John Stossel is ABC News' Co-Anchor of "20/20" and New York Times best-selling author of Give Me A Break & Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity. His "Give Me a Break" commentaries take a skeptical look at a wide array of issues, such as education, the economy, parenting, and more.
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Hating Business
07/08/2009 10:35 AM
The cluelessness of the New York Times amazes me again. Yesterday’s front page headlines "Health Co-op Offers Model for Overhaul."
A doctor is "in no hurry", and has time to "practice proactive medicine."… "... innovations" are clearly a "prototype ..."
The Times quotes Senator Kent Conrad on "how much seed money would be needed" to spread the idea around.
Why can't they learn that real businesses don't need taxpayer "seed" money? If markets are free, good ideas thrive on their own. Free competition creates “innovation.” It rarely comes from government.
Buried in the Times article is the revealing fact that the Co-op is "a rare survivor among the hundreds of rural health insurance cooperatives..."
Excuse me? Do the editors not understand the disconnect? If Medical Co-ops worked well for doctors and patients, this one would not be a “rare survivor.” There would still be thousands of them. The idea would be growing.
The MSM so hates conventional business that it leaps to celebrate any exceptions. Hence the fawning stories about people growing "organic" food, “sustainable” living, etc. The fact that these are fringe businesses which may or may not thrive -- that they are less "sustainable" than the big agribusiness operations that feed millions for far less money -- doesn't stop them any more than the failure Air America stopped them from running features on the imminent liberal wave of talk radio.
Or features on Al Franken. Big story on him yesterday. We learn that he ... did ... nothing ... but “he deserves to be taken seriously.”
I suppose it shouldn't bother me. The Times is much less relevant today. Readers now have so many alternatives.
It’s just that I live on the West Side of Manhattan. My colleagues at work read the Times. My friends read it. All of them. Sometimes I think it’s the only thing they read. They believe the Times is the real world.
That kills me.
July 8, 2009 in MSM | Permalink | Share | User Comments (8)
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I'm amazed you're amazed, John.
Posted by: JohnJ | Jul 8, 2009 10:44:39 AM
Keep thinking outside the box! You are doing a great job John. Thanks for speaking the truth.
Posted by: Keziah | Jul 8, 2009 11:36:25 AM
I can't imagine what it would be like to have you political point of view and live where you do. My head would probably explode.
Posted by: Steve Ducharme | Jul 8, 2009 11:43:55 AM
From "Why Are the Neurotic Anti-Market?" by Bryan Caplan.
http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2009/07/why_are_the_emo.html
"The association between Emotional Stability and conservative economic attitudes might be understood in similar, but differently-valenced terms. The positive pole of this trait is associated with emotional security and hardiness. The negative end (sometimes labeled "Neuroticism") is associated with a tendency to feel anger, guilt, and sadness. Thus, people scoring low on Emotional Stability may be more prone to feelings of guilt or pity for those in need and may, in turn, support liberal economic policies intended to help these populations."
-Alan Gerber et al, "Personality Traits and the Dimensions of Political Ideology"
Posted by: Milton Recht | Jul 8, 2009 12:42:15 PM
I don't think that explains it, Milton. I'm for policies designed to help the needy. I just want policies that have been proven to work, such as the free market.
Posted by: JohnJ | Jul 8, 2009 1:04:21 PM
One of my kids is a dean at an ivy league school, another a theoretical physicist, and the other a venture capitalist. They get all their info from the NYT, Time, Newsweek, the Economist, CNN ..., so they think everything is Bush's fault and that poor Obama has a Herculean task undoing all Bush's atrocities.
They never heard of the CRA, don't know Soros and friends made a run on the banks last September and the financial markets collapsed because of the left wing policies of Franks & Dodd. They don't know that the auto companies were taken over to protect the unions, that ACORN stole the election and is about to steal the census, that Obama is developing a military style civilian army which will report to him, that he's already appointed dozens of czars who report only to him and don't need senate approval to run domestic and foreign policy, that Mrs. Obama has a lot to say about policy and worst of all that Obama isn't Mr. Cool and Suave, but a puppet of the worst part of the world wide lefty movement.
When we try to tell them that we're in mortal danger, the roll their eyes and think how said that we're victims of Karl Rowe and Rush Limbaugh.
Posted by: erp | Jul 8, 2009 1:34:13 PM
The decentralization of information on the web will naturally tear down the wall of obfuscation from the MSM. Mr. Stossel, you're doing "your fair share". ;) Keep it up!!
Posted by: Rafi | Jul 8, 2009 11:15:26 PM
I am amazed American government feels the need to supply their citizens with health care at all, or education, or jobs. How about no taxes and let the people decide for themselves. John I love reading your opinions, very common sense.
Posted by: lilteabag | Jul 9, 2009 3:28:00 AM
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