John Stossel

Even as Venezuelans starve, Senator Rand Paul notes that socialism has gained ground in the United States. That's why he wrote "The Case Against Socialism." The chapter on Venezuelan socialism is titled, "Because Eating Your Pets is Overrated.” "You would think that ... when your economy gets to the point where people are eating their pets, people might have second thoughts about what economic system they’ve chosen,” Senator Paul tells me.

It scares and upsets me how many students now claim to be socialists. Thankfully, some don't. "It's very easy to lose freedom,” a Michigan student tells me. "It’s very easy for politicians to legislate freedom away.” She’s a Stossel in the Classroom student:

California is the Biden Administration’s role model for America. What are they thinking? The state loses 170,000 people every year. "People are just emptying out of California!” says Kristin Tate, who reports on why so many abandon the state: "exorbitant tax rates, the high crime rates, the failing public school systems, the exorbitant cost of living.”

UPDATE to our corruption investigation in New Jersey. NJ Commission on Investigation just concluded that local officials, including Mayor Mike McPartland "received economic benefits –often not publicly disclosed– from (developer) Daibes.” I once confronted the Mayor about that:

Many “professionally trained” journalists are biased nitwits. Meanwhile Tim Pool didn’t even finish high school…. and he’s built a massive independent network with millions of followers. “Journalism today is...utter garbage,” he tells me. My full interview with Pool is here:

CNN reporters suck up to Kamala Harris. “I am struck, just in your presence!” one told her. Interviewing Republicans, the tone is very different. Here are examples:

Monday is #TaxDay. President Biden says tax increases on the rich will bring in more revenue. I doubt it. They would lead to lots more accountants finding loopholes ... and a lot less productive work:

FLASHBACK: 4 years ago, I released my first video on COVID. We didn't know much about it then. But we did know that government rules messed up Covid testing, and delayed telemedicine. Trump waived some rules, but we lost valuable time. Let's learn from that!

Did you know? The government purchases data about YOU. "They're creating records about all of us,” worries Naomi Brockwell. I provoke her by saying, “so what?“

The #SuperBowl is being played at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Good. It's the rare stadium not paid for by taxpayers. Congrats to owner Stan Kroenke for funding the $5 billion cost privately. Maybe he watched my video on “Stadium Welfare!"

Donating to charity? I give to charities that help people escape dependence. But capitalism and "greedy" innovators do still more for the world:

Facebook and Youtube admit that they limit the reach of some posts, including ones that DON'T violate their policies. If something "almost” violates a policy, they now show it to fewer people. I talk with Glenn Beck about that:

Politicians say give kids a “head start.” But the much-lauded program makes no difference in kids’ lives. Lisa Snell explains how the government’s own research found that Head Start did not help poor kids. Government’s response? Spend even more. A Classic Stossel from 2012.

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:

Socialism has failed so many times that at least some people understand that it wrecks economies. Fewer understand that it also leads to violence, but Gloria Alvarez does:

Professor Asao Inoue tells other professors how to teach. What he says ends up in your kids' classrooms. Inoue says students should not be graded on standard English because that’s giving in to “white supremacy.” We debate:

Did you notice the beef shortages? “You’d go to Wendy’s to buy a hamburger and they were out,” complains Rep Thomas Massie. "Yet you could see cattle from the drive-thru.” Dumb government rules are to blame. Massie says he has a solution.

“We are going to get rid of fossil fuels,” says President Biden. Give me a break! Europe tried. Now it's scrambling to burn more COAL:

4 years ago, we were told we had “15 days to slow the spread.” Covid’s "15 days" turned into years, and the loss of our freedoms increased. It’s important we don’t forget what happened. Politicians destroyed jobs and increased costs. They made bad things worse with arbitrary rules, and on top of that, government probably killed people with its endless red tape. Let’s remember politicians’ incompetence and their insatiable wish to gain power over us. Let’s never give them power like that again.

“There may be no alternative, but to cancel Christmas!” threatens Santa in a Greenpeace video on Global Warming. Environmentalists in Hollywood tell our kids: global warming will kill you! Soon! But instead, people keep innovating and the doom… doesn't happen. Hollywood and the media push green propaganda. Have we been “greenwashed?" A Stossel Classic from 2015.

Parts of San Francisco resemble the poorest slums in the world -- even though the city is one of the richest in America. Encampments of street people are everywhere. Some pitch tents. Others defecate on the sidewalk. Some are mentally ill and harass people. Why does such a rich city have a huge problem with homelessness?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says, “The world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change!” Really? 3 scientists address some climate myths:

Ketan Vakil started a company to sell Low-FODMAP foods. He wants to tell the truth on his labels. His customers want that information so they can follow the diet prescribed by their doctors. But the government said NO! Why? Our first Stossel TV Fellow, Trevor Kraus of Learn Liberty, examines why the government bans accurate information on food labels.

“I’m deeply depressed,” Charles Murray tells me. He’s talking about America’s growing welfare state. The man who influenced both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton to try welfare reform now says, "I don’t see a way back out.”

Colorado Governor Jared Polis isn't like most Democrats. Polis used to run businesses. He sold his online flower company and a greeting card company for more than a billion dollars. Maybe that’s why Polis understands how an economy works. For example, he signed a law that lets kids in Colorado run lemonade stands without government interference. “Every entrepreneur started somewhere,” Polis says. He fights for economic freedom in many other ways: