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Reason Saves Cleveland With Drew Carey: Full episode guide and resources

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EDT

Click above to watch Drew introduce the series that just might save his hometown. And yours.

Reason Saves Cleveland With Drew Carey is an original Reason.tv documentary series that will air during the week of March 15-19.

Featuring sitcom legend, Price Is Right host, and proud Clevelander Drew Carey, each 10-minute episode investigates and analyzes the problems that turned Cleveland from the nation's sixth-largest city in 1950 into today's "Mistake On The Lake."

Like all too many American cities, Cleveland seems locked into a death spiral, shedding people, jobs, and dreams like nobody's business. When it comes to education, business climate, redevelopment, and more, Clevelanders have come to expect the worse. Is a renaissance possible? Of course it is, but only if the city's leaders and residents are willing to learn from other cities such as Houston, Chicago, Oakland, and Indianapolis. And only if they're willing to try new approaches to old problems.

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie narrates and talks with educators, elected officials, businesspeople, policy experts, and residents from all walks of life. Stay tuned for a documentary series that maps a route back to prosperity and growth not just for Cleveland but for other once-great American cities.

Reason Saves Cleveland with Drew Carey is written and produced by Paul Feine; camera and editing by Roger Richards and Alex Manning; music by the Cleveland band Cats on Holiday.

Full release schedule is below. Click on the images to start each episode. And go here to watch the series as single, 50-minute video. All segments are available as downloadable iPod, HD, and audio files.

Episode 1: The Decline of a Once-Great City (March 15)

Sixty years ago, Cleveland was a booming city full of promise, opportunity, and people. Today, the city’s population is less half of what it was in its prime and it ranks as one of the poorest big cities in the United States. Hometown hero Drew Carey reflects on how the city became “the mistake on the lake” and wonders about the city’s future. Is a Cleveland renaissance possible or is the city doomed to long, slow death?

Episode 2: Fix the Schools (March 15)

Cleveland’s public schools are failing to prepare students for their future and as a result, all parents who can afford to have been fleeing to the suburbs for decades. Yet some urban schools, like Think College Now in Oakland, California are finding out that a combination of administrative autonomy and accountability can lead to amazing results. Within Cleveland's own boundaries, charter schools are booming and delivering quality education at a fraction of the cost of traditional public schools. Does Cleveland have what it takes to fundamentally reform its K-12 education system and become a leader in 21st-century education?

Episode 3: Privatize It (March 16)

Should cities be in the business of running businesses ranging from convention centers to farmers markets? Selling off golf courses, contracting out parking concessions, and all manner of public-private partnerships are generating billions of dollars in revenue and dramatically improving city services in places such as Chicago and Indianapolis. Will Cleveland's elected officials learn the right lessons in time?

Episode 4: Take Care of Business (March 17)

After World War II, Cleveland was booming, thanks to its leadership role in heavy industry and a business-friendly climate. Today, the city’s high taxes and onerous regulatory demands make it nearly impossible for new businesses to set up shop while choking the life out of existing companies. While relatively laissez-faire cities such as Houston are growing even during the current recession, Cleveland remains stuck in a rut. How can city officials make the city a more welcoming place for entrepreneurs to thrive?

Episode 5: Encourage Bottom-Up Redevelopment (March 18)

Cleveland has spent billions on big-ticket urban redevelopment efforts including heavily subsidized sports stadiums and convention centers that have utterly failed to revitalize the city’s economy. Should the city be pouring even more money into and pinning yet higher hopes on long-odds mega-projects? Or should they realize that bottom-up projects driven by the actual residents and private-sector investors are the best was to build a vibrant city for the long haul?

Episode 6: Bring Back the People (March 19)

No city can exist without people, and Cleveland has lost more than half its population since the 1950s. Yet the city still boasts amazingly affordable neighborhoods, down-to-earth charm, arich history, a stunning and varied landscape, and diverse ethnic and cultural scenes. How can Cleveland can become a destination where people flock to pursue their personal versions of the American Dream?

Click below to watch Drew Carey talk about his hopes and dreams for Cleveland—and why he wishes he could film The Price Is Right there.

Gov. Gary Johnson on His Economic Vision For "Our America"

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST

On Tuesday, February 9, in the midst of one of the biggest snowstorms in recent Washington, D.C. memory, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and Harvard economist (and Reason contributor) Jeff Miron talked about economic revitalitization and Johnson's views on immigration, war, and other issues at the heart of the new organization Our America.

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie intros the speakers and moderates audience Q&A. Shot by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg; edited by Bragg. Approximately 35 minutes. Scroll down for downloadable iPod, HD, and audio versions.

For more Reason.tv with Johnson, go here.

To watch Miron make the "case for doing nothing" (that is, actually letting markets work) during the 2008 financial crisis, go here.

3 Reasons Not To Sweat The Citizens United Ruling

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 07:00:00 EST

No recent Supreme Court ruling have evoked more liberal fury than Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a campaign-finance case involving government censorship of a political documentary called Hillary: The Movie. The Federal Election Commission prevented the anti-Hillary Clinton film from being shown on television just before the 2008 Democratic primaries, a decision that was upheld by lower courts. Siding with The First Amendment, the Court struck down laws regulating independent political advertising by for-profit and non-profit corporations before an election even as they reaffirmed rules about disclosure and disclosures for ads and against direct corporate giving to candidates.

Critics fear that corporations will now overwhelm the political marketplace with commercials and advertisements that will program citizens to vote for whatever agenda "the corprations" want at a given moment.

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann railed against the decision, calling it "a Supreme Court-sanctioned murder of what little democracy is left in this democracy" and comparing it to the notorious Dred Scott decision, which ruled that blacks had no rights under the Constitution. His fellow corporate media host at MSNBC, Rachel Maddow, exclaimed, "If you are a regular person who has ever made a campaign donation before, forget about ever having to do that again. What's the point?"

Cyberlaw theorist Lawrence Lessig has called for a consitutional amendment to roll back the Citizens United ruling and President Barack Obama called out the Supreme Court during his 2010 State of the Union address, proclaiming to a standing ovation:

The Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests, including foreign corporations, to spend without limit in our elections.

Is there any truth to some hyperbolic, doomsday scenarios? In a word, no. The Citizens United ruling increases freedom of political speech, not simply for powerful, politically connected corporations like Citigroup, AIG, and the companies that run The New York Times and other media outlets, but for small-pocketed nonprofits such as Citizens United too. If you want to get bent out of shape about something, direct your ire at a massive and constantly growing government that has its hands in virtually every aspect of economic and social life in America.

"3 Reasons Not to Sweat The Citizens United Ruling" was written and produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie, who also hosts.

For Reason.com's archive on the Citizens United case, go here.

Approximately 3.30 minutes. Scroll down for downloadable versions.

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Virginia is for (Liquor) Lovers!

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST

Bob McDonnell is a self-professed pinot grigio and white zinfandel drinker.

He's also the new Republican governor of Virginia and is taking aim at the commonwealth's oppressive and inefficient state-owned liquor monopoly. More than a dozen states still completely control the sales and distribution of all distilled spirits.

The result? Higher payrolls for state governments (state-workers are public-sector employees after all) and rotten selection and service for customers (state-sanctioned monopolies tend to diminish the shopping experience).

Despite a reputation as a social conservative, McDonnell thinks that state-run liquor stores are a bad idea from both pragmatic and philosophical perspectives. Given budget crises, says McDonnell, "we can't just do things the same old way.... Certainly there's nothing I gleaned from the [Virginia] constitution that would have me think it's better or required to have the government controlling distilled spirits."

States such as West Virginia and Iowa have gained millions of dollars in new tax and license revenues by privatizing liquor sales, says Reason Foundation policy analyst Len Gilroy. And they've also cut government expenditures by millions of dollars as well.

Will Virginia join them? McDonnell invited Reason.tv to come back in a year and check in with him. Sure thing, Mr. Governor. We'll bring the questions. You can bring the white zinfandel.

Approximately 4.30 minutes. Written and produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie, who also hosts. Additional footage: Dan Hayes.

Scroll down for downloadable versions.

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For more Reason.tv videos on prohibition and alchohol policy, go here.

Turning Japanese

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:00:00 EDT

It wasn't that long ago that everyone in America believed that Japan would soon overtake the United States as the dominant economic force on the planet. When the Japanese stock market rallied to historic heights in late 1989 and Japanese investors even bought Rockefeller Center in New York, it all seemed like a done deal.

But then...the Nikkei Index tanked, the nation's economy collapsed, the government responded with an ever-changing mix of tax hike and tax cuts, stimulus spending on infrastructure, massive bailouts of businesses, and more. None of it worked and Japan entered what's been called its "Lost Decade," a seemingly endless period of economic stagnation.

What are the lessons for the U.S. from Japan's experience? Reason Foundation policy analyst Anthony Randazzo is the co-author of the recent study "Avoiding an American Lost Decade: Lessons from Japan's bubble and recession" and a July 2009 cover story for Reason magazine, "Turning Japanese: Japan's post-bubble policies produced a 'lost decade.' So why is President Obama emulating them?"

As Randazzo explains, both the causes of and official responses to Japan's bubble and economic slump eerily anticipate exactly what the U.S. government is doing. Worse still, the Obama administration and Congress seem dead-set against the sorts of policies—across-the-board taxes on personal and business income, reductions in long-term and unsustainable government debt, and allowing damaged firms to go bankrupt—that would help revivify the American economy.

Is America on the verge of its own lost decade? Sadly, the government seems to be doing everything it can to make that happen.

Approximately 3.30 minutes long. Produced by Dan Hayes and Nick Gillespie; graphics by Meredith Bragg.

Scroll down for embed code and downloadable iPod, HD, and audio versions.

Michael C. Moynihan Talks Obama on the Glenn Beck Show

Thu, 21 May 2009 11:51:00 EDT

Reason senior editor Michael C. Moynihan sits down with Judge Andrew Napolitano (subbing for Glenn Beck) on the Fox News Channel to discuss the latest in bailout mania, the ever-expanding size of government, and the future of American health care.

Real Man of Genius: Joe Biden

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST

Approximately 1.30 minutes.

Reason on Joe Biden here.

Searching for Bill Clinton

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST

Bill Clinton is the self-proclaimed Comeback Kid of American politics. Indeed, every time it seems that he is finally out of public view, he comes back with a vengeance, the electoral equivalent of a herpes infection that can be managed but never quite fully eradicated.

With Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) rumored to be named as President-elect Barack Obama's secretary of state, how should we evaluate the legacy on Bill Clinton? The latest book-length treatment of the is John Gartner's In Search of Bill Clinton, a heavily researched psychological profile of the former president that, among other revelations, names Clinton's likely biological father. (Go here to read a review of the book by reason's Nick Gillespie that originally ran in The New York Post.)

Unabashedly positive toward Clinton, Gartner, a practicing psychologist and author of the best-selling The Hypomanic Edge, nevertheless reveals what makes Bill Clinton tick—and explode with a disquieting regularity. Given the current situation, will Bill Clinton be able to stand a situation in which he is near the White House once again but playing a supporting role at best?

Earlier this fall, Gartner sat down to talk with reason.tv. Click above to watch a seven-minute interview that discusses Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky, his foreign and domestic policies, and more.

And click below to watch Gartner, along with Alternatives to Marriage's Nicky Grist, mix it up with reason's Michael C. Moynihan and Nick Gillespie on the reason.tv Talk Show.

Ron Paul, Whoopi and Abortion

mmoynihan@reason.com (Michael Moynihan) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:23:00 EST

Ron Paul visits the ladies of The View and tussles (ever so patiently) with Constitutional scholar Whoopi Goldberg on the intricacies of Roe v. Wade.