Here to 'Help'

John Stossel on Jun 10, 2026

Politicians promise they'll "help" us.

President Donald Trump says he'll "create the jobs and future you deserve."

President Joe Biden liked to say, "Help is on the way."

I prefer President Ronald Reagan's: "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

An economy runs best when government gets out of the way and lets free market competition work.

Economist Donald Boudreaux gets that, and it's why "The Triumph of Economic Freedom" is the title of his new book.

Boudreaux explains in my new video: "The more we move away from free markets, the worse things become."

Biden's spending increased inflation, and his administration gave billions of dollars to politically connected companies like Intel.

Now, Trump's doing similar things.

"Free markets are on the ropes now," says Boudreaux. "It's really important that people step back, look at economic history ... they'll see that we prosper more the more economically free we are."

Now, people blame greed and free markets for the high cost of housing and daycare.

"Housing is rising in prices chiefly because of government!" says Boudreaux. "Land use restrictions reduce the supply and restrict building. Rent control reduces the supply of rental housing ... Daycare is riddled with government regulations, which raises the cost of those things."

Houses and daycare would be cheaper and better if capitalists were allowed to freely serve their customers without government intrusion.

Likewise, AI will lower costs, but it will also eliminate jobs, so ignorant politicians like Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) want laws to protect existing jobs. Bad idea, says Boudreaux.

"Some jobs are destroyed, but others are created. The jobs created tend to be better ... If we had today the same technology we had 40 years ago, the only web designers would have eight legs ... Our living standards rise as a result of these innovations ... People might not like change, but you can't get economic growth without it."

Some politicians want to tell stores how many self-checkout lanes they're allowed and how many employees must work at registers.

"How does government know the 'right' number of workers in any business?! That's up to those businesses," says Boudreaux. "It's in their interest to run their companies as efficiently as possible, which keeps down prices. When government does things like this, that's going to raise the prices."

Seattle's new socialist mayor Katie Wilson says she'll help people by making sure they have more leisure time.

"You should have time to read a book and lay on the grass," she says. "We need bread. But we need roses, too."

"Pretty words," laughs Boudreaux, "but what business is it of government to decide how people should spend their time? That's an individual decision. Why should government put its finger on the scale?"

"To make life nicer," I say.

"If I want to work more, you're making life worse for me, not nicer. I can smell the roses on my own time."

Mayor Wilson also says, "We cannot allow giant grocery chains to ... close stores at will and leave behind food deserts."

"What she's proposing," replies Boudreaux, "is to prevent stores from closing or downsizing. Once she does that, she'll find that fewer stores will move in. The long-run effect will be fewer grocery stores in Seattle."

Politicians' belief that they know better how to help people sometimes leads to absurd ideas, like a Minnesota legislator's plan to study the "benefits of shoplifting" because "perhaps people are relying on that ... maybe it's assisting them."

"Let's then also study the benefits of pickpocketing, armed robbery and burglary," replies Boudreaux. "After all, those people get income from that."

"These politicians just want to be kind," I push back.

"It's not kind to people victimized by shoplifting. (It) raises the cost of operating grocery stores ... which raises grocery prices that low-income families have to pay."

More often than not, government tries to help but makes things worse.

Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of "Government Gone Wild: Exposing the Truth Behind the Headlines."

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