The Economics of the Police State | Thomas E. Woods, Jr.

Recorded at the Mises Circle Southwest Regional in Houston, 18 January 2014. Includes an introduction by Jeff Deist.

In the modern United States, federal laws are now so numerous and written so broadly and vaguely, that it is nearly impossible to make it through the day without breaking at least one of them. And through it all, an enormous government apparatus of prisons, prosecutors, police, and bureaucrats remains well-funded, powerful, and nearly impossible to oppose in court.

Music by Kevin MacLeod.

[miinyoo]

Have to tip my hat. Dr. Woods has an excellent way with flowing around and orating masterfully crafted speeches.  No politician alive could do that on his own quite like he can.

No wonder no one wants to debate him. They'd all cut off their ears and gouge their eyes just to escape the severely embarrassing, searing common sense and topical eloquence.

It's a thing of beauty.

[soapbxprod]

I have listened to this six times and back again! As an Objectivist, and a member of the NH FREE STATE PROJECT- please allow me to say GOD BLESS YOU Dr. Woods!

[Lurker]

Wish Tom would win the Peace Prize. What a great example for people. A great educational resource to.

[RIFLEMANJOHNWAYNE]

Probably my favorite Tom Woods speech. So perfectly layed out and direct to the point, and explained unapologetically.

[soapbxprod]

Thomas Woods is the finest man who ever breathed... Murray Rothbard is smiling wherever he is! I LOVE YOU MAN! :)

[LexpressionQc]

Sometimes it's hard to be libertarian as a millenial, people just don't care about politics and stuff that matters. I wish i could speak out like tom woods does to debamboozle everybody!

[freedom_aint_free]

Sometime ago, I think that was in mid past year, I wrote in SurvivalDoc's commentary section, that the U.S were becoming each day, more and more looking like a third world country, well, I'm Brazilian, and I know what a third world country look like, specially a Banana Republic style, and I was totally morally lynched by his followers, (and himself to a certain degree).
Well, sometime after that the RT news aired a program with a economist that were talking exactly what I wrote in that channel (SurvivalDoc), and right now, Tom Woods is speaking (in his words) exactly about this; all what is turning US in a Police State, here in Brazil occurs since the 1960's, when the US baked a Military Coup d'etat here, (as they did in most of South America...) that endured almost 30 years, and even today, as a very bad souvenir of this era, we do have Military Police.

[muskduh]

I really like Tom Woods after having discovered him in an economics lecture on YouTube!

[CurtHowland]

In the 4 years since this video was made, the New Hampshire "Bearcats" (yes, more than one) have been used for such emergencies as auto accidents, drug raids on peaceful people, and parades.

[irthorbits]

This is awesome. I remember talking about this with prof. woods 10 years ago.

[ericthered]

Statistically, now, the annual dollar amount of asset forfeitures exceeds the amount for all burglaries combined.

[GooglFascists]

Did that total of all stolen property include PROPERTY STOLEN BY GOV'T?

[dillonwillliams]

"Let's debamboozle everybody." 

[johnzook]

Another excellent speech by Tom woods.
The war on drugs, like the other wars the government has declared, is just another in the long line of failures in one sense of the word but in another sense very successful in that it increase the power of state to the point where we now live under a militarized police state that is now destroying the lives of innocent people through civil asset forfeiture and out of control SWAT raids that all to often result in tragedy.
This war has become big business. Everything needed to "combat drugs" is a for profit
initiative for which all that profit is spread out among the states in order to make sure this Golden Goose continues on forever.
Unfortunately when certain members of the government are themselves so deeply involved in drug trafficking, not only from Colombia but from Afghanistan as well, it become a very real problem and that problem is how do we arrest and convict those who for now appear to be untouchable from prosecution?
Since we, that is most of us here recognize the war on drugs is a fraud, we then need to take the necessary steps to put an end to this fraud as is being done in Colorado, Oregon and California and is now spreading to other states. This is how it is done: at the grassroots level. Not in Washington where the high powered lobbyists with briefcases filled with money bribe the people you elected, in turn end up treating you like a potential criminal all for the profit margin.
Welcome to America's version of the police state.

[marcorubio]

I've watched and listened to this video several times, and every time at 19:25 when he says that Nixon claimed that heroin addicts were engaging in 365 million burglaries, I can't contain my laughter. 

[OnlookerfromTroy]

Outstanding as usual, Tom. Keep spreading the word. Eventually rational thought will win out; though it will no doubt take a long hard slog.

[kavihwilliams]

It would be awesome for misesmedia to post links to the documents of Mr. Woods's talk, so I can check the facts and share them. Excellent talk, by the way. Thank you for posting.

[CreightonBrown]

I've read Rollback. It really is his best book. 

[RobertJohnson_Zeppo]

Birmingham, Waco, Kent State, MOVE bombing, etc... The red thread... Uniforms.

[keatonsmith]

I'm planning on voting for Adam Kokesh for president in 2020. I really want him to appoint Tom Woods as his secretary of education. Abolish the federal government, but supply the states with some truth before we dissolve the presidency.