Happy birthday to "the man who saved capitalism":
It's a tragedy that Milton Friedman—born 100 years ago on July 31—did not live long enough to combat the big-government ideas that have formed the core of Obamanomics. It's perhaps more tragic that our current president, who attended the University of Chicago where Friedman taught for decades, never fell under the influence of the world's greatest champion of the free market. Imagine how much better things would have turned out, for Mr. Obama and the country.
Amen. Obama and Friedman occupied the same university, but not the same planet.
Comments
I attended a Friedman lecture where he discussed the Fed's error of shrinking M2 which contributed to the Great Depression. Dr. Friedman remarked "They wont make that mistake again. Next time they will make a different mistake."
Tremendous sense of humor and a man of keen intellect.
Kudos to his colleague, Anna Schwartz, who died recently.
Harry Truman said that if you lined up every economist in the country, head to toe. they still couldn't reach a cinclusion.
Engineers take a lot of bad data, decide which factors are important. try to get the best estimates on the data which does matter, then theu do their calculations and then they apply a fudge factor so thar they err on the safe side. Scientists never throw away data - and economics is a science.
How oul is is relic, the museum visitor asks the docent. It's 5003 1/2 years old. The visitor asks how they know so preciswlu. The docent says, well, i've been doing this for 3 1/2 years, and it was 4,000 years when I started. That's how most scientists work.
When they start pointing out that 90% of all engineers believe in global warming, i'm gonna buy a houseboat. Until then, I'll stay where I am.
It's not capitalism that will save us. It's free enterprise. There's a vey big diffeence.
Mr. Delos,
President Truman was right, and as an economist that pains me. I also find some truth in John Kenneth Galbraith's witticism that the study of economics is largely good only for the employment of economists.
But I also believe in Hayek's statement that the role of economics is to show people how little they really know about systems they imagine they can create, so there is an important function.
Friedman believed in "competitive capitalism" which he saw as a voluntary exchange that benefitted both parties. He defined "competitive capitalism" as a "free private enterprise economy."
Friedman, Hayek, Hazlit, and Rand were brilliant defenders of the most productive economic system ever created.
One must remember, Milton was from an era wherein 2+2 was still 4, unlike today's eonomic "experts" and "advisors" who are nothing more than "creative accountants"...
Tim, economics is only valid when it models real kife.
Two quarts of water and two quarts of cotton candy makes a little over two quarts of sweet water.
Twoi quarts if pure water and two quarts of absolute ethyl alcohol makes lrss than four quarts of liquid.
If you can't deal with reality, you're going to have trouble making ANY kibd of well-considered decision.
Harl,
2=2 is still 4. If I make $300 a week and spend $500 a week, I have basic misunderstanding of simple math and will hit a fiscal cliff correct? , however if I have a degree in Economics, I can show on paper how that formula will fly for a long long time by borrowing and artful accounting...
trouble for the economists is, eventually they have to admit 2+2=4 after all....