the pain level was so high, it became unbearable. >> john: tonight we eastbound pose myths and you're a bully. politicians now tell us what food we can eat. >> what business is it of yours what i put in my own body. >> that's a really -- >> with a little fat and sugar, what would life be? >> we're told fracking will poison our t water. >> wells have been ruined and people are sickened. livestock ♪ don't frack my mother >> but fracking is good. >> it's an amazing story. >> also, because stupid people do this. >> do it, dude, do it. >> these people lose their job? >> we're less safe because of you awful people. ♪ we deliver ♪ we deliver >> and should the government

deliver the mail? should it build speedy trains? we look for answers at the seat of power. >> you're always adding burden. >> who is we? >> washington, where they often don't want our camera around. >> we can't just take a picture of the beautiful atrium? >> no. >> but there's so much money here, life is good. >> once people come to d.c. they never leave. >> and now, from the fox news headquarters in new york, john stossel. >> we start with myth number 7 because americans are so fat, it's government's job to help us eat better. >> changing old habits is never easy. >> no, it's not. so the first lady says to change behavior. >> it's going to take government doing its part. >> if michelle obama wants to inspire us by exercising on the white house lawn, that's great. but government doing its part usually means force. >> this is nothing to do with banning the ability to buy as much as many sugary drinks as you want.

>> in my hometown the mayor is upset about big cups of soda. he wants cups this size illegal. >> this is the single biggest step any city has taken to curb obesity. >> please, i can still buy two of these. that's 32 ounces. or i can go to a supermarket and buy one of these monsters. how does this curb obesity? >> thank you. >> my mayor is also proud that he's forced every chain restaurant to clearly post calorie counts. there they are. >> there were more than a few skeptics but today both reforms are recognized as models. >> sadly, that's true. under obamacare all big chains will have to post calorie counts even though they don't work. a study by professors at new york university and yale track customers at mcdonald's, wendy's, burger king, kentucky fried chicken. they found half the customers noticed the calorie counts and some said it influenced their ordering. but when researches checked receipts they found people ordered more calories. the author of "the food police,"

jason lusk, studied that, too. >> what we find thattes that labels don't change bechaif your at all. what you're doing is asking companies to undertake a cost that has essentially no benefit to the consumer. it's the sign of a government that's willing to step into your daily food choices even though they know it won't work for the sole reason of creating a symbol. what kind of government is that? >> an intrusive one. in my state, most eager to ban foods and require that the signs be posted is felix ortiz it. >> didn't work. they've tested it. in fact, they ate more. >> well, i disagree with that. >> now he's going after salt. >> the ban of salt in the restaurants in the state of new york. >> too much salt is bad for some people. people with hypertension or some other problem. but there's no evidence that it's harmful to most of us. in fact -- >> some studies show that reduced salt intake among some segments of the population actually increased the chances of death. >> so because you shouldn't have salt, i can't have salt?

>> it's based on the statistics that is coming from cdc. >> some people, maybe 20% of the people, but t not everybody. >> hold the cheeseburgers across the pond in europe. denmark is becoming the first country in the word to impose a fat tax. >> some members of the food police say consumers should pay more to buy less healthy food if chattering class loved what denmark did. >> denmark has decided to implement what they're calling a fat tax. basically you go to the supermarket and you buy a food that has above a certain level of fat, they charge you extra. all right? do we feel good about this, doc? >> absolutely. >> the fat tax passed the dan danish parliament. within one year, denmark repealed its fat tax. so far its american boosters haven't mentioned that. >> they repealed it. >> they repeal it, i think they're making a big mistake. >> they tried it for a year.

tried a dumb idea for a year and said, oh, my goodness, bad idea. >> i believe it's a great idea. >> every great idea from food police or taxes on candy or fast foods. how do you define a fast food? you can go to mcdonald's and order a salad or order a big mac. both are fast food. you can bet the lobbyists are going to be on the table. >> illinois is at a similar problem with the candy tax. what exactly is candy? they decided this hershey bar is taxable candy but this hershey's bar isn't because it contains flour. store clerks don't know what to charge. >> in our doughnuts we have flour, sugar, eggs, salt. >> katie's dessert won an award on the food network. >> don't you think you're poisoning people? >> no. >> you're making everybody fat. >> no. without a little fat and sugar, what would life be? >> we asked her to make doughnuts without the so-called bad stuff. >> the healthy version i had

today is no sugar, no salt, very little fat. it's not fried, it's baked. >> egg whites are good. >> will people mind the difference? let's try a taste test. >> we've got a healthy doughnut and a regular doughnut. >> almost everyone liked the regular doughnut. >> that's awesome. >> and how about the other one? >> that's not so good. >> not so good? >> doesn't taste like anything. >> you need the sugar. >> i wanted to like the healthy doughnut. it's like eating bread. >> not what i'm looking for in a doughnut. >> some people did like the healthier version. >> that's baked. >> it's good. for a baked doughnut, it's very good. >> taste is subjective so it's good that people have choices. >> we're trying to keep you -- give you an opportunity to make better choices. >> where do you get off giving us more choice? you're banning things. you're giving us less choice. >> no, let me just say, you're

right, i'm trying to ban the stuff that is not good for the consumer. >> you're a bully. >> no, i've been called worse. >> what business is it of yours what i put in my own body? isn't that part of freedom? >> you can have the freedom wbu when it comes down to the health care costs then we need to tackle them. if we're not into healthy lifestyle, government will be blamed for not doing the right thing. >> so because government is responsible, because we have a socialize health care system, you get to take away my freedom? >> i think what i'm trying to do is help you to have a better life. >> you're like a cancer. you're spreading a bad thing that costs a lot of money and doesn't do any good. >> and i am a good cancer providing good, healthy advice for the best public health of our country. >> a good cancer, that brings us so myth number 6. obamacare is good for business. >> dams say it is. >> the fact is it's very food

for small business. it's incredibly good for small business. >> they are why we committed ourselves to this cause. >> the white house specifically says on its website, myth debunked. business will not suffer under health reform. >> it's all good, obamacare? not going to hurt business? >> your can't be wealthal wealt you're healthy. >> you may remember congressman allen grayson support obamacare. >> remember the republican plan, don't get sick. if you do get sick, die quickly. >> i was surprised so learn grayson used to be a businessman. he helped create a tech company called idt. >> international calls -- >> usual politician, having really created something, created wealth, run idt. i would think you would see the burden all of these rules put on businesses. >> point to one rule that actually has had a dramatic impact on job creation or on small business. and -- >> not one rule. it's the pile of rules. here's obamacare, and this is

just the start because many pages say the secretary shall produce more regulation. >> well, put together a big pile of rules. which are the bad ones? >> what about the tax on medical devices. a bunch of democrats now object to this. >> listen, we have to pay for it somehow. >> obamacare imposes a steep tax on companies that make medical devices. things like pacemakers, artificial limbs, digital thermometers. this can be a profitable business but it's also one that saves lives. the new tax means they will probably save fewer lives. so now even many senate democrats want that part of obamacare killed. >> don't we want more medical devices? >> when you pass a law that costs something, you have to come up with the money for it. >> obamacare also forces more business owners to pay more for worker aes health care. lauren goodrich runs restaurants in maine, new hampshire. >> thanks for choosing subway

today. >> he hires lots of kids and offers health insurance for most full-time workers who stick around. >> you've got 20 subway shops. >> yes. >> how many employees? >> 180 employees. >> so obamacare, the point is to get your employees better health care. >> i think it's a noble cause but i can't provide for every single need of every single employee. and the low margin retail restaurant business, this bill is devastating. >> he says his profit margin is already smaller because he's had to pay specialists to try to explain obamacare's rules. >> accountants and insurance agents and lawyers to try to figure out how i'm going to be able to comply with the bill. and they still can't give me the answer. >> obamacare says he must buy expensive insurance for all full-time workers or pay a fine. neither he says will slash his profit. >> i can hear the people listening saying, so what? he's a rich guy. he's got 20 stores. make less profit. >> yeah, well, you could say

that. but you have to have a profit to be able to expand your business. i'm not going to be hiring more people. >> so raise prices. >> i have so many customers come in with the exact change for their lunch in their hand. they're very, very price conscience. >> i just wonder, who are these businesses on the margin. you know -- >> just not sure if expanding is going to make them a profit? >> so on the basis of that we're going to deny 15 million people coverage? >> it's nice to give people coverage, but he does impose costs. go goodrich says the costs will force him to cut full-time workers. >> i absolutely will have to cut many people down to part time. >> the law was meant to help, maybe him, maybe her will be hurt. >> they'll have to go get another job. they'll have to work two jobs to make ends meet, which is sad. >> extra burden. you're always adding burdens. >> who is we? >> you, congressmen, you

democratic congressmen especially. >> i visited communist countries while they were still communist, okay? i know what it looks like to be in a place where there really is is a burden. i don't see our country being that way. >> and we're not, yet. but we should learn from history and stop putting more burdens on guys like him. >> you need me. i employ your teenagers. some have gone off to run their own businesses because of my training. my business is needed. coming up, the new celebrity cause, stopping fracking. ♪ please don't frack my mother ♪ don't frack me ♪ don't frack me what are you ? ow! that hurt! no, no, no, no. you can't go to school like this, c'mon. don't do it! no! (mom vo) you never know what life's gonna throw at you.

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myth number 5, our drinking water is in danger was r because oil companies frack. frack? what's that? >> end fracking now. >> the controversy is over chemicals being injected into the earth to break up rock and release natural gas. >> fracking means shoving water and chemicals into the ground, fracturing the rock to release

oil and gas. this has been done for 60 years. but recently, geologists learned how to drill sideways. result? america now has much more and, therefore, cheaper natural gas. this means families pay less to heat their homes. soon, america may be self sufficient in energy. also, if you're worried about global warming, burning natural gas releases less greenhouse gas than oil or coal. >> fracking feels wrong. it feels like you're pumping stuff into mother earth. but it's an amazing story. >> a liberal european environmentalist points out that europe promised to cut its greenhouse gas i'm missiemissiot didn't cut them much. >> in europe we only managed to cut half when you guys accidentally stumbled to do in fracking. >> fracking is cheaper, plentiful. maybe better for the world. why are these people so mad? >> end fracking now! end fracking now!

>> they worry about energy companies shoving these dangerous chemicals into the ground. >> this is a scene from an anti-fracking documentary called "gasland." >> for the documentary featuring "gasland," john fox. >> hollywood gave the director an emmy and matt damon's latest movie destroying the promised land. ♪ gather around people ♪ listen to my song >> oko own no and her son sean lennon had a song. ♪ so please don't frack my mother ♪ >> celebs are upset and so is the left wing immediaty. >> waste t water which comes up by the millions of gallons. >> so the protests grow. >> wells have been rue ended and people are sickened.

cows, livestock is dying. >> mutation of our children. >> a lot of people could get sick. >> you would think so since that anti-fracking movie includes this frightening scene. >> whoa. jesus christ. >> so much gas in his water he could light it. >> what you see in "gasland" is real. >> paul runs the environmental group river people. >> all the people from the companies say, oh, this isn't our problem. this was there in the first place. but they're lying. >> he and the "gasland" movie says this is much more likely to happen after fracking. but when they investigated this incident they concluded fracking had nothing to do with it. it was just gas naturally in the ground. that happens. there are many places in america where no fracking is done, but -- >> whoa! >> -- water still catches fire. this is a lake in alaska. this man lives in new york where

fracking is banned. yet -- >> whoa! >> but if fracking doesn't cause these problems, why the lawsuits and headlines about ruined wells? filmmaker checked out pollution claims made by craig and julie. >> have you done independent testing? >> we did way back, you know, maybe two years ago. >> he was oddly vague about the results. >> i can't remember what that showed. >> his lawsuit says his well water was dirty and dark. but when he checked, it wasn't. >> it changes from day to day. one day it will be clear and the next day it won't. >> they demanded that pennsylvania environmental officials test their water. so the epa did and concluded that their water was fine and reported that good news to them. listen to his reaction. >> no, this is bull crap, man. i'm sick and tired of this. what happened to you people? >> we're telling you we tested your water. at this point in time we found

no contaminants in it. >> even president obama's recent epa director says -- >> in no case have we made a definitive determination that the fracking process has caused chemicals to enter ground water. >> now, some companies have spilled chemicals. there is risk. the protesters say instead of fracking, america should just useless energy and invest in alternatives. >> renewable energy would be best, wind, solar, geothermal. >> there's more energy in algae than any other, you know, source. >> no, there isn't. today renewable energy doesn't provide the world with anywhere near the power we need. >> if you environmental zealouses got your way there would be no progress. oil, natural gas, fuel is dirty. otherwise we're living in the dark ages. >> i hear the zealousy coming

from the other side. i see statistics that are coming from you and the people in favor of this. >> and his side has won in my state. protesters persuaded politicians to stop all fracking in new york. that makes me uncomfortable because the world needs energy, where energy is limited. >> life is cruel and life is short. energy matters. we take it for granted. we really shouldn't. coming up, something else we shouldn't take for granted, five gallon gas cans. [ female announcer ] research suggests cell health

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>> nothing has made me prouder than to see the way that this team finished this job. >> after 50 years, 117 people lost their jobs. there were lots of tears. >> i've been here 36 years and 2 months and these people were my family. >> my plan is to go home and lay down and cry. >> i'm going to miss all of you. >> of course, companies disappear all the time. markets change, new products emerge. but this company made something that's in high demand. so what happened? this happened. some people used the gas cans to pour gasoline on fire. some were burned. some were killed. that's terrible, but is it the gas can's fault? >> throw the whole thing on there. do it, do it, do it. >> oh, my god, dude! >> oh, my god. >> the lawyers have designed

systems that are good for lawyers and bad for our community. >> ah, the lawyer. >> if you or a loved one has been injured in an accident. >> if you get hurt, it's easy to find lawyers eager to take your case for a percentage of the winnings. >> don't wait, call me today. >> put blitz out of business. >> lawyer andrew smiley didn't sue blitz but he defends his colleagues who did. >> put on these gas cans would prevent explosions occurring because of back draft of fumes into the cans. >> a flame arrester. it's this little piece of metal which if inserted in the gas can spout might prevent fire from crawling up into the can and causes an explosion. it might. researchers at worster polytechnic are tasting flame arresters in plastic gas cans. so far the tests show the flame arresters might make the flames more dangerous because they clog and static electricity in fr

metal can start a fire. that's probably why no plastic gas can contain nos flame or reers. >> it causes fires. >> listen to the research and make a decision. >> but the jurors aren't scientists and they see this poor victim they just want to help. >> of course they're sympathetic cases. it's very dangerous. if they can make this product safer, why don't they? >> because it would cost more. because it could clog. this could cause a spark, cause more danger. there are lots of reasons not to do this. it's a debate. but once you lawyer parasites steps in, the debate is over because you cost so much. >> i don't think that's the case. the company decides to make a product and put it out on the market, it requires to do what's reasonable. >> juries are called upon to decide what's reasonable but our legal system's stacked against companies that can make a product that can burn people.

some lawyers say the warning labels were not clear enough. lawyers often win money arguing that there should be more warning. one result is that even a simple ladder today includes 30 warnings. >> ever look at a birth control pill label? >> i have not. >> i happen to have one here. this is what lawsuits do. tiny print, both sides of the page. there are so many warnings now none of us read them. we're less safe because of you awful people. >> that's up to a jury. people that are going to read warning are generally going to read them. >> when blitz was first sued, it fought back in court and won. >> it cast us $2.5 million to win it. >> $2 million. and our legal system, enwhen you win, you lose. >> it's the lawyers that are winning and everybody else losing. >> more lawsuits poured? >> the year before we filed for bankruptcy, we had 25 cases in the last 9 months. >> you can sue somebody all of the way until they're broke, tired, and can't provide jobs and take care of communities and can be an entrepreneur in our

society. >> even if blitz' cans were dangerous, lawsuits rarely take into account the danger of not having a product. during hurricane sandy stores ran out of containers for gasoline. >> it's incredible. we just can't keep them in the stores. >> manufacturer i think is having difficulties keeping up with the supply of red gas cans. >> store employees didn't know that blitz no longer exists. customers were desperate for cans. >> i looked all overbrook lynn. this is the first time i find a dpooif-gallon gas can. >> people are trying to buy buckets. we said you can't do that. you have to have a vert fid sgas can. >> "the new york times" says one man walked into a gas station lugging a five h gallon igloo cooler hoping to fill it with gas. >> they were putting gas in milk jugs. >> to make a argument because lawsuit resulted in a company doing out of business, resulted in there being no cans available, resulting in people not getting gas cans during a

hurricane is a ridiculous argument. >> it is just a fact that we lose products because of fear of lawsuits. it's why america has no aids vaccine and no lymes disease vacci vaccine. >> if they're scared of someone like me to bring something to the market because it could cause harm, then i'm happy about that. >> we pay for his happiness. not just in products we lose but americans pay almost $1,000 per person per year for lawsuits. and in oklahoma, blitz let 117 workers go. >> this is wrong. if they can take this team and destroy it, they can take just about anything. >> they can, but there is something that no one seems to be able to take away, and you have to fund them. tynely, hardly used post offices. y, hardly used post off. . .

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♪ ♪ ♪ >> john: another myth, government can run the post office like a business. >> ♪ we deliver we deliver >> they buy commercials like businesses do. ♪ we deliver >> real businesses can't lose billions every year. $16 billion last year. the post office loses money even though -- >> they don't pay sales tax, they don't pay property taxes. >> the advantages like that, how does the post office lose money? here's a reason. check out this little post office in massachusetts. >> hi. >> this is one of hundreds that, on average, bring in less than $700 a month. i don't blame her, but a real business would close the store that can't cover even her salary, let alone other costs. >> never mind then. congress says post offices must serve all over america.

but -- there's another post office a mile down the road. in fact, there are five others within a few miles. why do they need so many so close to each other? even the locals see the excess. >> it's silly. >> closing post offices. >> we're working on it. >> what do you mean you're working on it? a business just does it. >> we're operated to operate like a business but congress does not allow us to operate like a business. >> mickey barnett is the chairman of the post office board. on your website you say since ben franklin the post service has grown and changed with america. but you don't change. you're a government monopoly. you barely change. >> 250,000 fewer employees than we had. >> but you don't fire anybody. >> no. >> if government did fire people the big government media would say things like this. >> they are hell-bent on seeing the u.s. postal service die. >> the manager just wait for workers to quit or retire.

>> attrition is kinder, that's why you do it? >> well, we have union contracts that also have no layoff provisions in it and so forth. >> how do you run a business that way? >> part of being a quasi-governmental entity. that's how the cookie crumbles. >> fedex continues to thrive while the postal service bleeds billions. >> fedex, ups, and others make billions because they innovate and cut costs. >> ups. >> postal officials like mickey barnett tried to do that, tried to close money losers like these. why weren't they closed long ago? >> political pressure. >> congress can kill any major chain. cloth close post offices? no way. save billions by adjusting benefit payment? not a chance. these politicians aren't dumb. what are they thinking? >> they're thinking about re-election. >> they can't be so short sighted, can they? they're supposed to be

responsible. are we so dumb that we keep losing taxpayers' money? >> if the post office could charge anything they wanted they would probably have a profit. >> are you for that? >> not necessarily. >> why can't they run it like a business? they have to beg you for permission, kig kiss your ring every time they want to do something. >> the post office provides something that is extremely valuable and has to be maintained and that's universal service. that costs something. >> universal service means every american must get mail service. whether you live in the suburbs or deep in the heart of alaska. they even haul mail by mule to a remote town at the bottom of the grand canyon. as senator franken says -- >> it's in the constitution. >> but it isn't. the constitution says congress has the power to establish post offices. it doesn't have to. and it doesn't have to deliver mail to all of america. >> people living in rural america aren't living there by force. if you go back to the history, it was private carriers that

picked up the mail from the post office and took it the last mile or else people came out to the post office and picked it up. what we have today is an invention of congress. >> who says there needs to be universal service? if i live way out in the boon docks i can get e-mail. >> countries in the united states, including the congo, that try to provide universal mail service to everybody. >> but in the private sector if they keep losing money they go out of business. in your government, i have to pay forever. >> i don't represent john stossel in congress. overwhelmingly people don't want post offices closed. they don't want a cut in saturday delivery. >> overwhelmingly they are short sited and they want free stuff for themselves. aren't you supposed to be the grown-up and says, you know, in this case, you can't have it all. >> i don't feel any sort of moral compulsion to check down post offices when they don't want them shut down. the public disagrees with you. >> they do. most people don't want their post office closed.

>> not this one. >> it seems like too much but they're convenient. >> there are a couple that i don't understand why they're still open but this one definitely has to be. next, what you don't know about trains and mass transit. >> this thing is like the boon doingle of boondoggle. when i'm on my feet all day, my lower back acts up. this was me. then i found dr. scholl's pain relief orthotics. they reduce the impact on my lower body. so i feel less pain and more energized. dr. scholl's pain relief orthotics-- pain relief that starts with your feet. i'm a believer.

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♪ ♪ ♪ >> joh now, myth number two, we need government to invest in inf infrastructure. that does make sense. we do need ways of getting places faster. building infrastructure does create jobs. these days politicians want to spend more on trains. >> 220-mile-an-hour train that would take us from l.a. to san fran in 2:40. >> cool, except this is only a problem promise. the train line politicians approved starts and ends in the boon docks where economists adrian moore lives. >> i live in a little mountain town in the middle of nowhere. 50 miles to the nearest walmart. and high speed rail line in california comes right through my town. this thing is like the boondoggle of boondoggle. >> nobody is living where you're building. >> mass transit advocate helped

get train project funded. >> lots of people live in california. they are starting high speed rail in the middle of the state because that's where you can build it fast. >> we envision high speed rail connecting the big points. >> that will cost another $100 billion. >> you're expecting private invest investors. >> private investors will be a part of the mix. >> have any come forward? >> not at this time, but there's every reason to believe that they will. >> the private money was always a joke because private money will invest in something where they can make a profit. there's no way this project will pay for itself. >> why does it happen? >> oh, because it's visionary, john. it's very, very visionary. >> trains will revolutionize our global transportation infrastructure. >> trains are romantic. litten like's california's amtrak train. >> amtrak trains are packed. >> packed? >> yes. >> actually here's what it looked like recently when we

taped. on average, amtrak's california trains fill just a third of their seats. but if we don't invest in trains what's the mass transit alternative? new buses. this is now the fastest growing mass transit in america. why? >> because it's cheaper. >> buses don't get the big subsidies. but they're still much cheaper than trains. >> $3.50 to get you to delaware? >> yeah. >> i'll take that. >> amtrak is too expensive. i don't have $200. >> more typically, an amtrak ticket from new york to d.c. costs about $150 and a bus ticket just $20. >> it's cheap. that's basically it. >> also, today's buses are pleasant. they have extras like wi-fi. and most important, a bus can go where the people go. trains run in straight lines, but people move every which way. only cars and buses can change routes to follow them. >> they're making money and doing a better job?

>> yes. and growing because they're more flexible. >> which raises the question, why should taxpayers lose more money on trains? people cite new york subways as a reason that government must provide infrastructure. yes, they would lose money but it's worth it. they transport lots of us. >> what would happen in new york if we waited for private investors to build the subway? >> it would have never happened. private investor can't do it because it's a public good that they can't profit from. >> makes sense and if you ask people who built the subways -- >> i think it was the government. >> president eisenhower or maybe like a mayor. >> union workers? >> but actually -- >> 1878 before the brooklyn bridge, before the statue of liberty -- >> original subways in new york were all private. >> it carried tens of millions of passengers. >> then after 50 years the private companies tried to raise the fare to a dime. >> people didn't like the idea of paying a higher fare and the mayor took advantage of that sand said, fine, the government

will take it over and we won't raise the fare. >> but, of course, government did. and now the fare is $2.50. and now that government build subways, construction takes longer. this subway was supposed to be done in 1938. then they said, 1980. now they say 2018. it's taken so long that the subway cars built for it which cost $1 million each now won't be used because they no longer fit the tracks and we no longer need the ultra vie ovieolet ligo kill polio. >> why? they had competition. and their own money on the line. >> i want to recognize up front a number of officials, elected officials. >> politicians have different incentives like sucking up to

other politicians. >> council member daniel garadnik. >> and government workers have time to stand around. despite the delay and billions lost governments want more trains. >> it's rail, rail, rail and rail. >> up next, do you like these beautiful homes? you should. you probably helped pay for them.

♪ ♪ >> john: finally finally, the top myth, people say i'm going to washington to serve my fellow american. they call it public service. but that's not what i notice when i look at how they live. >> upon first entering the home we have this incredibly gracious staircase. you can see the crown molding when you get to the top. >> there are lots of expensive homes here. >> beautiful gourmet kitchen, culinary delight. >> all glass wall, ceilings, sky lit. >> this home is a steal at $2.8 million. >> 2.8 million is a steal, he says, because -- >> our real estate market has been relatively recession-proof. >> why is that. >> because government is its main industry. we continue to have one of the lowest interest rates in the country. >> because government keeps

growing, so much so that for today for the first time most of the richest counties in america surround washington, d.c. the rest of america had a housing recession. >> everybody hels, housing prices went way down, not in washington. >> historian john steel gordon says d.c. is special because the people who control the government and get to tax you live here. >> they move there and they like it there. >> lobbyists, politicians, government contractors. >> there's a reason they go there and stay there. >> consider where they work. the architecture's grand. many office buildings resemble palaces. >> it's very much like versailles before the french revolution, the whole french nobility they spent their lives in versailles and they didn't know much about what went outside that world. people never leave washington. >> congressman alan grayson lost his seat but then ran again and won. grayson says if there is royalty in america -- >> it's not the congressman,

it's the lobbyists. they're the royalty of washington, d.c. and who made it that way? >> you congressman did by passing all these laws. if you have a big government there's more money to fight over. >> there's that argument but i tell you the real royalty is not in washington, d.c. >> it's on wall street, he says. and there is lots of money here. but there's a big difference. >> in the private sector, if you can find a way to cut costs, you're a hero. if you can find a way to cut costs in the brock kasay, you're a goat. they measure success by the size of their budget. >> right, and the big budgets give the special interests reason to invest in d.c. and invest, they have. >> unions say teachers are underpaid but their union sure looks rich. this is is their headquarters building. we're told it's worth $100 million, its atrium is called an environmental oasis, it's personal impressive but they didn't want us to take pictures

of it. >> we can't take a picture of the beautiful atrium. >> they told me to wait outside until union officials said we could video. >> we read about the lobby and i'd like to show it to the viewers. >> it's like they're sucking money from the rest of the country and building palaces for yourselves. >> i've been to the nea's building. i didn't feel like that at all. have you been to any mall in the past 20 years. >> >> yes. >> isn't it more grand. >> i would have to disagree. >> back outside i was passed from one official to the next. >> you find out a little pore about what's going on. >> okay, well, i'm going to have to check. i'll see -- >> he went back inside for awhile and finally the ruling came down. >> no. >> no? okay. thank you. >> is there a reason? >> we're not opening the building up to you. >> i tried another beautiful building. the headquarters of the afl-cio.

>> wow. >> the murals made of marble, glass and gold. >> john stossel with fox news to take pictures of beautiful lobbies. as at least they let me wait inside and think about the 12,000 active lobbyists working in washington. they're smart to be here since washington controls so much. but this union doesn't want you to see what they've got. >> i've been notified by our legal department that we're not because of the state of the mural we're not allowed. >> the estate wouldn't allow it. thank you. >> the bottom line is that washington, once a sleepy part-time home for politicians now resembles versailles. buildings that look like palaces and after work, they go home to castles. >> it overlooks the prondz, the property is on five acres. >> beautiful shower and his and her water closet.

>> it all helps to understand why people spent millions to win jobs here and -- >> once people come to d.c., they never leave. >> that's our show, i'm john stossel. thanks for watching. seconds. tonight on huckabee, with the signature legislation broke the president is blaming republicans. >> one unifying principle in the republican party at the moment is making sure that 30 million people don't have health care. it is not only the gop that doesn't like obama care. >> it is a huge train wreck. >> the a ca is the most complex pose of legislation passed by the united states congress. >> democrats and irs and youns and major issues with obama care. the president said no one has a better plan. >> some say we don't have