
OFFICE SENSITIVITY: We have to be careful what we say to our co-workers. How careful? One article explains: You must never use "man" words like "man-power." You must say "work-power" or "staff." You must never say "manmade," it's "synthetic."
MY TAKE: I made a career of confronting people, and sometimes that means saying offensive things. I say nasty things sometimes because sometimes truth comes out of it. We learn through confrontation. Science blossomed in America because here, no central authority, no governor, no judge, no Imam can tell people: You may not say that! Ideas compete for acceptance and usually... eventually... better ideas win.
MY TAKE: Congratulations Class of 2015! You probably wasted up to $200,000.
IS COLLEGE NECESSARY? People talk about the importance of college. Politicians encourage people to get a college education. President Obama proposed making community college "free". Sen. Bernie Sanders wants to make tuition at four-year public colleges and universities "free"! But "free" just means taxpayers pay. Why should they? Should everyone go to college? No! For a lot of students, college is a scam.
ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER? Do college students get their money's worth? I quiz recent graduates of expensive, top level colleges to see if they answer questions that are part of today's 5th grade curriculum.
Here's one question a lot of people get wrong:
During which war did Francis Scott Key write The Star Spangled Banner?
a. Revolutionary War
b. Civil War
c. War of 1812
d. World War I
Most people assume the answer is A. But it's actually C.
COMMENCEMENT ADDRESSES: I weigh in on the best and worst commencement addresses of 2015.
THE COLLEGE ALTERNATIVE: Peter Thiel pays people NOT to go to college, to start a business instead.
GOVERNMENT LOAN SCAM: Government's student aid has created a tuition bubble. The price goes up because government pays. Some colleges spend that money on things like rock walls, and a "Day Spa."
WHAT IS ‘SOCIAL JUSTICE?' The left constantly praises "social justice," but I don't know what it means. Hillary Clinton says: "Spread those resources!"
If I oppose that, am I for social injustice? To me, "social justice" means government stealing from some people to give to others, and bossing everyone around.
WAL-MART: One of the social justice movement's biggest enemies is Wal-Mart, but most Americans are clueless about the benefits everybody gets from Wal-Mart.
SLAVERY: Some people believe that slavery gave American capitalists a head start because they didn't have to pay for workers. But economist Don Boudreaux says the opposite is true... capitalism destroyed slavery.
WITHOUT MARKETS: Once it became clear that Hugo Chavez's "21st Century Socialism" wasn't working, I thought American leftists would be embarrassed by their early enthusiasm... but no!
SCIENCE & REASON: Author Michael Shermer says it's odd that now some people complain that there's no social justice when "we're living in the most moral period in human history."
MY TAKE: Markets, in which individuals, not just rulers, have property rights, give people options. Businesses have an incentive to serve as many people as possible, regardless of gender or ethnic group. They also have an incentive to be nice --customers are more likely to trade with people who treat them fairly. Everyone gets to choose his own path. That's justice.
When you deal with government, almost nothing is easy. Here's our show:
THAT WAS EASY!
Government could take a lesson from Staples. When Staples changed its business model and worked at making shopping simple, its profit went up 18% and its share price increased $37% because its customers were happier. But when consumers deal with government, few are happy, and little is simple.
SAVINGS BONDS: It should be easy to buy a savings bond. Billions were sold (they helped pay for WWII); but now government makes it so difficult!
POLITICAL SPEECH: Are Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Chris Christie and John Kasich running for president?
Of course they are! Everyone knows it, but they won't admit it because if they do, bureaucrats subject them to all sorts of restrictions and strangle their fundraising.
HIRING HASSLE: With politicians' talk about job creation, you would hope government would make it easy to hire people. But the opposite is true. There are a thousand questions you may not ask when hiring someone... "how long have you been working?" or "how tall are you?" could get you into big trouble.
LICENSING LIABILITIES: Politicians also kill opportunity by forcing entrepreneurs to run through a maze of licensing laws.
INSANE GUN LAWS: Since people sometimes threaten to kill me, I thought it would be a good idea to get a gun. NYC's government makes that hard.
STOSSEL IN THE CLASSROOM: I run an essay contest for my non-profit organization. This year's winner is Raelynn Rhodes, who wrote about the burden of regulation on her dog treat business. She writes: "In a free economy, if I made a bad dog treat, word would have spread, and people would not have continued to buy them. Wouldn't that be a simple way to weed out people who make bad dog treats?"
MY TAKE: For bureaucrats, the maze of regulations works. It makes them powerful. But for the rest of us, it makes life hard!
"POLITICAL" SCIENCE: Both sides of the political spectrum accuse the other of being anti-science. The left says the right ignores global warming, denies evolution, and wants to ban stem-cell research. On the other hand, the right says the left leads ridiculous campaigns against vaccines, GMOs, plastics, and artificial sweeteners.
JUNK SCIENTISTS: "Experts" like Al Gore, Bill Nye, and Neil deGrasse Tyson spout off all the time about climate change but they have almost no qualifications when it comes to climate science.
FOOD MYTHS: Ladies...want to look like Beyoncé? She says you too can have her body-- thanks to her new all-vegan meal plan. But is a diet with absolutely no meat, dairy, or eggs really healthy? Some fad diets aren't.
GMOs: Lots of people are scared of them. The left says don't fool with Mother Nature, but people have been fooling with nature forever, and GMOs help feed millions of people.
A LIBERTARIAN NIGHTMARE? Government quietly adds a chemical to our drinking water: fluoride. It does prevent cavities, but we can get fluoride in toothpaste now. Is it right for the government to add chemicals?
MY TAKE: I used to think I could learn unbiased info by consulting "impartial" scientists. I'm less naïve now. Scientists too have ulterior motives, like money. And scientists are just as interested in promoting themselves as everyone else. Let's be very skeptical when they say, give us your money and your freedom, so we can protect you.
CHANGE FOR A $10? The Treasury plans to put a woman on the $10 bill. We don't know who, but people we asked in Times Square still seemed excited about the decision. I feel bad about Alexander Hamilton's demotion. He was a big deal: he helped pass our new Constitution, fought in the American Revolution, rescued the country from debt, and founded the New York Post. Most people don't know this.
SHOW ME THE MONEY! Economics confuses people. That's why John Tamny uses entertaining stories from sports, movies, and pop culture to explain basic economics in his new book "Popular Economics: What the Rolling Stones, Downton Abbey, and LeBron James Can Teach You about Economics."
UNEQUAL PAYCHECKS: Hillary Clinton complains "the top 25 hedge fund managers mak[e] more than all of America's kindergarten teachers combined." I say, "so what," and explain how the market sets wages.
ZERO SAVINGS: 3 out of 5 Americans have no savings, and the average household owes more than $7,000 on their credit cards. Radio host Dave Ramsey counsels people on how to better manage their money.
CASH ONLY: Crystal Paine has never used a credit card and avoids debt by paying for everything in cash.
GOING BROKE: Politicians should also learn how to manage taxpayers' money. Even though America's $18 trillion debt keeps increasing, many politicians insist on more spending.
MY TAKE: Let's eliminate the Washington monopoly on printing money. Let private currencies, like bitcoin or Dogecoin, compete for your business. Choice is always better!
FALSE IDOLS: Who are your heroes? One poll asked Americans that question, and many people said politicians. What's heroic about what they do? Many are self-serving panderers who say anything to win. Once elected, they dole out favors and money to their cronies.
HEROES IN THE MEDIA: The media is supposed to be objective but left-wing media fawn over big-government politicians.
BUSINESS OWNERS: Some of the most unheralded heroes are people who start businesses. Entrepreneur Michael Cole of Mikey Likes It Ice Cream risked his own money, works harder than a lot of us, and could still fail like most new businesses.
EDUCATION FREEDOM: Kelley Williams-Bolar was arrested when she tried to give her daughters a better education. She claimed a different residency to get her daughters into a better school district.
COMBATTING COMMUNISM: Larry Reed of the Foundation for Economic Education went to dozens of countries to spread subversive ideas about freedom.
THE AUDIENCE SAYS: Is Edward Snowden a hero? The audience weighs in with their opinion of some of America's most controversial figures.
MY TAKE: Milton Friedman once said, "There have to be people who step up to the plate, who believe in liberty, and who are willing to fight for it." And I agree, you are a hero too, if you do!
I debate whether the American Dream is still achievable in front of thousands of people at FreedomFest in Las Vegas.
THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN VEGAS: Steve Wynn, who has been called "The master builder of Las Vegas" is clearly living the dream with several mega- resorts around the world. He says the American Dream is alive and well in Silicon Valley. But he still trashes some of their products. I confront him about that.
WHOLE FOODS: Government's anti-monopoly prosecution is another obstacle to the Dream. John Mackey, founder of Whole Foods, was sued by the Federal Trade Commission for being a monopolist, but "you don't need the government to protect people from monopolies, because the market protects people from monopolies."
MINORITIES: It's much easier for whites to make it because minorities face racism and discrimination. Not true!...says Star Parker of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education.
KEEPING THE DREAM ALIVE: Grover Norquist is more optimistic about the American Dream than I am. He points to the growth of home-schooling, school-choice, and other reductions of government control in the states as evidence that advocates of small government can win.
MY TAKE: America is a country where if you try something and fail, that's okay. We know about Thomas Edison's success with the lightbulb, but few people know that Edison failed much more often. Henry Ford's first company failed completely. Dr. Seuss' first book was rejected by 27 publishers. Oprah was fired from her first job as a reporter, and a TV station called her "unfit for TV". So when I say, "idiot government regulation and high taxes are killing opportunity," ignore me and prove me wrong!
I explain why our legal system is a mess. We have a live audience.
WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS: Now that DNA evidence is more available, we know that lots of people are locked up for things they didn't do. I talk to an audience member who served 16 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.
EYEWITNESS EXAM: Are eyewitness reports actually reliable? Probably not. I secretly have an intern steal something from my desk. Will the audience properly identify the "thief?"
STUPID LAWS: One reason our legal system is such a mess is because politicians don't think they're doing their job unless they're passing more laws! Philadelphia requires bloggers to purchase a $400 license. Milwaukee says you need a license to go out of business.
UBER TAKEDOWN: Because ridesharing services like Uber are better, they are destroying the taxi monopoly. That makes the taxi business and their friends in government angry.
WACKY WARNING LABELS: Companies are so afraid of lawsuits they routinely include absurd labels: a bag of frozen catfish pieces warns: "Contains fish." A toy that looks like the Easter Bunny warns: "This toy is in no way intended to represent living people." It doesn't protect them. It doesn't protect us, either. The Stossel audience picks the $1000 winner of the Wacky Warning Label Contest.
MY TAKE: Lawyers can help you make things right! But lawyers rarely mention the nasty unintended side-effects of their lawsuits: we all pay more for everything, we all drown in stupid law, and we're deprived of good things.
Politicians lie. My audience and I call "Liar, Liar!"
IMMIGRATION INVENTIONS: Ann Coulter says that leftist politicians lie about immigration and want to turn America into a "Third World Hellhole."
ECONOMIC UNTRUTHS: President Obama promised if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor. Economics professor Art Carden discusses politicians' lies about stadiums, the gender pay gap, Walmart and government spending.
LIES AND LAWLESSNESS: Does gun ownership lead to more homicides, suicides and accidental deaths? Is rape rampant on campus? The media certainly says so. John Lott weighs in.
HILLARY'S FIBS: Some of the Left's greatest lies are told by the woman who's most likely to become our next president. So far, she's gotten away with it. Liar, liar, pantsuit on fire!
CONSERVATIVE CONCOCTIONS: Conservatives lie too. Rick Ungar of Forbes.com says the Right lies about Medicare, the minimum wage, global warming and more. I make him prove it.
A LIE: Do politicians actually lie? For a statement to be a lie the person has to purposely say something they know isn't true. What some people call a lie is simply ignorance or wishful thinking. Usually politicians talk about beliefs. And many believe foolish things.
Life needs rules, but sometimes we're better off when if some people break some rules. Here's our show:
HOUSE RULES: Today's most famous successful rule breakers are the "sharing economy" companies like Uber and Airbnb. They keep gaining happy customers but most everywhere they go, established companies get mad because they must obey the rules. Some cities ban Airbnb. We sent producer Rikki Ratliff to visit one.
STREET VANDAL ATTACKS CLINTON HQ: Conservative street artist Sabo plastered some provocative anti-HIllary posters outside of her campaign headquarters in Brooklyn. Usually "street art" is associated with the left but Sabo defies that rule and says he wants to be "mean, nasty, and just as bad as Bill Maher." His artwork around Los Angeles sure is close.
RULING THE NEW MEDIA: You used to need an agent or record company to become a Hollywood hotshot, but now teenagers found a way around the traditional rule-makers and make millions of dollars posting their own videos on YouTube.
RULEBREAKER AWARDS: Entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz honors innovators who defy convention by giving prizes to winners of what he calls "The RuleBreaker Awards."
MY TAKE: The rule breakers on this show have done great things, but they're nothing compared to the original rule breakers, our Founding Fathers. They broke rules to give us our rights. Today we need to rebel again, no longer against kings or the church, but against the regulatory state.
Who will you vote for? Who's likely going to win? Here's our show:
MY TAKE: I made my list of the best and worst possible presidents:
Rand Paul (R)
Gary Johnson (Libertarian)
Carly Fiorina (R)
Jeb Bush (R)
Ted Cruz (R)
Scott Walker (R)
Rick Perry (R)
Marco Rubio (R)
John Kasich (R)
Ben Carson (R)
Bobby Jindal (R)
Jim Webb (D)
George Pataki (R)
Donald Trump (R)
Lawrence Lessig (D)
Chris Christie (R)
Martin O'Malley (D)
Lindsey Graham (R)
Lincoln Chafee (D)
Rick Santorum (R)
Jim Gilmore (R)
Bernie Sanders (Ind./D/Socialist)
Joe Biden (D)
Hillary Clinton (D)
Mike Huckabee (R)
Jill Stein (Green)
I acknowledge that my list is imperfect; it's based on how much a candidate seems to want to micromanage our lives and involve us in foreign wars
PRESIDENTIAL TRACK RECORDS: Pundits bloviate non-stop about minute differences in the candidate's mannerisms; they follow the polls breathlessly. But on this show, we look at politicians' actual track records and their actual plans. Stossel gets help from a fair and balanced panel: libertarian Matt Welch of reason magazine, conservative Mary Katherine Ham of Hot Air, and liberal Ellis Hennican of Newsday.
SPENDING: For me, spending is the biggest issue. All the candidates say: "I'm going to be responsible."
The governors running actually have a track record we can compare. Jeb Bush did the best.
IMMIGRATION: In his presidential announcement, Donald Trump attacked Mexican immigrants, and his popularity exploded. Is this how most Americans feel? Our panel analyzes.
SEX, DRUGS, AND GUNS: How are the candidates on social issues? I say all drugs should be legal, but the Republican candidates are all against me on that.
DEMOCRATIC RACE: The media claim the race for the Democratic presidential nomination is getting tighter, and Hillary is no longer a shoe in, but is that true? Our panel weighs in on which Democrat is best, and worst.
Free markets solve all kinds of problems. Here's our show:
DROUGHT SHAMING: California's water shortage has less to do with rainfall than bad government. The media shame JLo...Hugh Hefner... Jessica Simpson...Julia Roberts... and Jennifer Aniston for using lots of water to keep their lawns green.
But shaming won't make much difference. Californians waste water because politicians don't allow water companies to price water according to its scarcity. The best solution is an actual free market where people pay more for a scarce resource.
FREE HUNTING: Hunting animals for money, even animals like Cecil the lion, is a better way to protect endangered species than banning hunting.
PRIVATE ARMIES: National defense is a job for government, but Matthew VanDyke runs a private militia called "Sons of Liberty International." His volunteers fight ISIS terrorists. They, and private contractors, often do a better job than government.
LABOR SHORTAGES: We hear about lots of scares over shortages of certain workers. The latest is a pilot shortage scare. What should we do about it? Absolutely nothing! The market will work it out.
FREE-MARKET HEALTHCARE: The Surgery Center in Oklahoma says... "We don't take insurance!" and posts prices on their wall. That allowed them to lower prices so much that they attract people from thousands of miles away.
PRIVATE COURTS: Judge Alex Ferrer arbitrates outside the government court system. 78 percent of lawyers say arbitration is more efficient than government run courts.
MY TAKE: Extreme poverty and fighting for survival was life for billions of people.... for thousands of years. But Since 1990, the number of people living in extreme poverty has been cut in half. A billion people who once lived like that no longer do. This is the biggest unpublicized story of the century. Thanks to the magic of the free market, a billion people are no longer miserably poor.
Why do borders matter? Here's our show:
EUROPE'S REFUGEES: What will Europe do about the thousands of Syrian refugees? Did America cause the crisis by going into Iraq?
BORDER WARS: Most presidential candidates say "seal the border!" What's possible? Who is right?
STATE BORDER: We assume there's something natural about borders between countries and states, but some division are insane. Part of Idaho is in Montana because a legislator got drunk. Part of Kentucky is in Tennessee because iron ore confused surveyors' compasses. Utah was made smaller because the U.S government hated polygamy.
STATES' RIGHTS: States are often called "laboratories of democracy" because they allow experiments. States are doing that now with issues like marijuana and school choice. With gay marriage, however, The Supreme Court said that states must be told what to do.
OPEN BORDERS?: Jeffrey Tucker of Laissez Faire Books argues that we should have NO border controls. That was the law in America until the Immigration Act of 1882 banned "idiots, lunatics, convicts and persons likely to become a public charge." Stossel and Tucker debate.
MY TAKE: The border would be easier to secure if America were not also fighting a drug war. The War on Drugs has destroyed entire parts of Latin America and provided funds to the smugglers who sneak people North. If there were a clear benefit to the drug war, you might say it was worth it. Instead, it yields death, dislocation of populations, and funds murderous cartels that dig tunnels beneath our border walls.
Government is like a control freak "friend" who wants to manipulate all aspects of your life. It's time to break it off with government! Here's our show:
LOVE GOV: The Independent Institute and Emergent Order's video series "Love Gov" portrays federal government as an overbearing boyfriend named Gov whose "good intentions" ultimately ruin his girlfriend Alexis' life.
OBAMACARE: Like Gov, Obamacare is premised on the idea that government knows what's best for you. Leftist radio host Richard Fowler says it actually does. He and I debate.
NSA SPYING: Anna and Peter Smith sued President Obama to stop its surveillance program. They've passed their first legal hurdle and reached an appeals court. They discuss their suit with me. But I don't agree with libertarians! I think bulk data collection may be okay.
AID TO HOMEOWNERS: President Obama, the FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac blow more air into the next housing bubble. The Reason's Foundation's Anthony Randazzo explains why this is a scam that benefits rich people while hurting taxpayers.
BUSINESS REGULATIONS: Jared Meyer of the Manhattan Institute says business regulations hurt employment and keep out competition.
MY TAKE: Americans need the courage to break it off with government!
VICTIMS ON THE LEFT: Democrats say Americans are victims because they aren't paid enough, minorities are abused, women, children , older people are abused, etc. The villain is corporate America, and the solution is more government.
VICTIMS ON THE RIGHT: Republicans say Americans are victims because immigrants take their jobs, the Supreme Court doesn't honor our values, the culture is corrupt, crime is rising (it isn't), and the solution is a different government. Reason Magazine's Katherine Mangu Ward and talk show host David Webb discuss America's victim culture.
CAMPUS VICTIM CULTURE: Microaggressions are the new "offense" on campus. It's a microaggression to say to an Asian person, "You must be good at math." It's even a microaggression to say, "America is a melting pot." Greg Lukianoff from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education talks about absurd examples he has come across while covering campus censorship.
RACE: If there's any group that has a right to claim victimhood in America, it's blacks. But black conservative Kira Davis says "we don't need help from the outside."
REAL VICTIMS: 21 year old North Korean escapee Yeonmi park tells the story of how she escaped "the worst place on Earth." She explains how she learned about black markets, capitalism, and what it means to be truly free.
MY TAKE: Am I a victim? I was born a stutterer. Had today's disability laws existed when I began work, I may not have fought to overcome my stuttering and would have just stopped working and collected a government disability check. So it's good today's disability laws didn't exist then, because I pushed through and mastered speaking.
"HONEST" POLITICIANS: Authenticity has become the buzzword this presidential election. So I asked people, "Are politicians real? Or fake?" The politician most often named as "not fake" was Donald Trump. I debate "real vs fake" with Presidential historian David Greenberg and Real Clear Politics' Rebecca Berg.
WAR OVERSEAS: Presidential candidate Lindsey Graham wants more military spending and troops sent to more countries. How will he pay for it? Do our troops create more problems than they solve? Did they create ISIS? Graham and I debate.
IMMIGRATION: Some Republican Presidential candidates say immigrants take American jobs. Is that true? Economist Ben Powell, author of "The Economics of Immigration" says it's true but misleading. People confuse the "seen" and the "unseen." In the long run, immigrants create more jobs than they take.
WAR ON COPS: Many in the media say "there's a war on cops!" People believe more cops are being killed, but actually, that's not true. Nevertheless, police officers face new obstacles. Former NYPD Lt./Commander Joe Cardinale talks about whether the war on cops is real.
WAR ON WOMEN: Democrats talk about the Republican "War on Women," but how much of that is a political myth? Do women have a right for government to pay for their birth control? Abortions? I don't think so.
MY TAKE: I get heat from libertarians because I don't hate the NSA data-mining. But am I naïve? Look what government did to Jason Chaffetz: the congressman once was turned down for a job at the Secret Service, and after he upset them, dozens of people at the Secret Service accessed and gossiped about his personal information. Then someone leaked it. No one at the Secret Service has been prosecuted for this. Government grows, abuses power, and rarely apologizes. That's political reality.
Failure is good! Here's the Stossel show
THE "F" WORD: Lots of people treat "failure" like a bad word, but it's not! Success is "fueled by failure," says former Olympian and NFL wide receiver Jeremy Bloom. Lots of people failed miserably before they became successful. He says when you fail, it's important to be a "bouncer", not a "splatter."
WINNERS NEVER QUIT: Steve Jobs, JK Rowling, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and several others only got there because they first failed, but then learned from their failures. Hershey's first two chocolate stores failed. Henry Ford's first company went broke. Walt Disney's first cartoon company declared bankruptcy. But they all tried again.
ADDICTED TO FAILURE: Government fails again and again and doesn't learn from its failures. Politicians don't have to! Unlike entrepreneurs, who put their own money on the line, politicians spend ours!
FAILING OUR KIDS: Kids don't need so much protection from failure. Let them fail so they can learn how to succeed!
MEDICAL MISTAKES: Science experiments fail all the time, and we're better off for it! If scientists didn't make mistakes, we wouldn't have Penicillin, X-Ray machines, rubber, nylon, Velcro, Viagra, Rogaine, or NutraSweet.
MY TAKE: My first business failed. I invented the first Facebook.
I succeeded on 20/20, but 20/20's first show was such a failure, the boss fired the hosts the next day. Eventually I failed at 20/20, because I couldn't talk my bosses into doing more stories he called, "predictable libertarian propaganda." So I left. Failure? Hardly. It's what allowed me to come to Fox and do this show.
MY TAKE: I once got into an argument with the hosts "Outnumbered" after government issued a warning about the "incredibly transmissible" disease Ebola. The media was shrieking, "Are Hospitals Ready?" and all four women were alarmed. Government must do something! I pushed back.
We're terrified by threats, like Ebola. Fear is a friend of the state. Because when people get frightened, they willingly give money and power to politicians and bureaucrats. Government steals more money and freedom every time people get scared.
NATION IN FEAR: What do you fear? I ask people in Times Square. Most did not mention things we in the news media usually talk about.
Why are people afraid of snakes or spiders? What happens to our brains when we become scared? "Fear sociologist" Margee Kerr explains the science behind fear and why fear can be a good thing! I have my own fears tested when I hold a snake.
We also sent producer Rikki Ratliff to an amusement park of horrors to try to find out why people pay 30 dollars to be frightened.
"SCARCE" RESOURCES: The world is running out of oil, food and water! So claim the environmental left and clueless politicians. James Taylor of the Heartland Institute explains how, thanks to the genius of human innovation, we will have oil, food and water for years to come.
FOOD SCARES: For the past 50 years, we've been told that we shouldn't eat saturated fat. But oops! Now research says saturated fat is just fine. "The Big Fat Surprise" author Nina Teicholz explains why much of what government says to scare us about food is wrong.
CRIMINALLY AFRAID: We constantly hear that crime is increasing, but it's not! Crime has been dropping for years, and despite the recent claim that crime is up due to a "war on cops," crime has continued to fall.
THE MEDIA ELITE: "All the news that's fit to print" is the slogan at The New York Times, but they should really change it to "elites sneering at entrepreneurs." After one of their writers did a big "expose" of "injustices" in the nail salon industry, Reason TV reporter Jim Epstein uncovered error after error in their reporting. Now, the manicurists are pushing back.
COMBATING GOVERNMENT ELITES: Rand Paul explains how, if he were President, he will keep us safe but stay out of our lives as much as possible.
PAMPERED ELITES: People look up to Hollywood elites. I assumed most earned their success, but "Primetime Propaganda" author Ben Shapiro says that's not true. Hollywood is full of pampered hypocrites who complain about environmental degradation while squandering resources. They call for higher taxes, but move out of state to avoid paying taxes.
CAMPUS ELITES: It's no secret colleges lean way left. From the top 50 liberal arts schools, only one undergraduate professor donated to a Republican presidential candidate this season. You can't get a well-rounded education if all your professors only think one way.
ELITES DON'T RULE: "The Evolution of Everything" author Matt Ridley argues that good, new ideas emerge, not top down, but the bottom up. He says, "we give too much credit to the clever person." I challenge Ridley, a member of the British House of Lords, on his elite status.
MY TAKE: Ridley is correct. Bill O'Reilly and others are wrong to talk about politicians "running the country." Politicians don't "run America," free people do. The best of life happens in spite of politics.
Stossel and panel give a libertarian perspective on the 2016 presidential race
There are real dangers, but politicians continue to chip away at our liberty. Here's our show:
CENSORSHIP 101: In parts of the world, people are gunned down by terrorists. But on college campuses, America's most privileged children obsess about a "right... not to be offended." Nonsense! When government steps in to make sure no one's feelings is hurt - they threaten our real right to free speech.
FREEDOM FUMBLE: Millions of Americans bet on Fantasy Football. But now control freak NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says it's illegal gambling and ordered the two main fantasy sites to stop. Of course betting on fantasy sports is gambling, but adults should be allowed to risk their money as they choose!
CONTROL FREAKS: Politicians like Schneiderman say we need to be protected from our own decisions. While smarter states got rid of their bans on sharing companies like Uber and AirBnB, which offer consumers wonderful services, Schneiderman sued the two companies because he couldn't regulate them. When there's real competition, companies don't need busy bodies like Schneiderman. The free market regulates better than any politician ever could.
WASTING AWAY OUR FREEDOM: Government often threatens our freedom by wasting money: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spent $150 million in federal tax dollars performing tests to determine the effect of recreational drugs on animals, including $9.6 million to see if LSD causes a rabbit to blink more frequently, and $249,000 to find out if monkeys on cocaine make bad decisions. Most people would never pay for those things, but we didn't have a choice! When government spends our money, we can't buy things we actually want.
WEED WHACKERS: Most Americans favor legal marijuana, but that doesn't stop Bill O'Reilly from being certain it would be detrimental. Kids know it isn't "okay" to drink before they're 21. But some do it anyway. Some people use drugs, and criminalizing it won't stop them-it will just crea
FIGHTING TERRORISTS: In Paris, the terrorists killed, reloaded, and killed again. Would more citizens with guns have made the attacks much less deadly? We debate that. Also, although the Supreme Court ruled that individuals have a right to bear arms, I tried to get a gun license in New York City but was rejected.
GUN MYTHS: Dana Loesch busts myths about guns: phony "assault weapons," President Obama and Hillary Clinton's false claims about mass shootings, and the famous "gun show loophole."
NEGROES WITH GUNS: Today most blacks favor gun control over gun rights. "Negroes and the Gun" author Nicholas Johnson explains that's a relatively new phenomenon; blacks historically relied on guns for protection against oppression from the state and individual racists.
ARMED AND FEMALE: Kristina Ribali wishes more so-called feminists would get behind female gun-ownership. She's a mom who calls firearms "the great equalizer" because it makes women as powerful as men. She tells me, it wasn't the cops who kept her and her family safe from a repeat stalker, but her gun.
ZERO TOLERANCE: The stupidity continues. Examples: a 7-year-old boy is suspended from school for shaping a pop-tart into what his teacher thought looked like a gun; a 5-year-old girl is suspended for a "terrorist threat" that turned out to be a ‘Hello Kitty' gun, and kids suspended for using fingers as ‘guns'
MY TAKE: I argue that the Second Amendment is not about allowing people the right to shoot deer, it's about allowing us to protect ourselves from criminals and tyrants.
CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS: Donald Trump says we should ban all Muslims from coming to America. Does he go too far? "Lights Out" author Mark Steyn says we should at least talk about that. We cannot coexist with Islam, says Steyn. Our values are too different.
NSA SPYING: Government has stopped gathering Americans' phone records. Does this mean we're now more vulnerable to terror? Senator Rand Paul, whose filibuster helped end the program, says no. He says, "government investigated [the program], and found that no terrorist case has been thwarted through this."
CIVIL LIBERTIES: France increased its security measures since the Paris attacks. Why wouldn't it? But Reason's Anthony Fisher says the French government went too far. Even climate activists were put under house arrest.
HOME GROWN GOVERNMENT: Another way terror threatens our freedom? It causes government to grow. After 9/11, Bush created the Department of Homeland Security and the widely loathed TSA. DHS has already almost doubled its spending since its creation, and now both Democrats and Republicans say we need to give them more money! We don't. DHS already assigns itself tasks that have little to do with what most people consider "homeland security." It polices movie piracy, counterfeit NBA merchandise, and teaches nightclub strippers about sex trafficking.
REFUGEE CRISIS: Americans worried about past waves of refugees, majorities of Americans opposed admitting Vietnamese, Jews, Cubans, etc. and yet, those refugees did well here in America. We'll debate whether accepting refugees is still a good idea in the age of ISIS.
MY TAKE: There will always be crazy people who do horrible things. But we are lucky to live in America where, despite the killings in California, we are safer than we once were. Even when we get scared, we should not give up our liberty "for a false sense of security."
Hopefully we learned something this year. Here's our show:
PRESIDENTIAL RACE: Right now these two candidates lead in the polls:
Hillary Clinton & Donald Trump
But if I've learned anything, it's that polls don't mean squat. Election Betting Odds are far more accurate.
We ask our panel - Katherine Mangu-Ward of Reason, Dan Mitchell of Cato, and Fox Contributor Deneen Borelli - who they think has the best shot to become our next president.
THE TROUBLE WITH TERROR: Islamic terrorism dominated news coverage this year. Our panel debates what America should do about it.
BLACK LIVES MATTER: We were told that the "election of a black president" would reduce racial conflict in America. That hasn't happened. My panel debates the "Black Lives Matter" movement.
ECONOMIC SUCCESS: This year, Democrats railed against "income inequality" and the "loss of the middle class." But incomes are up since the 70s: Up 48% among the poorest fifth and up 40% for the middle class.
P.C. U: One of my social media followers calls 2015 "the year of being offended." And he's right. From Yale to Princeton to the University of Missouri, college campuses became the headquarters of a new censorship movement. It's gotten so bad that a recent Pew study found 40% of college-aged students are okay with government limiting speech offensive to minorities.
STOSSEL'S TAKE: Today's politicians don't think the rules apply to them. Kimberly Strassel's Wall Street Journal column, "No Political Guardrails" is sad, but correct. The President "wants what he wants. If ObamaCare is problematic, he unilaterally alters the law. If the nation won't support laws to fight climate change, he creates one with regulation." Hillary Clinton is no better. She says if Congress won't approve gun control or higher taxes, she will make it happen without Congress. Now Republicans demand the IRS audit the Clinton Foundation. Where are the guardrails here? "When did conservatives go from wanting to abolish the
