John Stossel

Everywhere people trash capitalism. But that’s mostly because they don’t understand it. In this video (and the next), I’ll set the record straight, and debunk 7 myths about capitalism. In this part of the series, Economist Dan Mitchell helps me bust ridiculous ideas about rich entrepreneurs, income inequality, and monopolies.

Campus censorship was so bad for libertarian Rikki Schlott that she left her college. “I was afraid to have Thomas Sowell books on my bookshelf,” she says. But now she calls cancel culture, “tyranny of the minority.” She says it’s time for the silent majority to fight back.

I love Wikipedia! I even donated to it. But I won't donate again, now that I've learned how BIASED Wikipedia has become.

The government tells us millions of Americans suffer from food insecurity! Really? 33 million Americans are hungry? Rachel Sheffield of The Heritage Foundation tells me it's not true. “Food insecurity is not the same thing as hunger.” Here, she reveals the truth about America's "food insecurity.”

Poisoned Halloween candy? That doesn’t happen! But parents fear it anyway. Here are other irrational fears:

Senator Rand Paul was once labeled a “conspiracy theorist” for saying a lab leak probably caused Covid. Now the FBI and Energy Department say it's likely. Here he explains how Anthony Fauci and other officials tried to COVER UP the origin to protect their reputations and funding:

The rich get rich at the expense of the poor? No! Carol Roth points out, "as we've increased the number of billionaires around the world, extreme poverty has actually shrunk". Life is not zero-sum. When some people do well... that usually helps everyone:

“I don’t want to be anything like California!” says one frustrated truck driver. But too bad, because he lives in Pennsylvania, which decided to AUTOMATICALLY copy California rules. Now trucks in Pennsylvania will cost $50,000+ more!

Exciting things are happening in education. In some places, charter schools bucked the unions, and got results. Hurricane Katrina made that experiment possible by destroying much of New Orleans. Now most New Orleans students attend charters, and they’re learning more. A Classic Stossel from 2011.

An innocent store owner's shop was DESTROYED by police, chasing a bad guy. The store owner thought he’d be reimbursed. But city officials ignore him. "They just gave me numbers to call. And when you call, they referred me to somebody else. It's unbearable!"

California politicians said their law would help freelance workers get benefits. Instead it’s killing jobs! Freelance musician Ari Hertsand says it’s “preventing us from doing what we want to do.” #AB5

Climate scientist Judith Curry bravely says climate change isn't a “crisis.” She explains how the scientific community became corrupted by "fame and fortune." Many politicians, and most climate scientists in the media, portray climate change as a crisis. "People are dying!" shouts Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. Bill Nye "the Science Guy" says "The planet's on ****ing fire! ... This is an actual crisis!" But Judith Curry tells me: There is NO "crisis." Global warming is a problem, yes, but it's manageable. She explains how IPCC scientists recently admitted that their most extreme models won't become reality, and she notes that climate-related deaths are actually falling. For more, you can watch my full nearly-hour-long interview with Curry, above.

Big business lobbies government to pass rules that hurt smaller competitors. It's always been that way. 100 years ago, Heinz found a way to make ketchup without a preservative. Then it pushed government to kill off its competitors by banning that preservative. The sleaze continues:

Panic! Government will shut down if Congress doesn't pass a funding bill by Saturday! That's how most media cover it. But during the last shut downs, what happened? LIFE WENT ON. Government demonstrated how needless most of it is. I made this video about that:

Are you pregnant? There’s a new law for you! The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. “Sounds like a great thing on the surface,” says CATO Institute’s Vanessa Calder. But Calder—who is pregnant—is AFRAID of the new law. Here’s why:

“Do you really want to live in a country where government bureaucrats … can censor whatever they don’t like?” asks Flying Dog Brewery CEO Jim Caruso. He’s spending his own money to sue beer bureaucrats who banned his and other beer labels. Good for Caruso for spending his own money to fight for free speech:

Politicians spend MORE and MORE. Now $6 trillion every year. Is there anything that might make them be responsible? Romina Boccia of the Cato Institute suggests an independent commission to make tough cuts:

It's Constitution Day! What's your favorite part? Many people I asked in Times Square couldn't name a single thing. Parts of the Constitution are hard to read. But they're still important! -- The right to free speech -- The right of the people to bear arms -- The guarantee of trial by jury -- The 13th amendment, which outlawed slavery -- The 21st amendment ending alcohol prohibition I also ask liberty-supporting people like Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and Former Rep. Justin Amash for their picks.

Have you been "red-pilled?" That means learning that conventional wisdom is wrong. Candace Owens says she gives out "red pills" to millions of people:

5 years ago… I reported on Philadelphia’s new tax on soda. The politicians promised to spend the money on early childhood education. 5 years later… here’s what happened:

Seattle was the first big city to pass a $15 minimum wage. People there were excited. “I think it's pretty awesome since I benefit from it,” one told us. Another added: “I wish it was all over the place, not just Seattle.” Five years after the law passed, the evidence is in: while some did earn more, entry-levels jobs decreased.

I like that Gov Jared Polis talks about individual freedom. But I learned from our FULL interview…he’s no libertarian. We discuss the good—and I push back back on the bad—here:

Hate it when you are the only car stopped at a light? I do. With roundabouts, that’s not a problem. They are better, for many reasons:

Democratic Socialists call capitalism “immoral” for allowing some to become super rich while others are poor. They have it backwards. Capitalism has made nearly everyone more prosperous than our ancestors could even imagine:

I've mentored and paid high school tuition for five Student Sponsor Partners (sspnyc.org) students. SSP gets results. The charity rescues “at risk” kids trapped in bad government schools. 85% graduate high school, twice the rate of their public school peers.