Economist Milton Friedman has died.

The Wall Street Journal (Excerpt) (Subscription required) ^ | November 16, 2006

[fnord]

A big loss. He was smart and observant even in later years. He stood head and shoulders above what passed for economic thinking nowadays.

I majored in Economics because of Friedman and Hayek. Such clear thinking and writing in a muddled field (and world).

[Brian Allen]

<< Include me in your defiance but that's exactly the way the collectivists envision their success. >>

By their actions you will know them.

Or: (In the case of the collectivists) Evil is as Evil does!

Meanwhile I'm off to Galt's Gulch for a burger and a shake.

[West Coast Conservative]

If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals -- if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is. --Ronald Reagan

[duckbutt]

Not necessarily - - he had a wonderful student and was a grand mentor to Thomas Sowell - - no lightweight, he!

Also, the likes of Walter Williams are in the same vein.

Hopefully, the voices of economic reason will continue to be heard - -

PJ

[steve8714]

A great man and champion of freedom.

[Chesterbelloc]

This one hurts. Godspeed, Milton, you were a great man.

[Ancesthntr]

Rest in peace, Milton. I hope that his family can find some comfort for their loss in the fact that he lived a long life and very positively touched many people and affected public policy. He was one of the giants of his field, and he will be sorely missed.

[proud_yank]

Oh no. There is no question that he touched the lives of many, and his ideas helped improve the world. Rest in Peace Friend.

[AnnaZ]

Sad news. A great man, and a great legacy.

[stacytec]

A friend of capitalism. I will miss him.

[stacytec]

Thanks for the reminder on who the real enemy of freedom in ths country is. That link needs multiple bumps.

PJ, for your review on how the DU honors a dead man ala wooden stake thru heart.

[AmishDude]

He probably couldn't take all the minimum wage plus automatic increases legislation that passed this year.

Take heart, Milt, they will learn the hard way.

[riverdawg]

" .. the payroll withholding system he developed (while he was still a Keynesian) ..."

I think it was Albert G. Hart, then a professor of economics at Iowa State, who first put forward what subsequently became the 1943 withholding law. Hart's testimony before Congress was in January 1941, before Friedman started working at Treasury. Friedman was on the Treasury's tax-research staff which evaluated various withholding proposals, including Hart's. I remember reading an interview with Friedman (in Reason magazine, I recall) in which he defended withholding as an emergency wartime measure, but regretted that it was not repealed after the war.

[alwaysconservative]

RIP to one of the most brilliant men--ever. Prayers and condolences to his family.

[dfwgator]

That statement makes me what to grab a cross and some holy water. Bite your tongue.

Believe me, I'm no Keynsian, but that's what both parties are today.

[FreedomProtector]

I once had Milton Friedman as a "substitute" professor. We were all amazed when he walked in.

What an honor for you! Although I was not an economics major, I had Walter E. Williams as professor for 390 Economics and Public Policy as part of my undergraduate education. To fit into a crammed schedule for my chosen field of study and to to meet the prerequisites, I had to take an intersession class. The extra effort and expense was well worth it. Walter E. Williams taught half of the classes. He also serves on Grove City College's Board of Trustees. It is fun whenever he fills in for Rush....if I close my eyes, it feels like the good times of college all over again 8^).

[Stag_Man]

Well what do you expect them to say about a man that showed them to be the morons that they are and won a Nobel prize in doing so?

[clintonh8r]

He was the rarest: a genius with common sense and a big heart.

[Matchett-PI]

"Friedman was NOT a conservative. He was a libertarian thinker."

He was a "classical" liberal. Marcusian Marxists coopted the term "liberal". Since they have made that word anathma, they've shunned it in favor of the word, "progressive". Their efforts to hide who they really are, only works so far.

[facedown]

BTTT for a great mind.