Tonight on the Factor, O’Reilly wants to talk about what libertarians say about illegal immigration. I plan to tell him: libertarians believe that trade is good. Trade in goods, ideas… and labor, too. In other words, open the borders, let people in. Oops. Today this is a tricky issue. America is a welfare state. You cannot have open borders and a welfare state. People would come here to freeload. Also, we cannot have open borders when some people want to murder us. So we should secure the border... continue reading »

It is nearly impossible to get a handgun for self-defense in my hometown of New York City. Here, if you want to keep a handgun in your home, you must pay $340 and fill out a 15- page application about why you want a handgun. It can be rejected for any reason. Want a realistic toy handgun? Banned. Want to carry a handgun on your person? Forget it. Unfortunately, laws like that... kill people. No one knows that better than Suzanna Hupp, whose parents were murdered in a mass shooting at a Lubys restaurant in Texas... continue reading »

Matt Welch of Reason magazine reminds us of an extinct breed of politician.  

“nce upon a time the United States had a president who restrained government spending, balanced the budget, argued forcefully for the benefits of free trade, and declared that ‘the era of big government is over.’ And he was a Democrat...”... continue reading »

Tonight at 8pm, my show is on Milton Friedman and his book and PBS TV series that -- 30 years ago -- argued that freedom leads to prosperity. The last 30 years have proven him right. Consider Hong Kong. Hong Kong is just a rock – it has no natural resources. It doesn’t even have democracy -- the communist Chinese run the show, and before that it was the colonial British... continue reading »

  GMU Economist Dan Klein, who introduced me to Hayek’s spontaneous order with a wonderful essay he called Rinkonomics,  today writes that:

  “The left flunks Econ 101.”... continue reading »

More governments now use cameras to ticket speeders... continue reading »

This week on my Fox Business program (re-airing tomorrow night at 7pm EST), I ask the question: What's a "libertarian"? I was once a "liberal". In college, I was taught that government would solve poverty, if we would just allow those wise planners in Washington to take enough money from the rich so that government could work its magic. Then as a reporter, I saw that magic didn't work... continue reading »

Tonight on The O’Reilly Factor I’m supposed to discuss my upcoming show on “Junk Science”. Bill also wants to talk about the recent threats against politicians. “Stossel, talk to me about how far you libertarians think free speech protections go!” What Bill wants, Bill gets, so to prepare, I asked constitutional law expert Eugene Volokh for his take... continue reading »

Citizens United is the group that made the movie “Hillary, the Movie,” and then, fortunately, got the Supreme Court to rule that Congress cannot restrict the ability of unions and corporations. Now Citizens United has made another movie, called "Generation Zero," which is scheduled to come out in theaters this month... continue reading »

Some viewers of last night’s show (which re-airs tonight at 10pm, Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 10 EST) had more harsh words about Cleveland's taxes and regulations: Robert Barnes:

hats why we can’t live here -- we're losing money and jobs. Thank You.

Every time I drive into downtown and look at all the abandoned buildings I think “welcome to Bagdad”, but I bet Baghdad looks better... continue reading »