Video: John Stossel Visits Hillgrove High

John Stossel, a former 20/20 anchor and the host of Stossel on the Fox Business Network, spoke to a packed band room at Thursday afternoon.

Present were teachers, community members and dozens of students, two of whom wore T-shirts with hearts around Stossel's face and held chocolate mustaches. Stossel posted a picture of him posing with the students on his Twitter account.

The visit came on day two of a tour for his newest book, No They Can't: Why Government Fails But Individuals Succeed. Stossel was invited by business teacher Billy Wilkins, who uses free educational materials provided by the Stossel in the Classroom program.

Three topics Stossel spoke on Thursday were the expansion of government since the Constitution, Social Security, and drug regulation.

To prove his point of government being too large, Stossel held up a pocket-size copy of the United States' founding laws and compared it to present-day criminal law, which he said has alone grown to 160,000 pages. New laws have expanded government from a single-digit percentage of the economy to 40 percent, he said.

When social programs for the elderly were created, the average age of death was much lower, Stossel said. So with people living longer and longer, the government won't have the money to pay out to those who have already paid in unless taxes are raised, he added.

Stossel said countries that have decriminalized drugs like marijuana have taken the "sexiness" from them. He asked the students whether it was easier to buy marijuana or alcohol underage. When the vast majority raised their hands for marijuana—followed by laughter—he said people are doing drugs regardless of legality, and it should be their decision to do with their bodies what they wish.

Do you agree with Stossel's viewpoints? Tell us in the comments.

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