John Stossel

John Stossel

Receive Updates from John Stossel

 

A Libertarian Year Ahead?

By John Stossel (Dec 28, 2011)

As 2011 draws to a close, I wonder: Is freedom winning? Did America become freer this year? Less free? How about the rest of the world? I'm a pessimist. I fear... more

Obamacare Abominations

By John Stossel (Dec 21, 2011)

President Obama says his health care "reform" will be good for business. Business has learned the truth. Three successful businessmen explained to me how Obamacare is a... more

Job Creators Fighting Back

By John Stossel (Dec 14, 2011)

Some politicians claim that politicians create jobs. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says, "My job is to create jobs." What hubris! Government has no money of its own.... more

Ten Years to Greece

By John Stossel (Dec 07, 2011)

America moves steadily toward the cliff. When Greece blew up, its government debt was 126 percent of gross domestic product. Ours is on track to exceed that in about 10... more

Blocking the Paths Out of Poverty

By John Stossel (Nov 30, 2011)

Have you noticed how often government takes sides against the little guy? Street vending has been a path out of poverty for Americans. And like other such paths (say, driving... more

America: Land of Free Speech -- Sometimes

By John Stossel (Nov 23, 2011)

We're proud that America is the land of free speech. That right is recognized in the First Amendment, and we usually take it seriously. It wasn't always the... more

FDA Kills Smokers

By John Stossel (Nov 16, 2011)

"The FDA is responsible for protecting the public health."That's what the Food and Drug Administration tells us on its website.My intuition makes me grateful that the FDA is... more

The FDA Kills

By John Stossel (Nov 09, 2011)

It would be nice if politicians and regulators left us alone. But they don't. They always want to do more. Recently, there have been shortages of some medicines. Cancer... more

The Stupidity of "Buy American"

By John Stossel (Nov 02, 2011)

One sign of economic ignorance is the faith that "Buy American" is the path to prosperity. My former employer, ABC News, did a week's worth of stories claiming that "buying... more

School Competition Rescues Kids

By John Stossel (Oct 26, 2011)

For years, American education from kindergarten through high school has been a virtual government monopoly. Conventional wisdom is that government must run the schools. But... more

Wall Street Protesters Half Right

By John Stossel (Oct 19, 2011)

What's there to say about Occupy Wall Street? The answer isn't so simple. Some complain about taxpayer bailouts of businesses. Good for them. In a true free market, failing... more

Government the Job Killer

By John Stossel (Oct 12, 2011)

President Obama says government will have to build the nation out of the economic trough. "We're the country that built the intercontinental railroad," Obama says. "So how... more

Government Makes Us Poor

By John Stossel (Oct 05, 2011)

Here's my fantasy: Libertarians are elected to the presidency and to majorities in Congress. What would happen next? Well, if libertarians were "in charge," you'd have more... more

Governments Don't Create Prosperity

By John Stossel (Sep 28, 2011)

Politicians say they create jobs, but they really don't. Or rather, they rarely create productive jobs. Government has no money of its own. All it does is take resources from... more

Exciting Schools

By John Stossel (Sep 21, 2011)

School spending has doubled over the past 30 years. Yet what do we get? More buildings and more assistant principals -- but student learning? No improvement. If you graph the... more

Ponzi! Ponzi! Ponzi!

By John Stossel (Sep 14, 2011)

Ponzi! Ponzi! Ponzi! There, I said it. To the extent people believe there are trust funds with their names on them, Social Security is absolutely a Ponzi scheme. So is... more

Ten Years After

By John Stossel (Sep 07, 2011)

After 9/11, the U.S. Congress created the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration. America went to war, overtly and covertly, in... more

The Gay Marriage Debate

By John Stossel (Aug 31, 2011)

Six states and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage. Most so-called liberals are happy about that. Most conservatives are not. As a libertarian, I think all... more

Almost Everything We're Taught Is Wrong

By John Stossel (Aug 24, 2011)

We grow up learning that some things are just bad: child labor, ticket scalping, price gouging, kidney selling, blackmail, etc. But maybe they're not. What I love... more

The GOP Race Heats Up

By John Stossel (Aug 17, 2011)

Did we learn anything from last week's Republican presidential debate? I heard the usual platitudes like "bring people together," but there was also plenty... more

A Government That Kills

By John Stossel (Aug 10, 2011)

President Obama has declared that auto companies' fleets must average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, almost double the current 27.5. Standing at his side when he made the... more

Balancing the Budget

By John Stossel (Aug 03, 2011)

The political class predicted "disaster" if Congress didn't raise its debt limit. I think that was a scam to get more money. See, the poor politicians... more

What We Don't Know about History Can Hurt Us

By John Stossel (Jul 27, 2011)

"It ain't so much the things we don't know that get us into trouble. It's the things we know that just ain't so." That famous line, attributed to many authors but apparently... more

A Businessman for President?

By John Stossel (Jul 20, 2011)

Herman Cain has an impressive record in the business world. He was a successful vice president at Pillsbury and Burger King, then he turned around the failing... more

David Mamet's Conversion

By John Stossel (Jul 13, 2011)

Hollywood mocks capitalism, which seems odd because the people who make movies are such aggressive capitalists -- competing hard to make money. But Hollywood's message... more

The College Scam

By John Stossel (Jul 06, 2011)

What do Michael Dell, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Mark Cuban have in common? They're all college dropouts. Richard Branson, Simon Cowell and Peter Jennings have in... more

A New Day in Politics

By John Stossel (Jun 29, 2011)

Most Americans used to call themselves Republican or Democrat. These days, more call themselves independent. What does that mean for American politics? A lot. "Independents... more

Who Is Gary Johnson?

By John Stossel (Jun 22, 2011)

Someone was missing from last week's Republican presidential debate, and that's too bad. He's an announced candidate who was a two-term governor of New Mexico, and he makes a... more

The Money Hole

By John Stossel (Jun 15, 2011)

America is falling deeper into debt. We're long past the point where drastic action is needed. We're near Greek levels of debt. What's going to happen?Maybe riots -- like... more

The Cancer of Regulation

By John Stossel (Jun 08, 2011)

Politicians care about poor people. I know because they always say that. But then why do they make it so hard for the poor to escape poverty? Outside my office in New... more

Government Against Blacks

By John Stossel (Jun 01, 2011)

The other day, I went to Times Square to ask people what government should do to help poor people. Most everyone agreed on the answer: "more social programs and a higher... more

Battle of the Budgets

By John Stossel (May 25, 2011)

Since America is on the road to bankruptcy, we've got to make some changes. What would you do? The Peter G. Peterson Foundation gave $200,000 to six think tanks to write... more

Plentiful Fuel

By John Stossel (May 18, 2011)

I just learned I'm going to save money! My apartment building in New York will switch from heating oil to cleaner natural gas. Gas is much cheaper than oil now because energy... more

Ron Paul: Less Lonely These Days

By John Stossel (May 11, 2011)

The man who likely has done more than anyone to put the libertarian philosophy of freedom and small government on the political agenda probably will make another run for the... more

Gasoline and Onions

By John Stossel (May 04, 2011)

The speculators are ripping us off! "The skyrocketing price of gas and oil has nothing to do with the fundamentals of supply and demand, and has everything to do with Wall... more

Government Creates Poverty

By John Stossel (Apr 27, 2011)

The U.S. government has "helped" no group more than it has "helped" the American Indians. It stuns me when President Obama appears before Indian groups and says things like,... more

Watch the Watchmen

By John Stossel (Apr 20, 2011)

I believe in the right to privacy. Yet I can think of someone who deserves very little privacy -- a policeman making an arrest. Unfortunately, in some states it's... more

Welcome Budget-Cut Talk

By John Stossel (Apr 13, 2011)

Finally. A serious budget plan. House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan's proposal has the head-in-the-sand crowd horrified. A Washington Post columnist called it "radical ...... more

Gun Owners Have a Right to Privacy

By John Stossel (Apr 06, 2011)

If you own a gun in Illinois, take precautions. The state attorney general, Lisa Madigan, wants to release the names of guns owners in response to an Associated Press... more

Students Who Get It!

By John Stossel (Mar 30, 2011)

I went to Princeton in 1969, where they taught me that government could solve the world's problems. Put the smartest people in a room, give them enough taxpayer money, and... more

Corporate Welfare

By John Stossel (Mar 23, 2011)

In America today, the biggest recipients of handouts are not poor people. They're corporations. General Electric CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt is super-close to President Obama. The... more

End the Drug War, Save Black America

By John Stossel (Mar 16, 2011)

One key to getting past the race issue in America is to end the war on drugs. John McWhorter says it's the most important thing we could do. Cato's Letter features a lecture... more

Obama's Green-Jobs Fantasies

By John Stossel (Mar 09, 2011)

Anyone who understands basic economics already knows that President Obama's $2.3 billion green-jobs initiative was snake oil. Now, thanks to Kenneth P. Green, we have... more

An Academy Award-Winning Movie, Stuttering and Me

By John Stossel (Mar 02, 2011)

Because "The King's Speech," a movie about King George's effort to overcome stuttering, won the Oscar for best picture, reporters have been interviewing me about my... more

Why Does Government Suppress Information?

By John Stossel (Feb 23, 2011)

Sunday night is Oscar night! Think you know who's going to win? Want to make a bet? The Hollywood Stock Exchange allows people to bet on which movies, actors, directors, etc.... more

Is Seasteading the Future?

By John Stossel (Feb 16, 2011)

Here's a novel idea: Escape the suffocating chains of intrusive government by starting your own country! That's Patri Friedman's idea. He comes from an impressive line of... more

Passenger Trains: Clearly the Change We've Been Waiting For

By John Stossel (Feb 09, 2011)

You are our Ruler. An entrepreneur tells you he wants to create something he calls a "skating rink." Young and old will strap blades to their feet and speed through an oval... more

I Can Balance the Budget

By John Stossel (Feb 02, 2011)

The Congressional Budget Office says the current year's budget deficit will be a record $1.5 trillion. It also says that over the next decade we're on track for annual... more

My State of the Union Address

By John Stossel (Jan 26, 2011)

President Obama fulfilled his constitutional duty and gave his report on the state of the union last night. Here's mine:We're in deep trouble. You know why. Our debt has... more

Will the Republicans Really Cut This Time?

By John Stossel (Jan 19, 2011)

The Republicans promise less intrusive, less expensive government. But will they deliver? In the past, they have said they would shrink the state, but then they came into... more

Same as the Old Boss?

By John Stossel (Jan 12, 2011)

Last year, I reported that the United States fell from sixth to eighth place -- behind Canada -- in the Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal's 2010 Index of Economic... more

Prohibitionists: Leave Us Alone!

By John Stossel (Jan 05, 2011)

Sometimes I drink Scotch and then, to wake myself up, I drink coffee. So what? Many people consume mixtures of caffeine and alcohol in drinks like rum and Coke. Again, so... more