ABC 20/20 The War on Drugs, A War on Ourselves? with John Stossel

Part 1 - Introduction and Police Baiting   Part 2 - The Unintended Consequences of Prohibition   Part 3 - The Effect of the War on Drugs in Colombia   Part 4 - The Effect of the War on Drugs in Colombia   Part 5 - The Right to Choose & Legalization in Europe   Part 6 - Hard Drugs & Legalization in the US
The War on Drugs, A War on Ourselves? In a 2002 special, John Stossel examines the effect of the War on Drugs on American Society. He interviews Detroit's police chief Jerry Oliver who points out that since the dealing of drugs is between willing buyers and sellers, the War on Drugs forces cops to use deceit to catch those dealing drugs. Despite all the law enforcement resources put into fighting the drug war, availably of drugs is just as high as before the drug war began. 3 Unintended Consequences are examined including; it sucks children into the underworld, corrupts cops, and creates crime. John Stossel travels to Colombia and examines the effect of the War on Drugs on the people living there. Finally Stossel travels to Europe to see how drug legalization has affected society there.
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ABC 20/20 - Give me a Break with John Stossel - Global Warming

In just 8 minutes, ABC 20/20's John Stossel demolishes the idea that all evidence points to humans being responsible for global warming and says "Give Me A Break" to the idea that the global warming debate is over. Stossel points out that the media is constantly sending the message that the global warming of the last few decades is our fault and almost certainly bound to turn into a crisis. He finds school children that are terrified that they could die from global warming. However many of the claims in Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth" are grossly exaggerated–particularly the claims that there is an immediate crisis. For example, in the movie the effect of the ocean rising 20 feet was used as an example of the impending danger the world faces. However, the IPCC reports that sea levels are forecast to rise just 7 to 24 inches in the next 100 years. Furthermore a closer look at the claim that CO2's rise and fall is correlated to temperature reveals that the evidence indicates that CO2 actually lags temperature rise instead of causing it. There is little observable evidence that CO2 has been the cause of global warming in the past. Mr. Gore refused to talk to ABC regarding the inconsistencies in his film. Finally, Stossel interviews a group of scientists that dispute the claim that there's proof that global warming is caused by humans releasing CO2 and that the warming is likely to turn into a crisis. The same scientists are often labeled as 'deniers' and threatened for expressing their research.
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ABC 20/20 - Whose Body is it Anyways? Sick in America

Cuban Health Care Clip
Most everyone agrees, America's health-care system is a mess. Millions of Americans lack health insurance and still our annual health-care costs exceed $2 trillion — that's about the size of the entire economy of China. For the country with the world's "best" medical care, a lot of people seem unhappy. Many hate the insurance industry. Employers have seen insurance premiums rise 87 percent over the last seven years. General Motors now spends more on its employees' health insurance than on steel. Doctors are fed up, too; the average physician's office spends 14 percent of its income filling out paperwork. No one seems angrier than the patients who have been denied care. Vicki Readling of North Carolina was diagnosed with breast cancer after she had quit her job and lost her employer's insurance. Readling purchased temporary insurance for herself, but when it expired she was told that because of her pre-existing condition — cancer — she would now have to pay $27,000 a year for a new policy. With an income of $60,000 and twin sons in college, she couldn't afford it. Insurance industry spokeswoman Karen Ignani is eager to report that most people aren't like Readling. Polls show that while people dislike the insurance industry in general, 87 percent of people with health insurance are happy with their coverage. Only 3 percent of health insurance claims are denied, she says. In his hit documentary "Sicko," Michael Moore focuses on tragic stories of people whose insurance claims have been denied. His prognosis? He calls for "the elimination of private profit-making health insurance companies" and suggests turning over all health-care spending to the government to provide "free" health care to everyone. He goes to countries like Canada and Britain and implies that their socialized systems are far better than that of the United States. 'What It Costs When It's Free' There are many problems with health insurance, but that doesn't mean we should put the government in control. If it's decided that health care should be paid for with tax dollars, then it's up to the government to decide how that money should be spent. There's only so much money to go around, so the inevitable result is rationing. It's just the law of supply and demand. Lowering prices increases demand. Lowering the price to nothing pushes demand through the roof. Author P.J. O'Rourke said it best: "If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free." When health care is free, governments deal with all that increased demand by limiting what's available. The reality of "free" health care is that people wait. In the United Kingdom, one in eight patients waits more than a year for hospital treatment and the British government recently set its goal to keep wait times to less than 18 weeks — that's more than four months! In Canada, almost a million citizens are waiting for necessary surgery and more than a million Canadians can't find a regular doctor. In the small town of Norwood, Ontario, a weekly drawing is held in which a townsperson wins the right to access the town's one family doctor. Governments ratchet down health-care costs in different ways. Doctors went on strike last year in Germany because their government's system pays them less than they thought they deserved and forces them to work thousands of hours of unpaid overtime. In the United Kingdom, one hospital was inspired to save money money by not changing sheets daily. British papers report that instead of washing the linens, nurses were told to just turn the bedsheets over. Government is less the answer to our health-care crisis than the problem. It was our government that helped to create the absurd system in which two out of three Americans get health insurance through their employer. In a country where four in 10 Americans change their job every year, this system makes little sense; it leaves people like Readling without coverage when they need it most. Related Stories The government also makes insurance expensive by mandating the medical services that policies must cover. Required services vary state by state and include massage therapy, pastoral counseling, acupuncture, hair prosthesis and dentures. Such mandates are a reason why an individual policy in New Jersey costs around $4,000 a year while a policy in Iowa costs only a third of that. Yet insurance regulations make it illegal for someone in New Jersey to buy a policy from out of state. The Way We Pay Another problem that raises costs, and keeps individuals from controlling their own health care, is the way we pay for medical care. Out of every dollar that the United States spends on health care, only 12 cents comes out of the pocket of patients, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Most of us have our medical expenses covered by a third party, either an insurance company or the government. When we pay for health care with someone else's money, it creates nasty incentives. It's good to be covered in case of a medical catastrophe, like a heart attack or cancer, but when patients pay for almost everything from physicals to acupuncture using third-party money, they have no reason to care about cost. Because the buyers don't care about cost, neither do the health-care providers. "It's gotten to the point where doctors don't even know how much it costs them to provide this service or that service or how much an office visit should cost. Try asking a doctor how much an office visit costs and watch their face go blank," said Michael Cannon, director of health policy at the Cato Institute. Our health-care system has become totally removed from the competitive market forces that have improved every other area of the economy. If patients cared about cost, health-care providers would compete to attract patients. They'd do innovative things to keep costs low while increasing quality. Harvard Business School professor Regina Herzlinger, author of "Who Killed Health Care?", reminds people that "when Henry Ford came around, cars cost more than houses." By competing for profit, Ford revolutionized the auto industry. In eight years, he cut the price of cars in half while improving quality immensely. In nearly every sector of the economy, prices drop over time as technology improves. Not so in health care. Customer Service, Competition, Control Can you e-mail or call your doctor to ask quick questions? In the 21st century, when even small children regularly use computers, many doctors and hospitals don't. "Why would they?" said Dr. David Gratzer, author of "The Cure." E-mail and telephone consultations aren't things most doctors can get paid for. Dr. John Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis, said, "The federal government has a list of 7,500 procedures it will pay for — the telephone's not on the list [and] neither is e-mail." But when patients are in control of their health-care spending, things get better. Lasik surgery isn't covered by most insurance policies, so patients pay for this high-tech procedure out of their own pocket. It's for this reason that laser surgeon Brian Bonanni gives out his cell phone number and e-mail address to all of his patients. He knows that he has to attract patients by making himself available. Competition has also made Lasik cheaper: While in nearly every other field of medicine, prices have gone up faster than consumer prices in general, the price of Lasik has fallen by as much as 30 percent. The quality of the surgery has also improved. The difference is that people care about prices when they spend their own money, so providers compete to offer services that are faster, better and cheaper. John Mackey, CEO of the supermarket chain Whole Foods, saw his insurance premiums rise through the roof so he changed the way his employees got health care. He proposed a health insurance plan with a high deductible. To help meet that deductible, the company puts money into a "personal wellness account" for each employee and employees use that money to pay for routine care. The money in the account belongs to the employees and puts them more in control of their health-care spending. Employees pay for the small stuff, like sore throats and sprained ankles, but their health insurance covers them in case of a catastrophe. Accounts like these are typically called HSAs, or Health Savings Accounts. Mackey saw Whole Foods' health-care costs drop by 13 percent the first year the plan was in place. Some employees objected. They wanted the old "full-coverage" plan back. One wanted "pet bereavement services" covered. Whole Foods then held a vote and "77 percent of team members voted for the health plan that we have today," said Mackey. Today he says most of his employees love the plan because it allows them to spend the money how they want to spend it. 'You and Me' Whole Foods' health-care costs have been creeping back up lately. Mackey says it's because there are so few people with health plans like his. Only 4.5 million people in America have Health Savings Accounts, according to a 2007 census conducted by America's Health Insurance Plans. That's a tiny fraction of the insurance market, but consumer-directed health plans are a step in the right direction toward placing individuals — not government or insurance companies — in charge of their health-care dollars. The more people control the money they spend on their own health care, the more people shop around and the more providers compete to attract patients by lowering prices while improving quality. It's putting individuals in control that could turn our health-care sector into the vibrant, competitive marketplace that we see in nearly every other area of our economy. After all, it's our body and our health. Shouldn't we be in control of how our health-care dollars are spent? Harvard's Herzlinger said, "Who should decide whether you live or die? Do you want the government to decide? Do you want a health insurer to decide? Who's gonna make that decision? Is it gonna be a government? Is it gonna be an insurer? Or is it gonna be you and me?" Putting individuals in control of our health — rather than our employers or the government — is a better way to cure what ails America's health system.
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ABC 20/20 - Greed

John Stossel openly questions greed as a motivation. Are we all greedy? How much is enough? In search for answers, Stossel discovers that in order to get money from people, you generally have to provide value in return. He also examines how the profit motive has spurred accomplishments. A provocative introduction to key economic concepts.
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ABC 20/20 - John Stossel Goes to Washington

John Stossel goes to Washington and turns the idea of "consumer reporting" on government itself. We are all consumers of government services, so why not ask if things can be done better? Stossel starts by taking a look at taxes and learns Americans pay more in taxes than in food, clothing and shelter combined. His investigation finds some federal programs have trouble even keeping track of their funds, much less spending them wisely. How can students make sense of government spending and special interest influence on policies and priorities?
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ABC 20/20 - Freeloaders with John Stossel

Freeloaders questions how some people and businesses in America get something for nothing. John Stossel takes a critical look at both corporate and personal dependency, and examines the consequences for the economy. When benefits are concentrated and costs disbursed, special interests lobby for transfers. Excellent background for wide range of economic topics.
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ABC 20/20 - Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death? with John Stossel

Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death? documents how we are exposed to dangerous-sounding chemicals and technologies...and that we now live longer than ever! John Stossel takes an honest look at many widely-reported dangers--including those Stossel himself explored as a consumer reporter--and considers the issue of actual and perceived risk with a studio audience. Excellent introduction to environmental risks.
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ABC 20/20 - Is America #1? with John Stossel

America is viewed throughout the world as the #1 country. It dominates culturally, militarily, and economically. Why? Is it luck? Does America's location and resources make it the best place in the world to create wealth? In "Is America #One?", John Stossel makes the case that of all the factors that affect the success of a nation, nothing matters as much as economic liberty. He travels around the globe and compares the quality of life in the U.S. with two examples that have wide disparities in terms of wealth and freedom; India and Hong Kong. India suffers pervasive poverty levels and very high unemployment. There are wealthy people in India, but they are the minority. Most people in India do not have the opportunity to earn even enough to feed and support themselves or their family. Begging is common in the streets throughout the country. Why? Many people state that it is because India is extremely populated. But when you look at Hong Kong, a city that has 20 times more people per square mile as compared to India and virtually no natural resources, you find a booming economy. People in Hong Kong have nearly the same income per capita as America, and it's wealthier than resource rich countries such as Canada and Australia. In the 1950's, Hong Kong was a small, poverty ridden city much like most cities in India today. Since then the characteristic that allow Hong Kong to succeed while India failed is Freedom. America and Hong Kong have high degrees of economic freedom which has enabled economic development through the promotion of entrepreneurship in the countries. Laissez-faire polices allow productive businesses to form far easier in Hong Kong than in restrictive countries like India. To open a business, it takes only a day in Hong Kong for the paperwork to be processed, a few weeks in the U.S., but in India it can take up to a few years to meet the restrictions imposed by decades of rule by its socialist government. Hong Kong and America's relatively free markets that provide producers an easier time of entering and competing in the market creates more jobs for everyone while countries like India with strong restrictions enforced by the government stifle sustainable poverty elimination by preventing economic growth.
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ABC 20/20: Stupid in America with John Stossel

"Are kids in the United States being cheated out of a quality education? In this special 20/20 report, John Stossel reveals the surprising truth. American high school students fizzle in international comparisons, placing well behind other countries, even poorer countries like Poland, the Czech Republic and South Korea. American kids do pretty well when they enter public school, but as time goes on, the worse they do. Why? School officials complain that they need more money, but as Stossel reports, most of the countries that outperform us spend less per student than we do. There are many factors that contribute to failure in school, but according to some, foremost is the government’s monopoly over the school system, which means that most parents don't get to choose where to send their children. In other countries, choice fosters competition, and competition improves performance. Stossel questions government officials, union leaders, parents and students. He also examines how the educational system can be improved upon and reports on innovative programs across the country."
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