Author: John Stossel

Donald Trump tells reporters, “We’re going to have people sue you like you never got sued before.” Hillary Clinton doesn’t like her opponents funding documentaries that criticize her, so she demands Congress overturn the Supreme Court decision that allows it. The world is full of people who want their enemies to shut up. Some college […]

It was refreshing to moderate a “town hall” with the Libertarian presidential and vice presidential candidates last week because Govs. Gary Johnson and William Weld respect limits on presidential power. Sunday, when Fox’s Chris Wallace challenged Johnson’s plan to replace the IRS with a consumption tax, Johnson pointed out that he’s “not getting elected dictator […]

Vote for Donald Trump? No! Hillary Clinton? No! They are not trustworthy. They push bad ideas. Fortunately, we have another choice: Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and his running mate, William Weld. But most Americans don’t even know they exist. It would be good if the two ex-governors were allowed to join next month’s presidential debates, […]

We’ve heard nonstop criticism of both the Democrat and Republican presidential candidates — for good reasons. So are their running mates any better? Yes. Trump’s vice presidential pick, Mike Pence, has some good points. He supported a guest worker program. He opposed reckless spending, including Republican bills, like No Child Left Behind, George W. Bush’s […]

I don’t want Hillary Clinton to be president. She’s a liar. But I can’t vote for Donald Trump. He lies almost as often. Trump denies he ever said things, claiming he never used terms like “fat pig” to describe women, that he never was open to using nuclear weapons against ISIS, that he never mocked […]

Many people dislike both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton — for good reason: Both are power-hungry threats to democracy and rule of law. But what can we do? What’s the alternative? Fortunately, one political party wants government to have a little (SET ITAL) less (END ITAL) power. Former governors Gary Johnson and William Weld, the […]

This week, as Democrats fawn over Hillary Clinton, I’m struck by how both Clintons continue to thrive despite their remarkable record of sleazy dealings. The just released documentary “Clinton Cash,” based on a book by Peter Schweizer, explains how they make big money by selling access to themselves. In a conversation, Schweizer told me how […]

My Fox colleagues are in Cleveland, diligently interviewing Republicans. Next week, they’ll interview Democrats. I’m glad they do it — because I despise most politicians. There are exceptions, of course, but after years of reporting, I’ve concluded that most politicians have little to say that’s interesting, and many are craven opportunists, desperate to rule over others. […]

Claims about racist cops from groups like Black Lives Matter lead more people to fear and hate the police. That’s bad news for cops. It’s also bad for black people who live in crime-ridden neighborhoods, says Heather Mac Donald, author of “The War on Cops.” She points out that activist policing is what people in […]

It took me years to figure out that markets work better than government. I started out as a typical Ralph Nader-influenced consumer reporter, convinced that companies constantly rip us off. To me and most of my fellow left-leaning reporters, the answer was always: more regulation. Gradually, I figured out that regulation causes many more problems […]

Just got out of jail? Odds are that within five years, you’ll get caught doing something illegal and go back to jail. This is bad for ex-cons, their victims, their families and America. Some of these people, of course, are career criminals who ought to stay in jail. But most are people who deserve another […]

When you use a coffeepot, do you need a warning label to tell you: “Do not hold over people”? Must a bicycle bell be sold with the warning: “Should be installed and serviced by a professional mechanic”? Of course not. Yet that bell also carries the warning: “Failure to heed any of these warnings may […]

I had lunch with Hillary Clinton. Really. I was on vacation on the Caribbean island of Anguilla, at a hotel that’s a mixture of villas-for-rent that stand right next to big houses owned by rich Americans. One day, several black SUVs arrived — men in suits wearing earpieces got out. I asked another tourist, “What’s […]

Finally! Voters have another choice. The Libertarian Party nominated two socially tolerant but fiscally conservative former governors, Gary Johnson and Bill Weld. Weld? Isn’t the former Massachusetts governor just another Republican? He didn’t act like one when he and Johnson sat for an interview. “This is the dream ticket for me,” began Johnson. “He doesn’t […]

The first step in inventing something shouldn’t be waiting for government approval. What would ever get done? “Regulators like to see new types of law and regulation imposed upon the internet and emerging technologies,” warns Adam Thierer, author of “Permissionless Innovation.” “From drones to driverless cars to the ‘internet of things’ … they want to […]

Our next president will almost certainly be Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. But I take heart knowing that America’s founders imposed checks and balances, so there will be limits on what bad things the next president can do. Most of what government does is expensive and useless, no matter who is president. Or governor. Or […]

This presidential election is like no other. Most election years around this time, I do a TV show on nasty political commercials. Pundits explain which ads worked, which didn’t, and who won because he raised more money and spent more on negative ads. Among Republicans this year, says Ad Age, Jeb Bush’s campaign and supporters […]

President Obama’s proudest accomplishment is increasing the number of Americans with health insurance. A better idea would be to help people escape government care altogether. As I wrote after my recent surgery, hospital bureaucracy is toxic for patients. Unfortunately, calls for reform usually come from people who want more of the same — more health […]

The Republican and Democratic presidential nominees have been chosen. Ignore the deluded supporters of Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz. It’s over. The odds at ElectionBettingOdds.com make it clear: It will be Donald vs. Hillary. A closer contest would be: Who will bankrupt America first, Trump or Clinton? Trump’s a contender because he promises a trade […]

Last week’s column on my lung surgery struck a nerve. Many of you wished me well. Others said I deserve to die. “He likes free markets?” sneered one Internet commenter. “In a truly free market, society wouldn’t subsidize the cost of his smoking. In a truly free market, he’d be dead.” No, I wouldn’t be […]

I write this from the hospital. Seems I have lung cancer. My doctors tell me my growth was caught early and I’ll be fine. Soon I will barely notice that a fifth of my lung is gone. I believe them. After all, I’m at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. U.S. News & World Report ranked it No. 1 […]

The Libertarian Party might get more votes this year. Before the primaries, Time Magazine, frequent pusher of trends that do not exist, put Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ken.) on its cover and called him the “most interesting man in politics.” Then Paul fizzled, and pundits said the “libertarian moment,” if there ever was one, had ended. […]

“Should a Jewish baker be (SET ITAL) forced (END ITAL) to bake a cake for a Nazi wedding?” I asked that strange but important question during last week’s debate between three Libertarian presidential candidates. You can see the second hour of that debate Friday, on my Fox Business Network TV show. If you’re disappointed by […]

Trump! Clinton! Is that all there is? No. Fortunately, we have other choices. A recent poll shows that if the election were held today, 11 percent of Americans would vote for a Libertarian, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. That’s surprising, since last election Johnson got just 1 percent of the vote. This year, he’s […]

Hooray for Donald Trump! I can ice skate in Central Park because Trump got the skating rink fixed after New York City couldn’t. Couldn’t, you ask? Really? How is that possible? New York City government couldn’t fix an ice rink? Sad, but true. Despite six years of effort and fiddling with 13 million taxpayer dollars, […]

Democrats trash businesses. But if businesses promised things the way politicians do, the owners would be jailed for fraud. It’s not legal to promise more than you can deliver. I don’t suggest that prosecutors should go after politicians who lie. Voters can do that. Political speech should be free. But politicians’ promises are routinely repulsive. […]