A Window Into Politics

by Don Boudreaux on February 15, 2010

in Energy,Environment,Politics,Stimulus

John Stossel gets Serious. (HT sandre)

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{ 18 comments }

1 m4liberty February 16, 2010 at 12:01 am: I'd seen John talk about this company on Glenn Beck one night … the question is whether or not this gets any press outside of those of us that loyally watch Stossel and read blogs like Cafe Hayek. Can it make Yahoo Top News? Probably not … but we can forward the video to our friends and neighbors / post it on facebook / etc.

Keep up the good work guys.
2 Steve_0 February 16, 2010 at 12:17 am: Away to the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters and threw up.
3 DoNotSwallow February 16, 2010 at 2:32 am: If anyone cares, the full show is here: http://www.hulu.com/watch/123226/stossel-thu-ja...
4 Don Lloyd February 16, 2010 at 4:33 am: “…The parties agreed that Serious Materials would run a union shop, bring back employees at their old salaries, and recognize workers' seniority….”

Surprise, surprise!

Regards, Don
5 LowcountryJoe February 16, 2010 at 5:49 am: It won't get traction outside of Fox News because the Left-leaning 'other' media [I won't call it mainstream any longer: 1) it's no longer mainstream 2) it sound too cliché] will refuse to admit there's a story there. To them, it's a fallacy. Call it: The Corrupt Government helps Broken Window Company Fallacy.
6 Economiser February 16, 2010 at 11:51 am: There's a few windows I'd like to break…
7 check my credit report February 16, 2010 at 12:24 pm: A pest invention of man to see the other side of the wall is window, No doubt in Politics A window must be open for opponents which helps more then any think else to achieve the objective.
8 iamse7en February 16, 2010 at 2:57 pm: He's my favorite guy in the media. Stossel had a couple of shows that were just okay, but most of them have been really fascinating. This episode on crony capitalism was his best.

I'd love to see an episode on the Financial Crisis with a debate between Schiff/Woods and Krugman/Stiglitz.
9 brotio February 16, 2010 at 6:03 pm: Mike Rosen, a KOA Denver radio host refers to them as the dominant liberal mass-media, for the same reasons you cite. Other than my resentment that the Left has co-opted and bastardized the term liberal, Rosen's description is apt.
10 m4trustedmedia February 16, 2010 at 8:23 pm: Why don't you decide if this is a fallacy or not – once you read facts that Stossel either didn't bother researching or failed to report. http://blog.seriousmaterials.com/?p=1007
11 No_Red_Bull February 16, 2010 at 9:20 pm: John Stossel is usually not my cup of tea, but I was nauseated by the blatant mixing of politics and business. I don't think it is for government to favor one business over another without good justification. The program showed how the bigwigs in government needed/used this company for the photo-ops to give the appearance of creating “green” jobs. The company was only too happy to exploit the situation for financial gain. Stossel did a good job exposing the incest and favoritism here.
12 Bill McCormick February 16, 2010 at 10:56 pm: John shared only the facts he wanted to here. Does he think we are too stupid to have the rest of the facts? The company never got any money, nor any favoritism. Zoi wasn't even there when the VP checked out one of their plants (he was in Chicago for some mayor event).
These guys hired American workers, have 5 plants and seem to make some amazing products. If money flowed to them from a relative, that is cronyism at its worst. But if they got no money at all, I don't know what the story is about.
The company published the facts they apparently sent to Stossel here:
http://blog.seriousmaterials.com/?p=1007
13 nmg February 16, 2010 at 11:28 pm: “I don't think it is for government to favor one business over another without good justification.”

But who gets to decide what 'good justification' is? Congress. And congress declares “good justification” for whatever they feel like doing. There is no way to provide limitations on power in ways you like. You must simply deny the power or realize it will be misused.
14 NathanS February 17, 2010 at 1:15 am: I'm actually considering buying some of these windows.
15 MT February 17, 2010 at 7:35 am: Look at the Stossel video again. The mayor of Chicago is STANDING NEXT TO BIDEN.

Serious Windows must not be as good at hiring shills to spread lies on websites as they are at gouging the taxpayers.
16 Terry Noel February 17, 2010 at 8:34 am: Thanks for that post, Don. What galls me is the audacity with which this kind of crony capitalism is conducted. The government must truly think us all complete idiots.
17 MT February 17, 2010 at 12:35 pm: Look at the Stossel video again. The mayor of Chicago is STANDING NEXT TO BIDEN.

Serious Windows must not be as good at hiring shills to spread lies on websites as they are at gouging the taxpayers.
18 Terry Noel February 17, 2010 at 1:34 pm: Thanks for that post, Don. What galls me is the audacity with which this kind of crony capitalism is conducted. The government must truly think us all complete idiots.