[T]he only way to shrink the trade deficit is for the government to prohibit us from buying whatever we want. John Stossel More Quotes by John Stossel More Quotes From John Stossel The people who tried government regulation have lives which are miserable. John Stossel regulation government people What would you think of a person who earned $24,000 a year but spent $35,000? Suppose on top of that, he was already $170,000 in debt. You'd tell him to get his act together - stop spending so much or he'd destroy his family, impoverish his kids and wreck their future. Of course, no individual could live so irresponsibly for long. But tack on eight more zeroes to that budget and you have the checkbook for our out-of-control, big-spending federal government. John Stossel eight kids thinking A handful of people who probably never even ran a small business actually think they can reinvent the health care system. John Stossel care people thinking Government has no wealth of its own. Before it gives anything to anyone, it must take from those who produced it. John Stossel wealth government giving What private property does is connect effort to reward, creating an incentive for people to produce for more. Then, if there's a free market, people will trade their surpluses to others for the things they lack. Mutual exchange for mutual benefit makes the community richer. John Stossel mutual-benefit creating people The welfare state has done to Black Americans what slavery (and Jim Crow and racism) could not have done. . .break up the black family. Today, just slightly over 30 percent of black kids live in two-parent families. Historically, from the 1870s on. . . 75-90 percent of black kids lived in two-parent families. John Stossel racism two kids You can either invade a country or leave them alone and trade with them. When goods cross borders, armies don't. John Stossel borders army country There's no business that's too small for government to torture John Stossel torture politics government David Boaz has been my guide to the history, economics, and politics of freedom for years. John Stossel economics guides years Happiness comes when we test our skills towards some meaningful purpose. John Stossel inspiration happiness meaningful To finance 'entitlement' programs, the government threatens force against the taxpayers who provide the money. Why are people who favor compulsion called humanitarians, while those who favor freedom are stigmatized as greedy? John Stossel favors government people The political class can't imagine a decentralized world where good things happen...without them. But in the real world, that's exactly how good things happen, and how jobs are created. When government sets simple rules that everyone understands and then gets out of the way, free people create jobs. John Stossel real simple jobs I started out by viewing the marketplace as a cruel place, where you need intervention by government and lawyers to protect people. But after watching the regulators work, I have come to believe that markets are magical and the best protectors of the consumer. It is my job to explain the beauties of the free market. John Stossel government jobs believe We have all kinds of government compensation systems that are much more efficient than the lawyers. John Stossel lawyer government kind Liberalism had come to mean spending more on everything-speech police, failed poverty programs that reward dependence, a bigger nanny state telling us we cannot eat fatty foods, workplace roles that stifle opportunity, and absurd environmental regulations. John Stossel police opportunity mean When entrepreneurs are free to compete, they grow the pie so that everyone's share gets larger. John Stossel entrepreneur pie share The happiest stutterers, I learned, are those who are willing to stutter in front of others. John Stossel willing fronts Patrick Henry didn't say, "Give me safety, or give me death." John Stossel give-me safety giving Fraud will always exist. Enforcement of anti-fraud laws is a useful deterrent, but in the end there's no substitute for investor vigilance. Government regulations provide a false sense of security - and that's worth less than no sense of security at all. John Stossel regulation government law Patrick Henry did not say, 'Give me absolutely safety or give me death.' America is supposed to be about freedom. John Stossel safety giving america