John Stossel is once again being a git, a snot, and pushing his agenda and views on the public and not making a news report.
John Stossel is once again being a git, a snot, and pushing his agenda and views on the public and not making a news report, and doing it with condescending comments that belittle his viewers.…
Article comments
26 - Dave Nalle
Stossel is trying to make a point which is generally counter to the accepted wisdom. He presents the accepted position and then the evidence to counter it. It's a very simple, straightforward format, not necessarily requiring the examination of a third or 4th perspective.
Dave
27 - JELIEL³
So we should take what he says at face value? Like the organic food report he made?
28 - Dave Nalle
I certainly think he's more trustworthy than most people you can find in the media. Does he make mistakes? Sure. He's human. But I don't think he's going out of his way to spread misinformation.
Dave
29 - JELIEL³
A mistake would be having the wrong information or misinterpreting it.
I think that making up sources and references is going out of his way to spread misinformation.
Dave, are you what we call an apologist?
30 - ss
Yeah, but going back to the plutonium example, you can see where presenting a breezily researched fact, in isolation, to support a narrative you've already decided on, can actually lead to the wrong conclusion.
Other than political content, how is it different when a Libertarian and a Lefty rabble rouser misuse essentially the same medium to twist facts in essentially the same way?
31 - JELIEL³
Yup SS, it's not like only one side will manipulate facts or like Stossel, make them up, to come to the desired conclusions. That's a lack of ethics and integrity.
32 - dnray
nice argument. you are useing stossles present and deminish truths to liers to get your argumnt.
Fuuny. i thought you were against him.
p.s. i,m new not dave
33 - liza
5-24-06
To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Liza and I am a Middle School teacher in Boynton Beach, Florida. I am compelled to write this letter because I feel absolutely enraged after watching the recent 20/20 show entitled, 10 Common American Myths, Beliefs and Downright Stupidity. There are many aspects of this particular episode that troubled me. The segment that introduced this new notion, that it is actually a myth that teachers in America are being underpaid especially angered me.
John Stossel’s report was an absolute gross overgeneralization of some teachers’ salaries. I thought his strategy of interviewing and asking disgruntled, tenured, teachers who were protesting in the streets of high paying teaching states was an extremely weak-kneed and convenient tactic. Did it ever occur to him that not all U.S states pay teachers the same salary? The state of Florida ranks 49th in the country for a typical teachers salary schedule. To add insult to injury, the state of Florida is a right to work state hence teachers don’t have the luxury to strike like they do in more progressive states.
I have been teaching for 5 years and make $2,100 a month, (take home salary), and I have my pay stubs to prove it. Did John Stossel take into consideration the rising costs of real estate and gas prices for a young, single individual like myself? His report was not a fair or an even remotely accurate representation of all teachers. What about the younger generation of teachers? The new generation of teachers that are struggling to pay off student loans. The teachers that must contend with the rising cost of real estate and all the challenges that comes with purchasing their first home.
I am incredibly offended and disturbed by such flippant reporting. I would like to invite him to interview me. To review my bank statements and tax returns. To look at my account balance in the bank. I am living from paycheck to paycheck. I cannot afford to buy a home, let alone put money into a savings account. In addition, I was not given a $5,000 sign on bonus the district promised me when I signed on to work for a Title1 School. I am not getting paid for my second credential. Unfortunately, they don’t offer reciprocity for more than one credential in the state of Florida like they do in other States. States like your fair city of New York and California. I have even gone to my union to try to make changes. I have made absolutely no progress in this complacent state.
I would like to invite John Stossel to give teachers in the state of Florida a voice. He owes that to the teachers whose voices are not being heard. Obviously, I don’t expect him or 20/20 to dignify me with a response. No, that would go against the very grain of irresponsible journalism. I just hope that 20/20 is cognizant of the harm they are creating with their misguided information. I am not only affronted by this preposterous report, I am deeply saddened by it. I already feel so incredibly helpless on so many levels. I have wasted so much energy already attempting to make changes, all for nothing.
This type of publicity just perpetuates my deep frustration with the public school system, which I do plan on leaving. Yes, I am, indeed, guilty of wanting the American dream just like everyone else- (homeownership, money to travel, etc.) John Stossel does not realize or acknowledge how many job vacancies there are just in the state of Florida. Florida is no longer a state of retirees; we are an increasingly growing state. We are in the midst of a baby boom and young families are transplanting at exponentially rates. Teachers are moving out of state because they can no longer afford to live here. John has over-simplified a very complex problem. I hope he realizes the affects of his ill-founded, ignorant and erroneous reporting. What you say to the American people affects the American People.
I ask you John Stossel for an explanation! I am sure you would rather bury your head in the sand than defend such half-cocked, irresponsible, and unsubstantial reporting. Do your homework John Stollsel! Get all the facts in!!!!! You obviously don’t see the entire picture and that in my opinion, is downright stupid!
A very disenchanted teacher
Liza
34 - JELIEL³
My heart goes out to you Liza and you pretty much prove my point of Stossel's agenda even more. He reports what fits his vision only or he will make fit into his vision. Pretty amateurish work. Fox should hire him.
I hope your dream of owning a home and travel come true for you Liza
35 - Dave Nalle
I have to point out that although we can all feel sympathy for Liza, her salary is wildly atypical for teachers in the US. The statistics bear out Stossel's report, not her particular case. Her salary after 5 years is still lower than the national average starting salary for teachers. It's an anomaly rather than anything by which teacher salaries as a whole can be judged.
Dave
36 - JELIEL³
I love how you chose to exclude variables from equations to get your desired result, which is winning an argument at all costs(and getting the last word).
1- Can't count the top bread-winners - Check
2- Can't count newbie teacher salaries - Check
3- What will be next?
37 - Dave Nalle
Jeliel, her example is an anecdotal example. When you look at trends you DO have to ignore the extremes and focus on the averages. And what I said was that her salary as an experienced teacher is lower than the average starting teachers salary nationwide, and not just by a little bit, by a huge amount. That's an extremely anomalous salary. She could move to a hundred different school districts around the country and instantly earn substantially more with her qualifications, plus she'd be out of the most overpriced realestate market in the country as well. She can move to Austin, for example, where they are hiring in every area in all of the local school districts and with her experience and extra certification she would immediately start at almost double her current, at $3800 a month.
The starting yearly salary for teachers nationwide averages about $32,000. That's substantially higher than other professions with similar qualifications. The average starting salary for someone with a MA in a non-technical field is only $28,000. The average salary for all teachers nationwide is about $45,000.
Plus I'm pretty sure she's lying, working only part time, or is some sort of NEA plant. Boynton Beach is in the Palm Beach ISD which is a fairly well paid school district. The average salary there is $46,000 a year and the lowest starting salary in the district is $33,494 a year. Based on her description of her experience and qualifications her salary should actually be around $4000 a month, not the $2100 she describes. Ok, that's not counting taxes - take out withholding and she's still taking home at least $3000.
Something fishy there.
Dave
38 - Dave Nalle
Oh, and if you have any doubts about this, here's a link to a PDF of salaries in her district.
Dave
39 - SteveS
John Stossel lost what little credibility he had left when he tried to rationalize price gouging and wanted to pretend global warming doesn't exist. Even Bush, the decider, knows it exists.
40 - JELIEL³
That's because not everything fits neatly into a nice little box. There's far more to consider than take home pay. So many variables.
And NEA plant? HOLY CRAP and I thought it was folks on the left that were supposed to be paranoid conspiracists.
41 - JELIEL³
JUNIOR knows about global warming, he just thought he could ignore it.
42 - Dave Nalle
Jeliel, what's your answer to her knowledge of her own salary being so divergent from the facts?
And you think the NEA doesn't have people out on the net trying to top anyone who disagrees with their agenda. Trust me, they do. They hold seminars on it.
Dave
43 - JELIEL³
I don't know, it would be mere speculation on my part. Like I said to many variables. Speculation is a dangerous game.
Yes and if I were paranoid I'd say you're some right-wing think-tank plant.
44 - Dave Nalle
I'll take that as a compliment, Jeliel.
Dave
45 - JELIEL³
There's no doubt that you have your wits about you Dave, but I still disagree ;-)
46 - Nancy
Stossel panders to the lowest, most brainless (but alas, most prevalent) segments of American society, who believe anything anyone on TV tells them as long as they say it with enough authority. He's a natural to work for the White House.
47 - ian
Interesting conversations but it must be said...is it "price gouging" or is it "supply and demand". Sure you can set a fixed price and punish anyone who charges more but then...your supply is gone.
Gasoline in the 70's anyone?
Also, there's little to doubt about a warming globally, what's in doubt is the source of the warming. Is it natural? Is it being substantially influenced by our emissions? 30 years ago the rallying cry of the environmentalists was that a new ice age was coming as temps subtly dropped and we needed to stop using fossil fuels. Now it's warming is coming and...we need to stop using fossil fuels. I'd be interested to find out what the cry will be if the temps start falling globally again.
Additionally, while those who support the global warming side of things state that anyone who questions it is a tool of corporate interests one should just as well question all of those scientists who say global warming is a coming catastrophe. What are their areas of expertise, are they doing studies, and if so, what is their funding reliant on? Bad news? Good news? It's not all black & white. Certainly the environment is far more complex than we understand and to claim that we fully understand how it works and what will or will not happen is sheer hubris.
That is all.
48 - Rodny Goldstein
I truly believe that you and John Stossel are both pushing your own agendas. In the end he just has a bigger and broader voice than yours. His views open doors for further debate, whereas yours point out personal opinion. And that is exactly what he hopes to achieve. It really doesn't matter what he thinks about anything. As long as he can get you to speak then his job is done-- and done very well.
RG
49 - Sharon Horsford
Hi John, I do enjoy watching 20/20 when it is something really interesting,for instance the last show I watched was about folks that do not believe in god. Now some people called these people evil or bad because they had no proof what-so-ever that there is a god and they spoke truthfully. What do you call people like the BTk killer among many others that say they believe in god and kill people? Some of those people that dont believe there is a god is not going around causing people harm. Believing in god is a choice,it's also a comforting thought because we do not have all the answers & we do not know for sure where we are going when we die,it's just explanations that's being handed down throughout generations. No paster,minister or priest can with certainty say that they know after death what happens. No one never came back from the dead to tell or show us. That part of life seem to be an unsolvable mystery,how this all started and after you die is that it? Please have another discussion on that subject.