A while ago, I blogged about reason.tv and libertarian comedian Drew Carey’s documentary on the reasons behind the decline of the city of Cleveland.

Well, it turns out that the city council officials in Cleveland took note of Carey’s video as well. So much so, that they invited Carey and reason.tv Editor-in-Chief Nick Gillespie to a meeting to discuss the revitalization ideas they put forth in the documentary.

Unsurprisingly, city council members try to defend Cleveland as a great city, arguing that its problems are not as big as is being claimed. But from the 10-min clip, it quickly becomes clear that the city’s leaders and bureaucrats are reluctant to significantly recede from regulating Cleveland’s economic and social existence and instead leave it to, what Friedrich Hayek so marvelously described as the spontaneous order that arises from the voluntary interactions of many individuals. That said, there are a few bright spots in the video, such as when one city councilman mentions his shift to endorsing more freedom in education through a voucher program.

You can watch the video of the meeting below: