Peter Schiff Gets Ambushed By Lawrence O'Donnell On Health Care

Health care reform is not explicitly within our purview, but this clip was interesting if only for the ambush.  A reader pointed out on youtube that O'Donnell was off TV for a year for calling a guest a liar.  Not sure if that's true, but his attitude with Schiff in this clip is definitely not pleasant.

Watch

MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell with Peter Schiff.  (Hat tip to Allison for alerting us to this clip.)

Comments

[Bryan]

That wasn't an ambush. That was a frontal attack. What an SOB O'Donnell is, making up statements and then quoting them back as fact? What yellow journalism. Media journalism is a disgrace on MSNBC.

[Morton]

That was painful to watch.
It was very childish.

But Schiff is wrong.

The Free market didn't do much for your banking system did it?
Why do you want big business to run something as important as you health care (and education)?

If you give people (the public) tax breaks like Schiff says. What do you think that the public will spend the money on?

More chocolate, bigger SUV's and crappy morgages.

The public responds to advertising and simple stimulus. It is important to big business that the public remain comatose and docile.

What Schiff wants is for big business to dictate policy in America, not consensus. He just wants the lobbyists and advertisers to run the country.
A case of, he who shouts loudest. Just like that clip.

[DailyBail]

Morton.

As you know, I enjoy live confrontations, which is why I post these types of clips.

[James Street]

Schiff is guilty of reducing everything to a few simple ideas such as "let the free market take care of ..." He might as well say, "Whatever God wills ...." People who face reality with more honesty see a much more complicated world without easy solutions, either moral, economic or political.
Unfortunately, people with simplistic ideas can often influence great crowds of human beings and lead them down very dangerous paths while more honest people stand by and watch, with their hands tied behind their backs with the ropes of their very honesty and intelligence. At that point, all moral, political and economic dilemmas start to look like the choice between Machiavelli and Pollyanna. I'm afraid we reached that point in America at least a few years ago, and maybe without even noticing it.

[Lineflat]

You know, this 'journalist' is the same guy that says these people who are shouting down the dems at the town halls are not "letting a discussion take place." How ironic, and hypocritical. Idiot.

[James H]

Sorry, guys, but I think Peter Schiff is exactly right about health care and letting the market work. Formulating that solution is indeed simple, but true simple-mindedness takes the form of thinking that the government can somehow centrally plan an entire industry, or it's cost structure (which amounts to nearly the same thing). There isn't a "health care crisis" in this country any more than there is a sliced bread crisis, or a cell phone crisis, or a Volvo service technician crisis. One of Schiff's key points is that we don't have "insurance," generally speaking. We have a convoluted pre-purchase plan for health care services in which the consumers generally don't pay the full costs of their consumption. We already have socialized medicine in this country - at least to the extent that it's bankrupting us. It's the HMO system, together with govt. reimbursement schemes that makes health care costs, not just sky high, but irrational from an economic perspective. The key driver of costs is the disconnect between the person who consumes and the institution footing the bill. In the 1950's, you could have a baby for a couple of hundred dollars. Now it costs SOMEONE -- not usually the mother and father -- thousands of dollars. That's not simply inflation, either. And for those who say that we have much better, more sophisticated medicine now than in the 1950's and that it should therefore cost more, I say you don't know much about economics. Look at computers. You could build a living-room sized computer in the 1950's at enormous cost -- and yet, a $300 laptop will outperform it. The problem with health care costs is primarily a result of govt mandated coverage. Saying the free market is a simplistic solution is a product of superstition about health care as being somehow "special." Economically speaking, it isn't. No more than food or water are "special." Schiff's views may be simplistic in political terms, but not in economic terms. And, of course, there's no reason under the sun that free-market medicine can't coexist with free or inexpensive health care for the poor. Under a free market system, it would be far cheaper, too. Right now, people conflate questions of cost with questions of providing for the poor, and they conflate health care costs in general with the costs of insuring against unforseen illness. This isn't a bailout issue, per se, but if we stay on the Medicare/Medicaid path, or especially if we veer off onto Obama-care road, we will certainly see national bankruptcy.

[InWestor]

Wow, there's 8 1/2 minutes of my life I won't get back. Lawrence O'Donnell is perhaps the worst interviewer I've ever seen. WTF? Schiff does have a simplistic view on the situation, but I feel it is right on. The government can't take care of everything (anything). Let capitalism prevail. Throwing money at these situations is just adding fuel to the fire and postponing the inevitable pain that has to come. As far as health care goes, Peter does make an interesting point about insurance being for big ticket items/losses and not your every day expenses. And if you think health care is expensive now, wait until it's free.

I had a luncheon today with Senator Luger and he touched on the health care topic. He mentioned that not one scenario that has been drawn up so far for health care reform has been a net savings. Every plan has cost the government money that it doesn't have to implement change. Since we already have a huge deficit, that means we would have to borrow more money. Did you notice the Chinese have missed out on the last few Treasury auctions and that they would like inflation protection on the bonds they do buy?

[Gobias Bluth]

7 minutes of a pontificating twaddle by Lawrence O’Donnell & 1 and a half of common sense from Peter. MSNBC is a leftist organization that needs some journalistic manners. Let your guest talk you twit. So, you only really wasted 7 minutes of your time and now so have I.

[DailyBail]

Good points, Inwestor...the Chinese are staying away from our debt and instead buying up the natural resources that will be needed for teh next century...read this...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124990326465819175.html

[Ain't Bullshittin']

The Devil ALWAYS collects....We have sold our Nations soul and are having to pay for it. China is not so bad...is it? Payback is a b*itch!

[Andy]

WTF?? If it hadn't had the msnbc logo I would have believed it was a parody. I mean seriously, who the hell is this guy? I was actually mad at points because Schiff started to make great points but couldnt finish his sentence. unbelieveable.

[Jim]

"The Journalist" demonstrated that he is not a journalist but a paid big government propaganda bs artist. Typical of someone who doesn't listen never has and never will. There was absolutely zero value to this interview because "the journalist" would not shut the F up. Thanks for nothing.

[Paul_in_SC]

Another sterling example of why no one watches MSNBC. Hey Lawrence, demagogue much?

[roblow]

msnbc is all propaganda if you didnt know already

[roblow]

Just look at the governments track record: would you live in gov housing? NO.

Do you like your retirement plan (social security) NO

Does Medicare cover all expenses? and do you like it? NO

Do you like the education in the public school system? NO

Would you like to apply to work for the gov with the present problems of layoffs and furloughs? NO

The U.S. constitution, Declaration of independence, Bill of rights not only protects us from foreign countries but the tyranny of our government.

If you don't know much about universal health care talk to people who are from countries that have it and see what they say about it, friends on mine amaze me when they told me its horrible, i couldn't believe it because i had watched the "Sicko" movie and thought it was a good thing, until my friends from countries with universal health care told me America has the best health care and my wife who's worked in health care for over 10 yrs told me the government needs to stop their antics of messing with health care and the insurance companies policies need reform without messing with the quality of health care we already have.

When this universal health care passes and starts to be implemented many people will die under this new health care system, if you look at the statistics of how long people live when diagnosed with cancer in these countries who have universal health care, the people usually die within one year.

Have you ever stood in line at the DMV? its usually horribly long, but what would happen if the Gov gave everyone free cars? The lines would be a lot worst RIGHT? Well this was the response my friends told me that the people usually die waiting to be treated because the lines are so long, most of the time these people come to America and pay to be treated, so what happens when this QUALITY of service is gone in America?

This reform is actually to kill off the baby boomer's that are retiring soon, because they will put a lot of stress on the social security and Medicare. Also thats why the media is scaring everyone to take the H1N1 flu shot because it will end up killing them under this new reformed health care bill, because flu shots is how you kill off the population. The flu shot does not work or ever did, if you look and do your homework without bias just base on the evidence you'll see it too.

[Keri]

This interview was painful to watch. Lawrence O"Donnell should be ashamed of himself. Peter Schiff is right. Anytime the government interferes the cost goes up. The government cure is worse than the disease.

[LawyerATL]

I love how every time Schiff starts making a great argument or addressing a point, O'Donnell cuts him off.

Talk about being afraid of opposition, right?

[DailyBail]

Right.

[Benny and the Talibanks]

Good job, Peter.

Peter crushed this guy in the debate. I would love to see Dodd on this show, no way Dodd could hang with a smart a$$ MSNBC media clown.

[Louis Paquette]

If Lawrence already had his mind completely made up and had no intention of even letting Peter answer the questions - why bother having him on in the first place.

That was disgusting!

[Jim B.]

This is the first and the last time I will listen to anything lfrom MSNBC. Talk about an idiot, and to think they pay him to dribble this stuff. Yuck

[DailyBail]

jim...o'donnell is a shill...but Dylan Ratigan is on MSNBC and fighting the good fight...it's not the network...it's the people...

Ratigan = good

O'Donnell = bad

[Monica Miller]

Lawrence O'Donnell should be a ditch digger! He certanliy can't do an interview!! Peter is the best man for Connecticut, I would love to see him in Obama's place. At least we would have an honest man at the top.

[DailyBail]

I hope Schiff does well against blumenthal but i'm not expecting him to win...he would have destroyed chris dodd...

[hahahh]

ahahahahahahahahahaahah this is hilarious

[Dave]

I've never heard of Lawrence O'Donnell before as I am in the UK, but if he had behaved like that on British TV on a Monday evening he wouldn't have been working on Tuesday morning. Beyond disgraceful!

[URALLMISSINGREALITY]

is the issue here that O'D was rude or that Schiff is a pr**k. so he didn't get an easy time on tv. big deal they probable went straight to lunch and/ or dinner after that performance. when is the american public going to learn that tv and the very talking heads and personalities are all part of a grand theatre. nothing comes out of nothing.. it's all noise but they all get to shake on it in the end..while U IDIOTS complaining on how hard Schiff got it get to drive on a broken down infrastructure past many decaying infrastructure to work in a bankrupt infrastructure (for those still at work).

when are the plebs going to revolt?!

[rydyvy]

Never heard such nonsense in my life. The US healthcare system is so expensive because of government????????? Peter Shit is a free market Darwinist that would throw poor patients to the sea. Look at the stats. Only the US spends 15% of GDP on healthcare in the World because it is FREE F MARKET....the rest of the world spends about 7% - 8%...and life expectancy is much higher...so much crap Peter greedy of the greed