Stossel
That's So Hard!
S6 E22 Jun 11, 2015 60m TV-PG
When you deal with government, almost nothing is easy. Here's our show:
THAT WAS EASY!
Government could take a lesson from Staples. When Staples changed its business model and worked at making shopping simple, its profit went up 18% and its share price increased $37% because its customers were happier. But when consumers deal with government, few are happy, and little is simple.
SAVINGS BONDS: It should be easy to buy a savings bond. Billions were sold (they helped pay for WWII); but now government makes it so difficult!
POLITICAL SPEECH: Are Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Chris Christie and John Kasich running for president?
Of course they are! Everyone knows it, but they won't admit it because if they do, bureaucrats subject them to all sorts of restrictions and strangle their fundraising.
HIRING HASSLE: With politicians' talk about job creation, you would hope government would make it easy to hire people. But the opposite is true. There are a thousand questions you may not ask when hiring someone... "how long have you been working?" or "how tall are you?" could get you into big trouble.
LICENSING LIABILITIES: Politicians also kill opportunity by forcing entrepreneurs to run through a maze of licensing laws.
INSANE GUN LAWS: Since people sometimes threaten to kill me, I thought it would be a good idea to get a gun. NYC's government makes that hard.
STOSSEL IN THE CLASSROOM: I run an essay contest for my non-profit organization. This year's winner is Raelynn Rhodes, who wrote about the burden of regulation on her dog treat business. She writes: "In a free economy, if I made a bad dog treat, word would have spread, and people would not have continued to buy them. Wouldn't that be a simple way to weed out people who make bad dog treats?"
MY TAKE: For bureaucrats, the maze of regulations works. It makes them powerful. But for the rest of us, it makes life hard!
THAT WAS EASY!
Government could take a lesson from Staples. When Staples changed its business model and worked at making shopping simple, its profit went up 18% and its share price increased $37% because its customers were happier. But when consumers deal with government, few are happy, and little is simple.
SAVINGS BONDS: It should be easy to buy a savings bond. Billions were sold (they helped pay for WWII); but now government makes it so difficult!
POLITICAL SPEECH: Are Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Chris Christie and John Kasich running for president?
Of course they are! Everyone knows it, but they won't admit it because if they do, bureaucrats subject them to all sorts of restrictions and strangle their fundraising.
HIRING HASSLE: With politicians' talk about job creation, you would hope government would make it easy to hire people. But the opposite is true. There are a thousand questions you may not ask when hiring someone... "how long have you been working?" or "how tall are you?" could get you into big trouble.
LICENSING LIABILITIES: Politicians also kill opportunity by forcing entrepreneurs to run through a maze of licensing laws.
INSANE GUN LAWS: Since people sometimes threaten to kill me, I thought it would be a good idea to get a gun. NYC's government makes that hard.
STOSSEL IN THE CLASSROOM: I run an essay contest for my non-profit organization. This year's winner is Raelynn Rhodes, who wrote about the burden of regulation on her dog treat business. She writes: "In a free economy, if I made a bad dog treat, word would have spread, and people would not have continued to buy them. Wouldn't that be a simple way to weed out people who make bad dog treats?"
MY TAKE: For bureaucrats, the maze of regulations works. It makes them powerful. But for the rest of us, it makes life hard!
Where to Watch That's So Hard!
