Economist Milton Friedman has died.

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

[HAL9000]

BREAKING NEWS: Economist Milton Friedman has died. Full story to follow shortly.

[TexCon]

As a U of Chicago student I'm glad to see firsthand the effects of this great man on our society today. I pray that great men like him advocating the need for economic liberty rise up in this 21st century.

[Lancey Howard]

May Milton Friedman rest in peace.
Thankfully, his words and works will live on.

[Dog Gone]

Leftist political economist of a dismal pseudo science.

Proving you know nothing about either.

[george76]

Thanks. This another one of my favorites, too.

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It was Friedman who in 1962, with the publication of "Capitalism and Freedom," first proposed the abolition of Social Security, not because it was going bankrupt, but because he considered it immoral.

Friedman calls Social Security, created by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935, a Ponzi game.

Charles Ponzi was the 1920s Boston swindler who collected money from "investors" to whom he paid out large "profits" from the proceeds of later investors. The scheme inevitably collapses when there are not enough new entrants to pay earlier ones.

That Social Security operates on a similar basis is not really in dispute.

The biggest misconception about the program, he argues, is that workers believe it works like insurance, with the government depositing taxes in a trust fund.

"I've always thought it disgraceful that the government should be essentially lying about what it was doing," he said.

He calls himself an innate optimist, despite the unpopularity of many of his ideas.

When he moved to San Francisco in the 1970s, the city was debating rent control, he recalled.

So he wrote a letter to The Chronicle saying, "Anybody who has examined the evidence about the effects of rent control, and still votes for it, is either a knave or a fool."

What happened? "They immediately passed it," he laughed.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/06/05/ING9QD1E5Q1.DTL&sn=156&sc=587

[reg45]

He just about killed Keynesian economics.

Actually it was the Keynesian's who killed Keynesian economics. They tried it and proved its worth (or lack thereof).

[RussP]

I read "Capitalism and Freedom" and "Free to Choose," and I had great respect for good ol' "Uncle Milt."

I did hear him say that he did not consider himself a conservative. I think he was more of a "libertarian," but you need to be careful with that label because it means different things to different people.

I know that Friedman favored legalization of drugs, but the problem is that if you legalize drugs you also need to hold people responsible for their own choices -- which means that you do NOT provide government subsidized "recovery" programs. So I'm sure Milton would say that you should not legalize drugs unless you also eliminate goverment-subsidized rehabilitation programs. So-called "liberals" (i.e., Leftists) would never go for that, of course.

Another thing I found interesting is that, if I am not mistaken, Friedman recently (i.e., in the past few years) came out in favor of government-subsidized catastrophic health insurance. That surprized me at first, but it makes sense. No, we're not talking here about a Hillary-style "cradle-to-grave" national health care program. We're only talking about *catastrophic* health insurance. The justification is that we essentially provide it already for uninsured people, so we might as well provide for everybody.

Anyway, I thought that was interesting. The question of where "catastrophic" coverage begins is certainly to be a difficult one to agree on, however.

[Lazamataz]

The world got a little dumber tonight.

RIP, Milton.

[HAL9000]

I know that Friedman favored legalization of drugs, but the problem is that if you legalize drugs you also need to hold people responsible for their own choices -- which means that you do NOT provide government subsidized "recovery" programs.

The cost of the "recovery" programs are a minor issue compared to the "welfare" programs.

[muir_redwoods]

"Brilliant economist. However, few Americans would agree with his libertarian take on politics."

Only the smartest few

[RussP]

"The cost of the "recovery" programs are a minor issue compared to the "welfare" programs."

That's probably true. So to remain true to libertarian principles, you cannot legalize drugs unless you also eliminate welfare. I think Friedman would agree with that.

Unfortunately, I think many people get it exactly backwards. I generally like Bill O'Reilly, for example, but he thinks we should crack down hard on drug usage but provide government-run rehabilitation programs.

On a related topic, I once heard Friedman say that he would generally be for open borders except for the fact that we have a welfare system that attracts unproductive immigrants. Get rid of welfare (and similar hand-out programs), and the borders take care of themselves, more or less.

[TEEHEE]

So to remain true to libertarian principles, you cannot legalize drugs unless you also eliminate welfare.

Same with the "open borders" plank. Eliminate welfare, and you don't worry that a bunch of parasites will be crashing the borders.

[ForOurFuture]

While surfing commentary on Friedman's legacy I found this interview. He makes the most compelling and persuasive defense of free-market capitalism and limited government that I have ever read or heard. Well worth seeing. If it doesn't pop up automatically click on the video on the right entitled 'Milton Friedman on Open Mind.'

[Victoria Delsoul]

Oh gosh, sorry to hear that. He was a brilliant man.

May he rest in peace.

[FreedomProtector]

Great find. Thanks for posting.

[FreedomProtector]

Great find. Thanks for posting.

[ChicagoHebrew]

Milton Friedman, ZT'L, did more then just defend free-market capitalism. His ideas literally saved the Western world from hyperinflation and economic stagnation. Some countries, including Chile (from the collapse caused by Allende's mismanagement) and Israel (from the obscene hyperinflation of the early 1980s), his ideas may have literally saved period.

I would say it's more than arguable that Friedman ranks up there as one of the 50 people of the 20th Century who did the most to advance the human condition. . . maybe right below Jonas Salk.

[chilepepper]

Milton is one of my idols. He is a major reason why I consider myself a conservative.

Me too. The second major reason for me, besides Milton Friedman, was of course Ronald Reagan. Truly two giants who walked the earth.

[ChicagoHebrew]

Me too. The second major reason for me, besides Milton Friedman, was of course Ronald Reagan. Truly two giants who walked the earth.

My flag will fly at half-staff during the shiva. If the GOP had any balls, they'd propose to put Friedman on the $20, replacing that murderous quack Jackson.

[HitmanLV]

Yes, a terrible loss. His contributions, though, have made us richer.

[RightWingAtheist]

Farewell to a great man.