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Julian Morris Talks Unemployment Benefits for the Wealthy and Obama's Misguided Priorities on Freedom Watch

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:00:00 EST

Reason Foundation’s Vice President of Research Julian Morris appeared on Freedom Watch With Judge Napolitano to discuss POTUS' lack of focus on policy, the regulation-free Seasteading project, and a millionaire now collecting unemployment benefits.

Air Date: November 30, 2011.

Approximately 20 minutes.

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The Failure of Crapitalism: Q&A with Barron's Economic Columnist Gene Epstein

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EDT

At FreedomFest 2011, Reason's Nick Gillespie sat down with Barron's columnist Gene Epstein to talk about his book Econospinning and "the failure of crapitalism."

Held each July in Las Vegas, FreedomFest is attended by around 2,000 libertarians and advocates of limited government. Reason.tv spoke with over two dozen speakers and attendees and will be releasing interviews over the coming weeks. For an ever-growing playlist, go here now.

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DC Taxi Heist

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 09:00:00 EDT

Washington, D.C. is considering a bill that would require every cab driver in the city to own a special permit called a medallion. The total number of medallions would be capped at 4,000, which would reduce the current number of cabs by more than one-third and put thousands of drivers out of business. (The city government has no idea how many licensed cabs are in the district, though estimates range from 6,500 to 10,000.)

If that weren't bad enough, most drivers wouldn't have the option of buying a medallion. The first set of medallions would be offered for sale to the minority of cabbies who have been driving for at least five years and who live in Washington D.C. (Again the city government has no idea how many current drivers meet this criteria, but rising real estate prices and weak city services have led many drivers to leave the district.)

Who will be offered the next set of medallions, according to the bill? That would be cab companies, who could then rent medallions to drivers. This system would destroy the relatively open-access taxi industry in D.C., in which the majority of drivers are owner-operators free to make their own schedules and keep whatever money they earn on the job. In cities such as New York and Boston, drivers pay upwards of $800 a week to rent their medallions.

Cab riders would also suffer under the new regime. Reducing the number of taxis on the street will make it harder to catch a cab, especially in non-tourist neighborhoods and areas far from business districts. And the medallion system will almost certainly drive up prices. A 2010 study by D.C.'s own Department of Finance found that fares in cities with medallion systems are 25 percent higher on average than in cities in which the supply of cabs isn't restricted.

Given all that, why would the nation's capital consider implementing such a system? D.C.'s medallion bill was written by lobbyist and former city councilman John Ray, who was hired by taxi magnate Jerry Schaeffer. Ray has worked as a lawyer for councilman Harry Thomas, and it was Thomas who introduced Ray's bill in the city council. The other major sponsor of the bill: Council member Marion Barry, the former mayor best known for his 1990 arrest for smoking crack in a hotel room with a girlfriend.

In a recent letter in the Washington Post, Ray argued that because the cab industry is open entry and unregulated it's been susceptible to corruption. But in practice the DC taxi commission, which currently regulates the industry, has its own history of corruption. And the commission is so wary of scrutiny that when reporter Pete Tucker snapped a photo on his cellphone at a recent public meeting he was dragged out and arrested.

Reason.tv Producer Jim Epstein captured Tucker's arrest on his mobile phone. Later, Epstein was also arrested after resisting attempts by the taxi commission and us park police to confiscate his camera phone. When Tucker was arrested, cab drivers, stormed out of the meeting in protest.

For more on the medallion bill, read Reason's Sam Staley in the Washington Post on medallions, and on how regulation has spawned corruption in D.C.'s taxi industry.

Produced by Jim Epstein, with help from Kyle Blaine, Lucas Newman, and Jack Gillespie. Narrated by Nick Gillespie.

Approximately 6 minutes.

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Matt Welch Talks Housing Data on Freedom Watch

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:00:00 EDT

Reason Magazine editor in chief Matt Welch appeared on Freedom Watch to discuss new housing data as well as housing specifically around Washington D.C.

Air Date: June 1, 2011.

Approximately 4:32 minutes.

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Michael Moynihan Discusses U.S. Foreign Aid to Egypt on Cavuto

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

On Fox Business Channel's Cavuto, Reason Senior Editor Michael Moynihan argues that foreign aid to Egypt bilks American taxpayers to fund Hosni Mubarak's lavish lifestyle and military dictatorship. Airdate: February 7, 2011.

Approximately 3.29 minutes.

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Another Mexico: A Conversation with Storyteller Sam Quinones

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST

Sam Quinones covers immigration, drug trafficking and gangs as a reporter for the Los Angeles TImes.

Quinones is also the award winning author of two books: True Tales from another Mexico and Antonio's Gun & Delfino's Dream. The books are collections of nonfiction stories Quinones wrote while living and working as a free lance writer in Mexico.

Instead of writing stories about the official and bureaucratic Mexico we see on TV, Quinones focuses on "another Mexico," the regular people without influence on the fringes of Mexico's paternalistic political system. These are the independently minded people who dare to live their own lives, start businesses and risk everything to pursue their dreams in the US.

Reason.tv's Paul Feine sat down with Quinones to talk about popsicle kings, drag queens, cults, corruption, migration and the future of Mexico.

Approximately 13 minutes. Produced by Paul Feine and Alex Manning. Still photography by Sam Quinones.

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Porkers of The Month for November 2010: Sens. Tom Carper and George Voinovich!

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 15:00:00 EST

Reason.tv presents Citizen's Against Government Waste’s Porkers of the Month for November 2010:

Senators Tom Carper (D-Del) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio)!

After spending gasoline tax revenue meant for infrastructure repair on pork projects, and diverting portions of the $862 billion stimulus meant for infrastructure repair to special interests, these two have proposed raising the federal gasoline tax more than 135% to pay for—you guessed it—infrastructure repair.

Congratulations Tom and George, you are Citizen's Against Government Waste's Porkers of the Month for November, 2010!

"Porker of the Month" is written and produced by Austin Bragg. Approximately 1.2 minutes.

For more info on Citizens Against Government Waste and the Porker of The Month, visit cagw.org.

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The Legal Way to Rig an Election: Filmmaker Bill Mundell on Gerrymandering

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Why bother stuffing ballots when you can just draw districts to ensure your re-election? The new documentary Gerrymandering exposes what executive producer Bill Mundell calls "the most effective form of manipulating elections short of outright fraud."

Mundell sat down with Reason.tv's Tim Cavanaugh to talk about the new documentary, the consequences of political redistricting, and what can be done to un-rig elections.

Approximately 9 minutes. Interview by Tim Cavanaugh. Camera by Paul Detrick, Zach Weissmueller and Austin Bragg. Edited by Bragg.

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Porker of The Month for August 2010: Rep. Hal Rogers!

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Reason.tv presents Citizens Against Government Waste's Porker of the Month for August 2010: Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY)!

Conservation or nepotism? Since 2007 Rogers has been promoting a bill which would provide federal grants to overseas wildlife protection for lions and cheetahs. Surprise! Rogers' daughter is the grants administrator for the Namibia-based Cheetah Conservation Fund, and has been since—you guessed it—2007.

Congratulations, Hal!

"Porker of the Month" is written and produced by Austin Bragg. Approximately 1.2 minutes.

For more info on Citizens Against Government Waste and the Porker of The Month, go here.

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Protest in Bell: City Residents Say "Enough!"

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Should a city manager from one of Los Angeles County's poorest cities earn twice as much as President Obama?

Residents from the working-class town of Bell erupted in outrage after learning that their city pays its officials some of the highest local-government salaries in the nation, including City Manager Robert Rizzo who takes home nearly $800,000 per year.

Rizzo has resigned, as have some of Bell's other top-earning government officials. But on Monday evening frustrated residents gathered at a city council meeting to demand more resignations and an end to what they regard as widespread corruption.

Reason.tv spoke with protesters furious with high taxes, cronyism, and inflated public-sector compensation.

Approximately 3 minutes. Produced by Ted Balaker and Tim Cavanaugh, who also hosts. Camera by Zach Weissmueller and Sam Corcos. Edited by Weissmueller.

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Porker of The Month (July 2010): Rep. Marcy Kaptur!

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:30:00 EDT

Reason.tv presents Citizens Against Government Waste's Porker of the Month for July 2010: Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)!

Back in March, the House Appropriations Committee banned members of Congress from awarding earmarks to for-profit companies.

Kaptur publicly praised the new ban, but privately she taught corporations (including one of her biggest campaign contributors) how to get around it, thus ensuring that their steady diet of taxpayer-supplied pork would continue.

Way to go, Rep. Kaptur!

"Porker of the Month" is written and produced by Austin Bragg. Approximately 1.2 minutes.

For more info on Citizens Against Government Waste and the Porker of The Month, go here.

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Adrian Moore Appears on Varney & Co. to Discuss City Officials High Salaries

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Adrian Moore, Vice President of Research at the Reason Foundation, discusses how exorbitant salaries for city officials impacted the budget of Bell, California, on Fox Business' Varney & Co. Air date: July 21, 2010.

Approximately 3.45 minutes.

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Fixing San Diego: A Conversation with Councilman Carl Demaio

Thu, 13 May 2010 07:00:00 EDT

“What I’d like to do is create a city government that is as beautiful as the city of San Diego has become. And we aren’t going to stop until we get that,” says city councilman Carl DeMaio.

DeMaio has his work cut out for him. City employee compensation has gotten out of hand, the city pays millions to subsidize its convention center each year, and in the midst of this fiscal crisis, other San Diego politicians are pushing for new legacy projects like a brand new downtown library.

DeMaio is a former fellow at Reason Foundation who is now working as a city councilman trying to make the San Diego city government more transparent and accountable. He was elected to the San Diego City Council in 2008, winning by the highest margin of any non-incumbent in a San Diego city council race ever.

"Fixing San Diego” is produced by Paul Feine, shot by Alex Manning, and edited by Paul Detrick and Hawk Jensen. Approximately 10 minutes.

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Pork Party House

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:30:00 EST

First Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) surrenders his chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee amid an ethics investigation. Now Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) proposes an idea that she hopes will help her make good on her promise to help lead "the most ethical Congress in history"—a party-wide ban on earmarks. Will it happen? Don't bet on it. Reason.tv's "Pork Party House" helps explain why neither party can resist the pull of pork.

If you're a politician, lobbyist, or insider and you're in the mood to party, check out a Washington D.C. mansion called the Sewall-Belmont House. Party with senators and celebrities at thousand-dollar-a-plate fundraisers! You might even get to ride a mechanical bull! The Sewall-Belmont House hosts so many A-list events, you might be surprised to find out that your tax dollars help fund this hotspot for Washington insiders. "Over the last 10 years, the Sewall-Belmont House has gotten over $3.4 million in earmarks," says Leslie Paige of Citizens Against Government Waste.

Reporters often highlight the most ridiculous examples, but politicians have learned how to make their pork projects sound uncontroversial, even appealing. Just say your project will help children, senior citizens, or—if you really want to slip under the radar—direct taxpayer dough to a museum.

"Museums are one of the biggies because they sound so good," says Paige. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) used that angle to direct a million-dollar earmark to the Sewall-Belmont House (after the Senator received an award from the Sewall-Belmont House). Turns out Landrieu was just getting warmed up, because her recent $300 million "Louisiana Purchase" shot her into the ranks of pork legends.

It wasn't supposed to be like this, laments Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), one of Congress's few legitimate pork busters. Flake tells Reason.tv that despite pork-laden scandals that stuck some members behind bars—remember Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.)?—and promises from Barack Obama to reform earmarks, spending on pork continues to swell in the giant pork party house called the U.S. Congress.

"Pork Party House" is written and produced by Ted Balaker. Producer: Hawk Jensen; Host: Nick Gillespie; Field Producer: Dan Hayes; Associate Producer: Paul Detrick; Additional Camera: Meredith Bragg; Production Assistant: Josh Swain; Music: "Get What You Want?" by Beight (Magnatune Records).

Approximately six-and-a-half minutes. Scroll down for embed code and downloadable versions.

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And come back to Reason.tv March 15 through March 19 for the debut of Reason Saves Cleveland With Drew Carey: How to fix the "Mistake on The Lake" and other once-great American cities, an original six-part documentary series.