check out the fox news factor website. spout off from anywhere in the world oreilly@foxnews.com. name a town if you wish to opine. when writing to us, do notnx palter. i didn't know what that meant. again, thanks for watching. remember the spin stops right here, because we're definitely here, because we're definitely looking out for you. captioned by closed captioning services, inc. politicians are good at making promises. >> our nation has made a promise to america's seniors. >> don't potential plansers see the unintended consequences. like cash for clunkers.

does this make sense? sure it will stimulate the auto business. stimulate, stimulate, stimulate! john: politicians often say, we need a higher minimum wage. but it would kill her job. >> i was making a good amount. >> empower women. john: title ix was for equality. >> we don't need you lawyers. politicians laws let protesters bully banks into giving risky loans. isn't that kind of like extortion? >> it is the law. john: politicians promise new stadiums will create jobs. do they? did you know if the the government wants you in the al paca business and in a house you can't an ford.

>> what is the dumbest? ethanol? >> there's been a case study iñpq0hjt unintended consequences. >> big -- maybe the biggest boondoggle is. tonight my top 10 list of politicians' good intentions gone wrong. >> announcer: reporting from our nation's capital, john stossel. john: politicians always say they will fix""a things. their laws have unintended consequences. let's count them down. we begin with promise number 10. government can and should help the carmakers. how? i know, let's destroy some cars. does this make sense q sure, it will stimulate the auto business. that was the idea behind cash for clunkers.

>> cash for clunkers will pass. john: democrats and some republicans voted for it for two months last summer the administration paid people $3,000 if they had their older car crushed and buy a new one. they say that stimulated the economy. >> the president: good for automakers, consumers. >> good for suppliers, workers. >> i guess i should destroy more stuff. cash for clunkers may be the dumbest policy ever. >> the case toe institute's bose are among many who point out increase in cars sold during the cash for clunker months stole sales from months before and after. >> what is missing is that most cars that were sold under the program would have been sold any way. >> it was successful. >> progressives point out the cash for clunkers did increase car sales.

steals it from future years. >> it does to a certain degree. that's what stimulus in some ways is all about. >> free money to get a new car. >> there were the usual government screw-ups. >> can't process a simple rebate. lawmakers they may need to extend the program. >> congress property rated more of your money. >> we are not discontinuing the program. >> more cars were destroyed. more success. how far can i carry this principle? is ing. let's destroy some guitars. the economy is ing, sale are down. we need to stimulate the economy. this will do it. by destroying some things they will have to make new ones. that will create jobs. stimulate! stimulate!

stimulate! why is it good to destroy usable stuff? >> yes, cars that were taken off the road were still driveable. at the same time they are not leading america forward. >> you look at a couple of cars like this, that you would never think these are going to be cash for clunker cars. >> some of 'em are better than what i drive sometimes. >> if the politicians still say this was a good idea. >> breathing life back into the automobile sector of the american economy. >> if destroying cars is good for the auto business. i wonder how much wealth i would create if i cause an earthquake. >> strong quake has rocked haiti. >> seems crazy to imagine a disaster like this could help an economy. some people think it can. >> i think this can be an opportunity for a real boom economy in haiti. >> she thinks that because she can see the jobs created for clean-up workers and building new buildings.

likewise, after september 11, he said the attack could do some economic good. rebuilding would increase business spending. people think that, because they can see the rebuilding. as they can see the extra car sales of cash for clunkers. >> you can see the people going in to buy cars because the government is subsidizing the purchase of cars. what you can't see is what people would have bought if the government wasn't subsidizing the purchase of cars. maybe they would have bought computers. added a room on to their house. put the money in their savings account to save for college. it is hard to see what isn't done. >> there were other unintended consequences. >> cash for clunkers program may hurt you if you want to buy a used car. >> used car prices went up $1800 because used cars that would have been sold were crushed. those of you who hoped for a

bargain on a used car, too bad. one more unintended consequence. charities that rely on used car donations were hurt. >> the phone stopped ringing. we two cars donated in the last two weeks. it is tough. >> we raise the price of used cars. we reduce the number of cars given to charity. we barely affected the environment. and we spent several billion dollars on it. >> the president: it was more successful than we imagined. >> why doesn't the government just butt-out? >> you can create a problem that is going to make everything happy? the largest goals were hahn . some of the trade officials i can live with. >> he can live with that. can taxpayers? >> on to promise number nine: congress must guarantee americans a living wage. it is only fair.

protesters and politicians agree, wages should be higher. >> it is a fairness issue. >> for years, america's minimum wage was $5.15 an hour. last year congress raised it to $7.25. 14 states have gone further. washington state $8.55 an hour. progressives say it should be higher. >> absolutely. >> what would that be? >> about $9.00 an hour. >> nice idea. >> economist russ roberts points outsetting minimums has unintended consequences. >> first reaction is, great i get a raise, fantastic, i'm going to be able to buy this and that and take care of my kids. >> that's the seen benefit. >> if you keep your job. >> was if the government forced my company to increase wages? you happy, you want this? >> aren't you unpaid? absolutely. there's no doubt. let's give them a raise.

first thought, that's awesome, second thought, i wonder if they are going to keep as many people as they had before. >> we quit hiring people without experience. >> he runs prime cut combination meat counter and bar in bakersfield, california. >> minimum wage jobs are entry level to get someone experience to do something. you raise it high enough you cut people out of that market. >> when minimum wage rose to $8 an hour he stopped hiring new people. most every gas station used to offer free window cleaning. not any more. the construction industry used to be a place teens could get a foot in the door. learn the discipline of regular work. minimum wage left many teens out of jobs. no wonder teen unemployment is 26%. >> if they were to get rid of minimum wage we could higher

more people. >> warren meyers manages public parts. he replaced workers with months. >> we are trying out automatic gate solutions. i much prefer having a person. that person can be friendly and provide a smile and information about the park and can answer questions. where are the bathrooms? >> with the higher minimum wage he switched to automated ticket months. fewer people, more unemployment. in fact, unemployment has risen more in states that raise their minimum wage. what would happen if we threw out the minimum wage? >> oh my goodness. what that leaves is an employer in the catbird see the to drive that -- catbird seat to drive that wage as low as possible. >> these businesses would like to pay their employees as little as possible. they must pay more than minimum wage, because good workers have choices. at this bowling alley restaurant most workers make more than the minimum.

they didn't start there. >> minimum wage as dishwasher which was like $3.75, $4. it has been a while back. >> now he makes $10 an hour. >> why only 5% or less than the american force earns the minimum wage. the other 95, 97% that eastern more, why are they -- that earn more, why because they teal guilty paying them less? >> no they have to pay them extra to keep good workers. she started working when she was 13. >> to be only 13 i was making a good a.m.. minimum wage is fine. >> now kelsey makes as much as $10 an hour. >> if you work hard you can make more. you have to prove yourself. >> had the minimum wage been what senator kennedy wanted. >> increase the minimum wage to $9.00! >> kelsey may have never had that chance. her job might have disappeared. some business at the margin

says i can money paying people 6 an hour i can't make it paying them 7.25, i won't expand. >> if the cost of expanding workers is too much for you to absorb you probably don't have the best business model going. >> that's harsh. you deserve to fail? >> what can be more cruel than to raise your wage artificially and have no wage. >> higher unemployment, thanks to government's good intention. [ female announcer ] will women switch to new caltrate soft chews because they have 20% more calcium per chew than viactiv

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i'm against sexism. aren't you? men and women should be treated equally. that just seems fair. but it is a new idea. our culture used to say we men are the bread winners. women do housework. ♪ ♪ >> then came the women's movement. president nixon signed title ix which says no person on the basist of sex be subjected to discrimination. government can create equality. empower. empower. empower. women. >> vice president biden says, title ix changed civilization. >> we made a significant advance in civilization. >> title ix did that? by the time it passed in 1972

life had already changed. three years before when i graduated college my college didn't admit women. by the time title ix passed it was already coed. today there are more women in challenge than men. parents demand soccer leagues for girls and they get them because institutions respond to consumer pan. that's not good enough say the title ix lawyers. >> the women's sports foundation has conned. >> led by athletes like law professor. she won olympic gold in swimming and a college scholarship only she says because of title ix. >> duke university would not had given me that scholarship had it not been for that statute. >> maybe pack you need to force it. now colleges want to appeal to women. >> everyday i'm on the phone with people having a hard time.

>> untitle ix athletic supposed to be sex proportionate. if 50% of students are women 50% of the athletes better be women so they protect themselves by cutting boys' teams. >> last summer the university cut the wrestling program over title ix. >> you no longer have a swim team, one of 10 the school is cutting. >> cal berkeley were national rugby champs last year. this year they are no longer a varsity sport. >> today the university gathered athletes together to announce the news. >> we were all in shock. >> coach clark says, it is all about title ix. >> we have 60 males we ended up demoted out of athletics because of male headcount. >> trying to even out the up in, a team with 60 players is a target, even if they are national champs.

>> right now we have four players and the national team. 12 all americans last year. >> the school told them the team was cut to save money. get this, this team is self-sufficient. they raised enough to pay for themselves. they even offered to help pay for some women's teams. >> proposed helping to fund women's lacrosse and women's gymnastics. >> that wasn't enough. that is something that also shocked the gymnastics' coach. >> i asked the athletic deck for if i handed her a check for millions -- would we be reinstated. she said no. >> why? untitle ix even if athletes pay for a team themselves, i doesn't matter the headcounts must be even. >> i think we get the shorten of the stick. >> these schools are competing for students. if there's demand they will give it to them. when the culture ed a million girls' soccer teams appeared. it will happen if there's pan.

we don't need you lawyer tyrants. >> -- any way you can measure women are behind. >> men and women are different. >> no, they may have different interests in different sports. >> equally interested in sports? >> girls are more likely to work on the yearbook. boys want to smash into each other. we are just different. >> maybe boys do want to smash into other but girls want to flip around on the floor and swim back and forth. >> men's gymnastics had more than 100 division one teams today only 17, 16 after cal. >> that will have a huge impact on the success of the program. >> he says title ix kill kill the olympic program. >> women do four events men do six events how can any person look at that and say that's

fair? >> it fair. it is just one of many unintended consequences of title ix. >> it tries to create equal tunes. what it ends up doing is lessening the tunes for men. -- the opportunities for men. dude!

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continuing our countdown. promise number 7: if politicians take your money and use it to build fancy stadiums like this one to host big events that will boost the economy. that's why america fought to get the olympics. the olympic games brought hundreds of thousands of tourists to china. the reason cities ben over backwards to get the next olympics. the president wanted the olympics in his hometown so much he and his wife personally campaigned for it.

>> i never dreamed that the olympic flame might one daylight up in my neighborhood. >> but they lost. brazil won. this cheering suggests that america missed out. after all, olympic boosters always say. >> olympic games have the ability to transform an entire nation and a city. >> the job contracts and opportunities. >> thousands and thousands of construction jobs. >> economist brad bury says most construction ends up as waste. >> in china they built the birds nest stadium. there is no need for it any more. it sits empty. >> people remember the big crowds. they are less likely to remember the waste. they always tell me, this will be good. >> it is going to put us on the map people coming from out of town spending their money and we are going to spread the wealth. >> do they ever live up to their promises? >> never.

>> politicians repeatedly claim building lavish new stadiums like this one planned for miami will provide economic stimulus. unleash thousands of jobs. reviolate liaise -- revitalize the economy. build it and they will come. >> the only problem is when economists look at the benefits aren't there. >> one reason is that stadiums are not in use most of the year. baseball teams have only 81 home games. basketball teams 41. football just eight. but they do other things in those stadiums? >> maybe a few concerts, festivals. let's say you are having 100 events still a third of the year you are only having it open? >> on game day decide s -- day stadiums jobs for ushers and food vendors. thoser the seen benefits. >> the unseen cost is those

people would be spending at the local bar one less bartender one less waitress hired. movie theater one less theater full. handing money from your right hand to the left declaring i'm rich! you can't see the person who doesn't get hired. we are always going to favor the seen. >> the unseen like the grocery store doesn't have a politician in its pocket. >> the grocery store isn't asking for big subsidies from government taking from people we patronize everyday and asking them to patronize an already baseball team owner. what do you do when the team says we are going to leave? the city said we are not gonna do it. the owner realized, you me, i'll build a stadium for you. they don't need government welfare, let them do it. >> the latest event was the g leaders and burr -- was the

g-20. leaders and bureaucrats come together to talk about the economy. when they those pittsburgh the mayor was excited. senator casey told residents the event would be an economic boon. local businesses were told g-20 would bring in thousands of visitors. they own a hot dog shop that stayed open late for those thousands of new customers. but they never came. >> business was dead, nobody was here. >> the fewest customers we've had. >> i taught it was going to be a good thing. >> where were all those guests the city promised? oh here's some. an thousand state troopers. >> everyone sees the tank -- no one sees the tank and thinks i will go downtown for lunch. >> next year it will be in

cannes, france, good luck to you. >> next uncle sam wants you to buy some of these. when i come back, i'll explain. that's why only zales is the diamond store. where you can get up to $1,000 off now through sunday. that's why only zales is the diamond store. funny how nature just knows how to make things that are good for you. new v8 v-fusion + tea. one combined serving of vegetables and fruit with the goodness of green tea and powerful antioxidants. refreshingly good. [ male announcer ] let's be honest. no one ever wished for a smaller holiday gift. ♪ it's e lexus december to remember sales event, and for a limitetime, we're celebrating some of our greatest offers of the year. lease the 2011 is 250 for $349 a month for 36 months with $3,399 due at signing.

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[ gorilla ] nice move. but can your retirement income keep pace with changing interest ras? this variable annuity from axa equitable has an option that can help your retirement income move with changing interest rates. but what do i know? i'm just the 800-pound gorilla in the room. [ female announcer ] make the tirement cornerstone annuity from axa equitable part of your retirement plan. consider the charges, risks, expenses and investment objves beore purchasing aariable annuity. contact a financial professional for a prospectus containing this information. read it carefully. whoo hoo! >> reporter: >> reporter: i'm marianne rafferty. president obama signing the tax bill he negotiated. he praised the new law as a boost for the middle class extending the bush era tax cuts for two years for all income groups. the deal includes 1/3 cut in payroll taxes used to finance

social security. as well as 13 month extension of jobless benefits. >> government reporter accusing the faa as delaying important safety inspections on commercial aircraft. department of transportation reports saying serious maintenance problems go undetected because of lax procedures. the report saying the inspections are delayed for years, or focus on less critical problems. i'm marianne rafferty. now back to our special the politicians' top 10 promises gone wrong. wanna get rich?e uncle sam will give you a break on one of these. politicians' promise gone wrong number six. >> we have got to support and strengthen family-based agriculture. >> supporting family-based

agriculture is the good inteenagers. america is doing that. -- in new jersey, the most densely populated state. rose raises alpacas. >> the reason i got in i was looking for a tax shelter. >> so was this woman. >> the tax benefits are great. >> there are so many tax benefits for livestock breeding. alpacas are easy to raise. one website advertises. have uncle sam help you buy your alpacas. >> so who ends up paying for the alpacas? uncle sam. >> lots of people are getting in on it. >> i could never write it off. after purchasing the alpacas, all my toys, all of a sudden became tax write-offs. >> the alpaca breeders association asks members on a scale of 1 to 10 what motivated to you buy? more than have rated tax

benefits. >> we got it into for the tax reasons. >> they may call themselves farmers but they sound like accountants. >> cauv. >> they are valued for their fleece. >> excellent grade fleece. >> selling fleece doesn't explain the growth in alpaca raising. 25 years ago there were 150 in america. now there are 150,000. >> she has a pedigree that is solid. >> at alpaca auctions prices have gotten high. [ petering ] >> this is not necessarily a good thing. >> this llama may not like me talking this. economists at california davis warn the industry is a bubble. government is good at creating bubbles.

last year, i remembered how congress' tax credits created a bubble in golf cart sales. >> it is endless the possibilities this bill will pursue encouraging energy efficient products. >> plugs are connected to coal plans. the national research council says electric cars may be worse for the environment. no matter. >> the jobs that are going to be created. >> this car dealer advertised tree electric cars. by one for $6,000 and take the $6,000 tax credit. governor mike huckabee one. a friend of his got seven. i this one totally free. >> great for me, you taxpayers paid for it. the deal help the golf cart industry. my dealer sold 10,000 carts. the golf cart credit expire most government give aways don't. >> i fell in love with them. >> but first you fell in love with the tax break? >> yes, i have to be honest.

i might have had two, i wouldn't have 100. >> next, have you got some of these in your wallet? be careful, i hear those evil credit cardtx companies wanna rip us off. don't worry, government says, it will stop credit card abuse. that's promise gone wrong number five. >> the president: enough is enough. it is time for strong reliable protection for our consumers. >> protection, finally. congress passed the card act. a new bureaucracy that will stop credit card companies from unfairly penalizing it won't threaten the credit business. >> unless your business model depends on cutting corners or bilking your customers you have nothing to fear. >> yes you do say economists. once they couldn't penalize late pairs. >> they raised rates across the board for everybody.

>> from 13% to 15%. mortgage rates dropped a little. credit card interests went up. banks stopped offering credit to some people. jpmorgan chase cut off 15% of its customers. >> hundreds of thousands of people can't get cards who used to be get cards and rest of us have to pay more for credit. >> maybe they are better off because they couldn't handle it. >> doesn't mean they don't have credit. >> they will go to more expensive places and really get ripped off. aday lenders are -- payday lenders are businesses that make short term loans. >> i borrowed $250. >> the annual interest. this place posted clearly 521%. someplaces charge more. >> 800% interest is legal?

>> baby not, once consumer protectors get congress to ban those abusive payday loans. what elites call abuse, some consumers call a way out. >> i know people say, predatory leaning, blah, black high interest rate. if you have an emergency. >> for many people payday lenders are the only way they can avoid missing a bill pavement. >> it is not just a matter sometimes of saving money. it is a matter of saving yourself grief. why >> why done they get a credit card? i forgot these men made it tougher. >> they turn me down. >> people who have limited choices when it comes to credit are not likely to have situations up proved by taking away some of those options they have. >> the political class promised to fix credit card penalties. penalties equal less than 7% of bank's earnings they make more charging interest. politicians say they rip us off there too.

>> they could charge 200% interest they would. >> they would, but they can't this is one of the most competitive markets in america. i have four credit card, as i talk to you my credit cards are competing for my business. if one tries to rip me off or charge me too much or if they don't talk to me nice over the phone i'll switch. >> caps on rates have unintended affects. arkansas capped interest at 10%. >> few people can get a credit card in arkansas as a result. known as the pawnshop capital of america. >> pawnshop interest is often 250%. >> in the 60s the second biggest revenue source of organized crime was illegal lending. is that the world we want to go back to? where we get rid of payday lending and we are so morally outraged we are going to put people in the hands of the leg breakers and loan sharks they charged well over 1,000% and their collection techniques are tougher than your local pawnshops.

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. now promise gone wrong number four. government will give everyone health insurance, but for less money that. was a big one. [ applause ] >> this was the triumphant signing ceremony. then -- >> happy birthday to you. >> they gave the speaker a birthday celebration. look at the big smiles. they were thrilled their affordable care act would give insurance to many more people, for less money. >> can you imagine a more important birthday privilege than to be signing health care for all. >> speaker pelosi wouldn't talk to us about health care. nor would anyone from the administration. they told us to talk to ron pollack of families u.s.a.. a group that fought for obamacare. giving people all these things, doesn't that create unintended

consequences, some bad stuff? >> i don't think it creates bad stuff. it means that people can get preventive care. >> no unintended consequences coming up now many -- now? >> i don't believe that. >> i keep hearing problems. >> people being , companies fleeing the market. >> the president: if you like your plan you will be able to keep your plan. let me repeat that if you like your plan you will keep. >> principle financial has completely left the market. their one million customers will have to find insurance elsewhere. also, three insurance companies are dropping stand alone child policies. >> well point, humana, cigna has gotten out of the child-only business. >> it is less than 1% of -- >> prince financial out of the whole business.

>> fact that some marginal company -- >> a million customers, not that marginal. >> let them go out of business, not a problem. >> not a problem? >> no >> when there are what the administration considers problems, they make exceptions. >> 100 plus police officers obtained waivers which allows their workers to opt-out of the new law. >> they've given out more than 100 free pays. >> biggest waiver was for the united federation of teachers. >> if this is such a good law why did the politicians give waivers to those who kiss their ring? sounds like cronyism. >> major change needs to be made by 2014. >> more than 100, a third unions in new york city. sounds like a scam. >> that -- i think that's a misinterpretation of what is

happening. >> then, there's the cost problem. >> the president: my proposal would bring down the cost of health care. >> not so far, prices are up. >> rate increases of 1 to 9%. >> obamawear is faith-based policy making. this -- obamacare is faith-based policy making. >> maybe the problems were not unintended. maybe they meant to kill off companies and leave us with government run health insurance. if that was their intent there was still one unintended consequence. >> republicans have gained control of the house of representatives. >> next, politicians' promise number three. they are going to solve our energy problem. you know, we are running out of this. or we buy too much from arab sheiks. take your money and give it to americans who make ethanol. ethanol subsidies bring both

partiesing to. after all, americans can grow it and create -- >> a nation that is stronger, cleaner and more secure. >> one that protects our national security. safeguards our environment and promotes economic growth. ethanol, now is the time. >> no it's not. >> corn-based ethanol has been a case study in the law of unintended consequences is >> oh my tkporb something i can agree with -- oh my gosh, something i can agree with senator mccain about. >> we should not be subsidizing ethanol. >> we are trying to change america's fuel consumption pattern. >> general wesley clark now fights for ethanol. >> in 2008 we paid over 50 billion dollars to the saudi government for imported oil. >> we're still doing it even though we are paying you guys a ton. >> the point is the money paid on ethanol stays within the

american economy. >> it does, but at what cost? the cbo says for each gallon of gas replaced with ethanol we pay $178 in subsidies. at least our money stays in the country. it makes me feel good. i'm keeping the money in america. >> all these programs are designed to make people feel good. help the farmers and hurt the foreign oil producers with ethanol. we don't look at what is not seen. which is the rising price of milk, excessive amount of fertilizer and fuel that was used to produce this additional corn. >> oh yeah, good prices are higher. so much farmland now goes to corn used for ethanol. we consume lots of corn. corn syrup sweetens thousands of food. helps create the meat we eat. >> our biggest item. >> steve raises cattle is mad that feed costs more because ethanol is mandated and subsidized. >> if you want to do the same for they that you are doing

for the ethanol guy you have to mandate that every man, woman and child in america has to eat 50 pounds of beef and then you going to give me dan -- we are at the same place. >> ethanol industry wants more subsidies while talking about free market. >> you should have free market competition. >> that means no subsidies. >> exactly. >> you have been getting subsidies for years, stop. >> we are ready to transition out of subsidies. >> tomorrow? >> well, it depends. can you give us a chance, soy that americans can have a choice as to what they put in their pumps? >> by choice he means government should now pay to haves go stations install these special ethanol pumps. government didn't install gasoline pumps, entrepreneurs did. >> if the public wants it, service stations will do it. why does the taxpayer have to pay? >> it is like everything else you have to get it started. >> you are a parasite feeding

off the taxpayer stan on -- stand on your own feet. >> to do we need a fair subsidies. >> ethanol already gets billions, increase to the cost of food and isn't better for the environment than gasoline. >> corn ethanol is responsible for incredible environmental harm. >> ben works for friends of the earth. green lobby once supported ethanol. now they say. >> the environmental consequences of corn ethanol are worse than the consequences of gasoline. >> this makes no sense it was done because of you environmental groups saying don't use oil. oil is bad. >> now that we have studied corn ethanol more fully we realize it has worse consequences than gasoline. >> so whoops, we were wrong. now we can't undo it. >> we are fighting to do it. >> government programs are almost never undone.

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promise gone wrong number two: government can increase homeownership. >> we want more people owning their own home. >> some politicians promised. >> our homeownership strategy will not cost the taxpayers one extra cent. >> it hadn't worked out that way. >> experts in the housing dub point out not only did our policy cost taxpayers billions. it also -- >> killed neighborhoods it has ruined lives. it gave i'm the illusion they could afford something they couldn't. rich and poor. >> i'm told greedy bankers caused the bubble.

>> government exaggerates rather than minimizes the age old impulse to greed. the government made it harder for bankers who wanted to do the right thing. >> because of if a bank stayed with safe loans he missed out on profit he could make selling lots of high risk loans to fannie mae and freddie mac. >> if he was making good he might only earn 8% rather than 20%. maybe he loses his job at ceo. >> most damage was done through the bundling of bad loans. some was didn't by a law that requires banks to lend to does advantaged people. >> make the goal of affordable housing a goal that is obtainable for all americans. >> congress told banks, make loans in poor neighborhoods or we may not let you merge with other banks. an advocacy group uses the law to demand that banks make more loans. >> we said to banks you have to make special products that are affordable to low and

moderate income people, particularly women and minorities. any bank merging knows they have to talk us to. >> a bank that wants to american has to talk to you? >> they don't want us standing in front of their bank picketing. whether we stand up dressed as a turkey at thanksgiving and saying this bank is a turkey. >> sounds like you are running an extortion racket. give us money or we will stop your merger. >> we say lend money. >> isn't that kind of like extortion? >> the law gives us right to do it. >> even worse, government pushed mortgages that required down papers at just 3 -- 3% or less. this chart shows how those loans increased. >> having everyone own a home is not the american dream. it is the dream of the national association of realtors. >> the association wants you to take advantage of the $8,000 first time home buyers tack credit. >> did government stop subsidizing housing? >> no.

>> there's $8,000 in here. >> we haven't learned the simple lesson which is we ought to stop fiddling with the housing market. >> nor have we learned not to fiddle with the auto market and the livestock market and college sports and health care and fuel and stadiums and credit cards and all the things that government promises to make better while really making them worse. that's the number within promise gone wrong. these guys -- number one promise gone wrong. these guys say they will be fiscally responsible and we elect them and they spend us into bankruptcy. there must be 10,000 harmful programs, yet they keep creating more. why can't we cut them? every >> he have one of those 10,000 programs has a lobbyist in washington. >> each will spend big to preserve his program. >> they have tv commercials with soft music and rugged farmers. >> those lobbyists.

>> they always know when the bill is up before congress and they send political contributions. they people to washington to lobby. the rest of us don't do that. look at the tea party they say don't spend so much. they don't have signs say stop the cash for clunkers, stop the ethanol program, stop the title ix subsidies program. you can do a show on people should be more engaged and better citizens. the fact is, we have lives. and there's no way that any normal person can know about the 10,000 programs that make up the 3 1/2 trillion dollar federal budget. >> so the programs keep growing. and we must pay for their cost and their unintended consequences forever. unless there's a new wind in america. a new attitude. a new expectation that maybe washington should do less. i hear there is. i sure hope so. that's our program for tonight. i'm john stossel, hoping for a

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