Watch Reason's Matt Welch, "Class War" Author Steven Greenhut, Rep. Paul Ryan and More on John Stossel's "Road to Serfdom" Special on Fox Business Channel Tonight at 8 pm and 11 pm EDT.

February 11, 2010

Tonight at 8 pm and 11 pm John Stossel will devote an hour to exploring whether F.A. Hayek's famous warning about welfare states leading down a "road to serfdom" is finally coming true in modern America. Among the guests are rising-star Republican Rep. (and Ayn Rand fan) Paul Ryan (who is interrogated about his support for TARP, among other things); Reason Editor in Chief Matt Welch, Steven Greenhut, author of Reason's great "Class War" cover story in the February issue, and other libertarian notables. Some ReasonTV videos will be excerpted as well.

Check your local listings, set your Tivos to record, and tell a friend!

Stossel wrote about ol' Serfdom Road earlier here today.

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Old Mexican|2.11.10 @ 5:21PM|#

And if you don't have Fox Business Channel . . .

DEMAND IT!

TP|2.11.10 @ 6:55PM|#

I have it, but not in HD.

John Tagliaferro|2.11.10 @ 5:36PM|#

This lineup sounds nothing like a fair fight*. WIN!

*No such thing as a fair fight.

John Tagliaferro|2.11.10 @ 5:37PM|#

Asked in previous thread: Is that Brian Doherty on the Glen Beck show talking about Bill Clinton's heart stints or just some guy who looks like him?

Matt Welch|2.11.10 @ 6:30PM|#

Yup, that was him.

John Tagliaferro|2.11.10 @ 6:44PM|#

Thanks Matt, he noticed too.

Don Olsen|2.11.10 @ 5:50PM|#

Im thinking he is actually making pretty good sense dude.

Jess
www.online-anonymity.cz.tc

|2.11.10 @ 9:54PM|#

All hail his Lordship's new reincarnation

West Coaster|2.11.10 @ 5:54PM|#

Is the 11:00 Eastern show a re-running of the 8:00 Eastern show? (So us Westerners can see it in Prime Time!)

Also, per the title, should we temporarily adjust our clocks to account for EDT?

PIRS|2.11.10 @ 6:20PM|#

"Paul Ryan (who is interrogated about his support for TARP, among other things"

OK, if he did support TARP I take back anything nice I ever said about him. He is the scum of the Earth. Anyone who voted for TARP is dead to me.

Pirs mommy|2.11.10 @ 6:26PM|#

Your mother voted for TARP

|2.11.10 @ 6:53PM|#

Hey sweetheart, let me be the bearer of some bad news:

He's wanted you dead for years.

T.Ubgirl|2.11.10 @ 8:07PM|#

Fucking Dead!

Some Guy|2.11.10 @ 8:54PM|#

Since about 2003 or so I've had a bunch of "dead to me" bills. But TARP is definitely in the top 10 on that list.

The extension of the house buyer's bribe passed 98-0, so basically the whole Senate is covered there.

#1 is probably Cash for Clunkers, but there is so much to pick from in the last 2-3 years.

Dude|2.12.10 @ 1:42AM|#

Why Cash for clunkers? It was only a 3 billion dollar program. Shouldn't it be lower on your list, simply because magnitude of the damage pales in comparison to things like the trillion dollar stimulus?

trade-in envy|2.12.10 @ 1:58AM|#

A documented psychosis in males.

|2.11.10 @ 6:39PM|#

From the "I Told You So" file:

Greece's federal government had historically been a profligate spender, but in order to join the euro currency zone, the government was forced to adopt austerity measures that reduced deficits from just over 9% of GDP in 1994 to just 3.1% of GDP in 1999, the year before Greece joined the euro.

But the Olympics broke the bank. Government deficits rose every year after 1999, peaking at 7.5% of GDP in 2004, the year of the Olympics, thanks in large part to the 9 billion euro price tag for the Games. For a relatively small country like Greece, the cost of hosting the Games equaled roughly 5% of the annual GDP of the country.

The Sports Economist

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:02PM|#

Is that Harry Potter in the audience behind Stossel?

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:03PM|#

"The welfare state" is more than one word!

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:05PM|#

Seems like government is a pretty good deal.

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:08PM|#

What? Ryan is from Wisconsin? Yuck.

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:11PM|#

Up next: John finds his unionized cameramen putting him out of frame for most of the segment.

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:15PM|#

I guess if you're taking on the Purple Mafia you have to hide behind a fake nose like Greenhut.

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:16PM|#

Ooo, Welch rides into his segment on a wave of Stossel's sarcasm.

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:20PM|#

Up next: State surplus equals overtaxed population.

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:25PM|#

Do you really want a bunch of 51-year-old cops running around California? Sure, Erik Estrada still looks good, but the other CHiPs?

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:27PM|#

Uh-oh, I think I smell an edit. Welch jumped in there too quick.

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:29PM|#

John Low has more books behind him than you do, Matt.

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:30PM|#

(John is Dave's brother. Shut up.)

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:32PM|#

Stossel, Welch and Greenhut better not use any space heaters tonight.

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:36PM|#

I'm sure the county had to reimburse the San Tan Flat's legal bills. (Well, the other county taxpayers.)

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:39PM|#

God, John, you need to work on your devil's advocacy demeanor.

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:40PM|#

Dave Low might disagree that no one is going on strike.

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:41PM|#

A literal ball and chain.

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:43PM|#

Are any of John's sponsors not tied to some government entitlement program?

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:44PM|#

Ooo, going after Affirmative Action. Good thing the Stossel audience is all white.

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:48PM|#

Wow. Spoiler alert.

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:50PM|#

If you wanted me to take you two seriously, you should have worn red ties like Welch.

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:55PM|#

Finally, getting to Hayek.

Fist of Etiquette|2.11.10 @ 8:56PM|#

The welfare state is most certainly not well intended. It's designed to secure a voting base.

|2.11.10 @ 9:58PM|#

I disagree.

emailping|2.11.10 @ 10:48PM|#

hellerj@brandeis.edu

Nuff said.

|2.11.10 @ 11:52PM|#

You think I LIKE living in liberal central?

Trust me, the liberals here think they want what's best for this country. Also, anyone who doesn't think like them must be an insane redneck.

emailping|2.12.10 @ 12:10AM|#

I would say that the leadership that pushes to maintain or expand the welfare state is cynically trying to maintain or expand their own power. If they were well-intentioned, then why would they keep pushing policies that are so damaging?

I think people who vote for the welfare state are a mixed lot. Some do so to get handouts. Some do so because they are socially insecure and think that it makes them look like a good person. Some do so because they are weak-willed and do what they are told. And some, I suppose vote for the welfare state out of good intentions.

|2.11.10 @ 10:18PM|#

Dang Mr. Etiquette, I have mentioned a couple of times on here having a Stossel thread during the show, and here you start one and I miss it. Fuckin' the Road to Serfdom one too. Well, no one can say you didn't try.

|2.11.10 @ 10:19PM|#

You can say that again!!

Beat you fuckers to the punch.

|2.11.10 @ 11:55PM|#

Fist of Etiquette|2.12.10 @ 4:11AM|#

For a magazine called Reason, I wish they would put up an open thread post on Thursdays so everyone could get together and live blog Stossel. His show is awesome.

Reasonable request|2.12.10 @ 12:15PM|#

FOE, I am applying for a government grant in order to study your request.

Fist of Etiquette|2.14.10 @ 6:02PM|#

I want a cut.

Reasonable request|2.15.10 @ 12:16AM|#

Then play with paper.

anonymousbackstabber|2.12.10 @ 10:24AM|#

Stossel's "I'm pretending I don't understand / I'm going to ask boneheaded rhetorical questions on behalf of my flabbergasted audience / dumb it down for me / I'm just a caveman" shtick is really wearing thin.

The live studio audience gimmick is just AWFUL. Wally George called, he wants his format back!

Don Olsen|2.12.10 @ 10:31AM|#

I got a feeling this might actually be worth watching.

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