Quotessence
Home / Authors / John Stossel
John Stossel

John Stossel Quotes

Reporter

Filter quotes by topic

AllGovernmentPeopleIfsGivingYearsPoliticianPoliticalAmericaChoicesConsumersIndividualProblemRegulationThinkingWayJobsKidsLittlesMeanNeeds

Famous John Stossel Quotes

“The people who run the international tests told us, "the biggest predictor of student success is choice." Nations that "attach the money to the kids" and thereby allow parents to choose between different public and private schools have higher test scores. This should be no surprise; competition makes us better.”

PeopleShouldDifferentRunningKidsSchoolChoicesNationsParentStudentsHigherTestsCompetitionSurpriseInternationalScoreStudent SuccessPrivate SchoolTest Scores
Author:John Stossel
Create image

“We like to think we're superior to the people who, centuries ago, burned 'witches' for no better reason than a neighbor's belief that his crop failure or impotence was caused by that woman's action. But reporters are still prone to the same mental errors that caused these killings: seeing patterns where there are none, finding causes where there is only coincidence, ignoring our sources' political agendas and turning scanty evidence into panic.”

PeopleThinkingStillsReasonActionPoliticalBeliefCausesSeeingCenturySourceFindingsEvidenceErrorsKillingPatternsNeighborSuperiorsAgendasWitchPanicBurnedReportersCoincidenceCropsImpotencePolitical Agendas
Author:John Stossel
Create image

“Most people are oblivious to F.A. Hayek's insight that the critical information needed to run an economy - or even 15 percent of one - doesn't exist in any one place where it is accessible to central planners. Instead, it is scattered piecemeal among millions of people. All those people put together are far wiser and better informed than Congress could ever be. Only markets - private property, free exchange and the price system - can put this knowledge at the disposal of entrepreneurs and consumers, ensuring the system will serve the people and not just the political class.”

PeopleRunningTogetherPoliticalClassMillionsEconomyInformationNeededPercentEntrepreneurPropertyCongressInsightCriticalConsumersWiserPrivate PropertyObliviousPlannersHayek
Author:John Stossel
Create image

“Politicians and bureaucrats clearly have no idea how complicated markets are. Every day people make countless tradeoffs, in all areas of life, based on subjective value judgements and personal information as they delicately balance their interests, needs and wants. Who is in a better position than they to tailor those choices to best serve their purposes? Yet the politicians believe they can plan the medical market the way you plan a birthday party.”

PeopleWayWantNeedsBelieveIdeasPurposeValuesChoicesInterestPartyPlansInformationPositionBalancePoliticianAreasComplicatedMedicalNo IdeaJudgementSubjectiveBureaucratsTailorsBirthday PartyNeeds And WantsPersonal Information
Author:John Stossel
Create image

“People vastly overestimate the ability of central planners to improve on the independent action of diverse individuals. What I've learned watching regulators is that they almost always make things worse. If regulators did nothing, the self-correcting mechanisms of the market would mitigate most problems with more finesse. And less cost.”

PeopleIfsSelfProblemActionIndividualAbilityCostIndependentI've LearnedMechanismDiverseCorrectingPlannersOverestimateRegulatorsFinesse
Author:John Stossel
Create image