We can scare ourselves stupid. Consider vaccines. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the mercury in them has “poisoned an entire generation! It’s causing IQ loss, mental retardation, speech delay, language delay, ADD, hyperactivity!” The news media love this...
John Stossel
No Drug Price Controls
The Democrats who now control Congress want to change President Bush’s Medicare drug benefit to require government officials to negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies. Under the current program, competing insurance companies cut the deals and...
Universal Health Insurance: Schwarzenegger Terminates Good Government
Schwarzenegger’s Folly Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants all Californians to have medical insurance. So he’s going to force them to have it. Schwarzenegger abandoned his opposition to mandated employer-based health insurance and embraced the idea as his...
Panic in Boston
A few weeks ago, men working for an advertising agency installed light screens in cities to promote a Cartoon Network program. No one seemed alarmed by the signs featuring cartoon characters flipping the bird — until suddenly, weeks after the promotion began,...
Big, Big Government
Two weeks ago, U.S. drug agents launched raids on 11 medical-marijuana centers in Los Angeles County. The U.S. attorney’s office says they violated the laws against cultivation and distribution of marijuana. Whatever happened to America’s federal system,...
Losing Sleep over the Trade Deficit?
I’m told to worry about the trade deficit. Commentators and populist politicians are wringing their hands. The trade deficit is a “malignant tumor in the intestines of the U.S. economy,” says Pat Buchanan. Lou Dobbs is very upset that...
Is This Any Way to Help the Homeless?
Mary Baker and Ruth Neikirk love to cook. What’s more, they love to cook for poor people. They do it frequently, preparing meals at home and bringing them to their church in Virginia. “I love it,” Mary says. “I can take a little bit of...
Sticking it to Low-Skilled Workers
In the first hundred hours of the just-started session of Congress, the new leadership promises to raise the minimum wage. The Democrats won’t be opposed by many Republicans. President Bush says he’ll go along with a higher minimum wage if it’s...
The Sex Police vs. The Heart Attack Grill
The motto at the popular Heart Attack Grill in Tempe, Ariz., is: “Taste … worth dying for!” That’s because it serves only artery-clogging food like big hamburgers (the biggest is called the “Quadruple Bypass”) and “Flatliner...
Trans Fats: What Will They Ban Next?
New York City has ordered restaurants to stop selling food made with trans fat. “It is a dangerous and unnecessary ingredient,” says the health commissioner. Gee, I’m all for good health, but shouldn’t it be a matter of individual choice? A New...
Property Theft in America
Do you live in a blighted home in a blighted neighborhood? You might without even knowing it. But don’t worry, your local politicians will be happy to tell you — as soon as some land developer decides your neighborhood would be a great place to build...
Women’s Progress: Damsels in Distress?
Last week, my “20/20” co-anchor, Elizabeth Vargas, returned from maternity leave. Her first story was on the “mommy wars.” “Why,” Elizabeth asked, “has so little been done on issues like paid maternity leave; safe, affordable...
Are Americans Cheap?
The New York Times and Washington Post editorialize about America’s “stinginess.” Former President Jimmy Carter says when it comes to helping others, “The rich states don’t give a damn.” Standing outside the White House, the singer...
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