2/25/12

Weekend Watch: Illegal Everything

ILLEGAL EVERYTHING is the title of John Stossel's latest exposé about government overreach. It aired last night, and it will air tonight at 10p, ET and Sunday at 3p, ET on your local Fox News station

From the website: "John Stossel argues that America has become a country where no one can know what is legal.

With government adding 80,000 pages of rules and regulations every year, it's no surprise that regular people break laws without even trying.

A small businessman spent 6 years in federal prison for breaking Honduran regulations (and, to make it worse, the Honduran government said he didn't). A family in Idaho can't build a home on their land because the EPA says it's a wetland-but it only resembles a wetland because a government drain malfunctioned and flooded it.

TAXI TROUBLE: Want to start a taxi business? Too bad - it's illegal. Illegal, that is, unless you buy a government-issued "taxi medallion" that can cost as much as a million dollars. One city has a free market for cabs - Washington, DC - but lobbyists there are pushing to regulate."

I watched it last night. Eye-opening and infuriating ... especially the first half. Among the lively guests: Economist Walter Williams, Attorney Harvey Silvergate, and Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms.

Caveat to social conservatives: The second half of the show has a sympathetic segment on illegal drugs and prostitution, and, IMO, it lacked gravitas.

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