John Stossel 20/20 tonight: Govt Healthcare

[Mani]

Sorry if this is wrong place.

John Stossel on 20/20 tonight is going to research government healthcare, he's going to take all the places that were mentioned by Michael Moore from Sicko as having better care that's government care, and John is going to check out those places.

This might be enlightening for those who think "government healthcare is the answer". John is a libertarian so his "down to earth" common sense talking could reach a wide audience.

[nullvalu]

cool i'll check it out.. tho i haven't seen Sicko (doubt i want to)

dumb question.. what network is 20/20 on? ABC?

[Mani]

cool i'll check it out.. tho i haven't seen Sicko (doubt i want to)

dumb question.. what network is 20/20 on? ABC?

Yes.

[misconstrued]

I hope this gets YouTubed.

[graystar]

can someone torrent this?

A another good one is his education piece for 20/20, "stupid in america"

[saku39]

Sorry if this is wrong place.

John Stossel on 20/20 tonight is going to research government healthcare, he's going to take all the places that were mentioned by Michael Moore from Sicko as having better care that's government care, and John is going to check out those places.

This might be enlightening for those who think "government healthcare is the answer". John is a libertarian so his "down to earth" common sense talking could reach a wide audience.

As much as I hate his reporting style, I think Stossel is one of the few journalists that makes any sense on a consistent basis.

[jj111]

What's wrong with his reporting style?

[tony]

cool i'll check it out.. tho i haven't seen Sicko (doubt i want to)

dumb question.. what network is 20/20 on? ABC?

ABC 10pm EST I believe. ABCNews links on the show:

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=3580676&page=1

http://abcnews.go.com/Exclusiva/story?id=3568278&page=1

tony

[saku39]

What's wrong with his reporting style?

I prefer reporters that report the news as if they're watching paint dry.

Very little vocal inflection, no leading questions, aggressive interview tactics and as little partisan crap as possible. I want Ted Koppel, Walter Cronkite type of detachment. I don't want "Senator, when did you stop beating your wife?" type questions. I don't want Brian Williams "gravitas." I don't want opinion before fact. I don't want humor or personality. And I don't care if the person reporting the news has a face for radio.

So I pretty much dislike all reporters on TV today. :)

Stossel has also fudged a report involving pesticides with incorrect information. He apologized later, but I felt like he didn't bother to check his info because it fit whatever point he was trying to make. Kind of like Dan Rather on Bush's National Guard service but on a much much lesser scale.

[USAFCapt]

TIVO is primed.

[American]

I havent seen this one yet, but he did a really good piece on public education and came out supporting competition as a way to keep teachers doing a good job. I really liked it.

[Salamando]

I'm watching it now, its pretty good

[RP4ME]

Yes it is - it is prving Dr. pauls point taht the best scenario for health care is a free mkt!! Prices DO come down - you can still have insurance for teh big stuff in teh interim but that too woudl need to eventually compete in teh free mkt! Nuff said! go Dr. Paul! Pharm will hate this b/c they want to control your body and force treatmnets on you at high prices.

[SlapItHigh]

Please post here if anyone puts it up on youtube. I was watching but my direcTV went out due to a storm.

[justaguy]

Wow...Good show. To bad it was only an hour long! There are many more things to point out about healthcare, as it is a very complex issue. I would have loved to see him hit on how mandatory coverage (through law) of some things, like the pill, and hairpieces, increase the costs to companies that offer insurance, which then increases the costs of the people paying for insurance. I also thought he went after 'risk pooling' a little to hard. Yeah, it has problems, but risk pooling would most likely still be used even in an anarchistic society.

Overall, great show, and good burn at the end. :)

-Chris

[Texan4Life]

just caught the tail end of it... From the little I saw Stossel did an awesome jobs as usual. He was talking about how competition lowers the cost and increases the quality. They used laser eye surgery and cosmetic surgery as examples. Also talked with some doctors that don't take insurance/medicare only cash. And they have a price list of their services. They cost less and the doctors make the same money and any other doctor.

I can't wait to see the part that I missed on youtube!!

[fletcher]

Another great show by Stossel. Plus he mad Michael Moore look like the moron he is. Moore doesn't think that cell phones have improved at all since their invention. What an idiot. They mention a couple of books in it. I'll have to watch it again to find out what they are. Anyone catch the book names?

[0zzy]

I liked it, supported Paul's position, helped me understand more. Free market does work, you pay insurance for major things, and pay for a quick check up if you have a cold or something, and both are cheap.

[misconstrued]

anyone throwing this up on youtube? i missed it :(

[Danny Molina]

I hate John Stossel. He's such a smarmy jackass.

[dude58677]

The Federal Reserve as we know is the other cause of high health care costs as it prints too much money which then causes prices to go up because the value of a dollar has dropped.

The purchasing power has dropped 20 times since 1913. A $10,000 home would cost $500.00!

[Texan4Life]

I hate John Stossel. He's such a smarmy jackass.

Is it because of his mustache? :D

[fletcher]

In case anyone is wondering, the book mentioned on the show is 'The Cure: How Capitalism Can Save American Health Care'. It is written by a doctor that has practiced in Canada and the US. I would also recommend Stossel's book 'Give Me A Break'.

[saku39]

I hate John Stossel. He's such a smarmy jackass.

Me too. Which is kind of funny when you consider that I agree with what he's saying 90% of the time.

[foofighter20x]

In case anyone is wondering, the book mentioned on the show is 'The Cure: How Capitalism Can Save American Health Care'. It is written by a doctor that has practiced in Canada and the US. I would also recommend Stossel's book 'Give Me A Break'.

Link: The Cure: How Capitalism Can Save American Health Care (http://www.amazon.com/Cure-Capitalism-Save-American-Health/dp/1594031533)

[Hook]

The real reason healthcare costs so much is the artificial restriction of supply. The FDA makes new medical equipment and drugs so expensive that only a few companies can afford to push them through the approval process. Same way with the artificial restriction on doctors and disallowing nurses to do simple medical procedures such as writing prescriptions.

[LizF]

I prefer reporters that report the news as if they're watching paint dry.

Very little vocal inflection, no leading questions, aggressive interview tactics and as little partisan crap as possible. I want Ted Koppel, Walter Cronkite type of detachment. I don't want "Senator, when did you stop beating your wife?" type questions. I don't want Brian Williams "gravitas." I don't want opinion before fact. I don't want humor or personality. And I don't care if the person reporting the news has a face for radio.

So I pretty much dislike all reporters on TV today. :)

Stossel has also fudged a report involving pesticides with incorrect information. He apologized later, but I felt like he didn't bother to check his info because it fit whatever point he was trying to make. Kind of like Dan Rather on Bush's National Guard service but on a much much lesser scale.


Well-stated...I agree.

[disinter]

I just watched it... awesome. John Stossel rocks!

[Richandler]

I really wish I could have seen this even though I'm sure I know all of the argument. It's just nice seeing reasurrance of opinion.

[BarryDonegan]

i'm pretty sure i've seen John Stossel report on both the lunacy of the war on drugs and the Warren Farrel books "myth of male power"... both of which are HIGHLY libertarian, almost considered extreme, viewpoints, both of which he portrayed as sensible and ideal.

i agree with him, so i dig his highlights and viewpoints.

[nexalacer]

Must... have.... media... to... satisfy.... hunger!!

Where... is.... video... post?!

[agisthos]

Everybody should check out John Stossel's last two books

Give Me A Break

and

Myths, Lies, And Downright Stupidity

I cannot recommend these books enough. They go into great detail how government regulations and control of the economy destroys the free market and limits benefits to consumers.

His examples are many and varied and easy to understand. Stossel really has a knack for taking a complex arguement and reducing it to core points - many non libertarians will be able to relate with his logic and these books are perfect for introducing people to how the concepts of libertarianism can work in the real world.

[noxagol]

Want video.

[Sematary]

Want video.

Me too. I watched the 5 minute thing about Cuba from last week and I want to see the full hour now.

[quickmike]

Stossel is a dick in my opinion. I lost alot of respect for him when he spoke at that thing in NH and someone asked him about what he thought of Ron Paul. He said "Well, Ron Paul is a nice guy, but ehhhh, not too exciting........... he doesnt have a CHANCE at winning"

I mean WTF??? Finally a viable candidate comes along that supports everything hes been saying for the last 20 years and he says "ehhh, not too exciting"?????

Sometimes I wonder if this guy just talks the talk for ratings. I hope he chokes on a scone.

[angelatc]

I thought it was a great show. John Mackey is also rather libertarian, left leaning. (Vegan, anti-war, flower child type.)


I loved that Stossel used one of my talking points - cosmetic surgery. I can now add "laser eye surgery" to that.

I also liked that he pointed out that when something is "free" demand goes up. When demand goes up, prices go up.

I also predict that liberals will be crying that Stossel compared health care to a piece of fish.

[angelatc]

http://abcnews.go.com/2020 - has a lot of the show's segments available to view.

[foofighter20x]

I thought it was a great show. John Mackey is also rather libertarian, left leaning. (Vegan, anti-war, flower child type.)


I loved that Stossel used one of my talking points - cosmetic surgery. I can now add "laser eye surgery" to that.

I also liked that he pointed out that when something is "free" demand goes up. When demand goes up, prices go up.

I also predict that liberals will be crying that Stossel compared health care to a piece of fish.

Hahaha... Price goes up? I thought it was already free... ;)

In the case of a price being artificially held below market value, a shortage is what results, not a price increase. :)

[angelatc]

Hahaha... Price goes up? I thought it was already free... ;)

In the case of a price being artificially held below market value, a shortage is what results, not a price increase. :)

That's phase 2. That's where Canada is failing. Because prices rise when supply is low, the government will obviously step in and control prices. That's what you're thinking of, and you're right.

Edited to add:

Wow. The comments on the show are amazing. The liberals are really mad.

[Daveforliberty]

A year or two ago Canada stopped offering vision services as part of the socialized medicine package. Instead of raising prices they cut services.

[angelatc]

A year or two ago Canada stopped offering vision services as part of the socialized medicine package. Instead of raising prices they cut services.

I have a chronic disease! Some other people that have the same disease I have require a very, very, very expensive medication. It's not too much of a stretch to imagine that the medicine would never have been approved by the FDA if the government would have been forced to pay for it.

[HalogenFlood]

I watched it and thought it was great. We need more coverage like this to counter Moore's socialist propaganda.

The one thing I wish Stossel would have mentioned is that government healthcare is not actually "free" like he said it was. He kept talking about "free" government healthcare compared to individual controlled healthcare. But we all know it's not free because we'd be taxed more. I'm sure there's a segment of the population who that was lost on.

[Hook]

Man, looking at the comments, there are a lot of idiots out there. We must have been infiltrated by the soviets while we weren't looking.

[noxagol]

The video has been posted on youtube. It's a six parter

[rockfree33]

We find ourselves in sort of a crossroads here.

1. Democrats want universal healthcare which will only make it worse. The reason our healthcare sucks in this country is because the federal government subsidizes certain parts of the industry instead of letting it be in a free market.

2. Republicans (exclude Ron Paul) want to just continue our current system and keep getting millions from drug company lobbyists.

So basically if Ron Paul doesn't get elected we are screwed on the healthcare issue like so many others.

[cjhowe]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEXFUbSbg1I

[nexalacer]

The video has been posted on youtube. It's a six parter

Bah! Link man!!! YouTube search engine blows donkey balls.

[nexalacer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEXFUbSbg1I

<3 <3 <3 !!!!

[BillyBeer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C35wyVQxXUA&mode=related&search=

Stossel got bitch slapped :eek:

[nexalacer]

This was a great piece.... showed all the "for-profit medicine is evil" rhetoric for the nonsense it is.

[Hook]

Long live the Mustache Man! :)
I just wish he could have gone into the FDA's restriction on supply.

[Richandler]

I never knew of the guy until this topic and I'm so happy to have discovered him. I don't typically watch news. I'll definately see about getting his books to keep the sales numbers up. We need more guys like him in the industry.

[saku39]

Just saw the report.

As always, I am turned off by his presentation, but agree with pretty much everything he said. Hopefully this changed some peoples' minds.

The part about laser eye surgery and cosmetic surgery are ammunition I will now use against any socialist health care supporters I meet. :)

[Mastiff]

I think we're doomed on this issue so long as the prevailing sentiment is that every schmuck in the world is continuously entitled to the absolute best treatment medical technology has to offer. Every new treatment, machine or drug is a new liability on the system. It would be like saying that everyone is owed the largest, highest resolution TV money can buy, updated every 6 months.

People weren't exactly in 3rd world conditions in 1985, but at this point, that level of care is totally unacceptable. Everyone on the public dole needs all the new treatments even if they cost $1 million more for a tiny fraction increase in survival rate.

Under free markets, not only would people, on average, be better off, but almost every single person would be better off due to the pace of innovation. At the same time, some micro fraction of people would be left out, and the very rich could have treatments that others could not. Many people find this unacceptable and would rather destroy the whole system to prevent it.

I'm not too down on the other Republicans on this actually. Mitt, from what I understand, has a "plan" that Cato was happy with, which is relevant to me. Even Rudy talks of breaking insurance from employment, which could go a long way to improving things. Maybe Ron should be more like a politician on this and release a specific N-part plan.

[angelatc]

I never knew of the guy until this topic and I'm so happy to have discovered him. I don't typically watch news. I'll definately see about getting his books to keep the sales numbers up. We need more guys like him in the industry.

He used to report from the liberal side of issues, and garnered a slew of Emmy nominations during those days. But during his reporting, he realized that what he was saying wasn't correct, and his slant changed. He hasn't been noominated for an emmy since.

[angelatc]

Under free markets, not only would people, on average, be better off, but almost every single person would be better off due to the pace of innovation. At the same time, some micro fraction of people would be left out, and the very rich could have treatments that others could not. Many people find this unacceptable and would rather destroy the whole system to prevent it.


What the liberals don't mention is that under the government plans, very often people don't receive treatment because of their age. I think it's far more "fair" to ration health care based on dollars than age, because at least we get some choice in what we earn.