Stossel
David and Goliath
S6 E2 Jan 14, 2015 60m TV-PG
Goliath was a giant soldier for the Philistine army in the Bible. Now he's more likely a bureaucrat with a tie and a clipboard. And the "Davids" he attacks are mostly entrepreneurs who have the nerve to try to make a buck running a business.
GOV'T VS. ENTREPRENEURS: Some "Davids" are fortunate to find help from the Institute for Justice, a law firm that takes their cases for free when government really crosses the line. Increasingly, the institute helps fight "civil forfeiture," which sounds boring, but it's really outrageous: "civil forfeiture is when the police and prosecutors seize property they suspect is connected to a crime. If you are charged with a crime, the government must prove your guilt and provide you an attorney if you can't afford one. But in the upside-down world of civil forfeiture, it's your property that gets charged. You must prove that it isn't guilty."
"ALIENABLE" RIGHTS: Most people are not lucky enough to get a free lawyer from the Institute for Justice. Environmental inspectors demanded to search inside the home of Martha Boneta who runs a farm in Virginia. In North Carolina, government regulators told Marty Kotis, owner of Pig Pounder brewery, he couldn't sell his beer at his own restaurants because of laws designed to protect distributors.
LET THEM DRIVE! In Las Vegas, one in every three cabbies rips off customers by taking a roundabout route from the airport to the strip. This means a longer trip and a higher fare. Uber has an easy solution to this problem: technology that adjusts your fare within an hour and lets them fire drivers who keep scamming customers. But in Nevada (where politicians are cozy with cab companies) Uber was kicked out of town. Instead, politicians "solve" the problem with clumsy regulations which usually fail. I read about this in this blog post by Blake Ross, founder of Firefox.
COPS & CAMERAS: Cop filmer Antonio Buehler was arrested after he videotaped footage of cops abusing people. Recently he was f
GOV'T VS. ENTREPRENEURS: Some "Davids" are fortunate to find help from the Institute for Justice, a law firm that takes their cases for free when government really crosses the line. Increasingly, the institute helps fight "civil forfeiture," which sounds boring, but it's really outrageous: "civil forfeiture is when the police and prosecutors seize property they suspect is connected to a crime. If you are charged with a crime, the government must prove your guilt and provide you an attorney if you can't afford one. But in the upside-down world of civil forfeiture, it's your property that gets charged. You must prove that it isn't guilty."
"ALIENABLE" RIGHTS: Most people are not lucky enough to get a free lawyer from the Institute for Justice. Environmental inspectors demanded to search inside the home of Martha Boneta who runs a farm in Virginia. In North Carolina, government regulators told Marty Kotis, owner of Pig Pounder brewery, he couldn't sell his beer at his own restaurants because of laws designed to protect distributors.
LET THEM DRIVE! In Las Vegas, one in every three cabbies rips off customers by taking a roundabout route from the airport to the strip. This means a longer trip and a higher fare. Uber has an easy solution to this problem: technology that adjusts your fare within an hour and lets them fire drivers who keep scamming customers. But in Nevada (where politicians are cozy with cab companies) Uber was kicked out of town. Instead, politicians "solve" the problem with clumsy regulations which usually fail. I read about this in this blog post by Blake Ross, founder of Firefox.
COPS & CAMERAS: Cop filmer Antonio Buehler was arrested after he videotaped footage of cops abusing people. Recently he was f
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