Well that about sums it us does it not?
Today is a day to celebrate the life of one of the great economic minds of our day, Milton Friedman, on what would have been his 100th birthday.
Friedman, a long time professor at The University of Chicago, won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1976 and was an economic advisor to Ronald Reagan.
Advocates of free market capitalism consider Friedman a champion of freedom. Top economic scholars, inclusive of Don Boudreaux, Thomas Sowell and Stephen Moore, have strong columns out today in praise of Friedman. The Heritage Foundation also has presented a commemorative piece, which thoroughly pounds home the work of Friedman demonstrating the economic benefits of free markets.
Those of us non scholars with degrees in Economics studied principles Friedman simplified. It was Friedman who advanced the theory that there is "no free lunch", a common sense principle that is most demonstrative. Art Laffer famously presented The Laffer Curve on a napkin, because it was just that simple. Friedman made complex economic theory simple for consumption.
It is too bad Obama did not encounter Friedman if their paths potentially crossed in Chicago, for Obama obviously has no clue on economic theory.
In my view, it seems clear Obama is intent on crashing the system to create socialism complete with a society dependent on government interaction. Friedman found interaction from outside sources, including governmental stimulus, which can create inefficient markets, should be limited.
In Sowell's column, he quotes Friedman and illustrates the point: This is one of those heads-I-win-and-tails-you-lose arguments. Even if the government spends itself into bankruptcy and the economy still does not recover, Keynesians can always say that it would have worked if only the government had spent more.
Friedman, who I had the honor to meet in his late years, is a giant in economic theory whose free market capitalist principles have proven correct. Please listen to him destroy a young fan of wealth redistribution:
Friedman had a PBS Series titled Free to Choose, in conjunction with his book of the same name. It is fitting, as our current government leaders aspire to limit your choices across the board. From GM vehicles, to Chick-fil-A to searching for a 64 ounce Big Gulp in NYC, the elites are flexing muscle these days. As Friedman noted, the loss of consumer choice leads to market contraction, and a loss of economic freedom.
Under Obama, we have pursued Keynesian economic theories, and they have failed miserably. As Reagan said, "Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn't so." Reagan followed the theories of Friedman, which lead to unparalleled economic prosperity; complex theories presented so simply by Friedman many could be written on a napkin.
Happy Birthday Milton Friedman! Wish I could buy you one of those free lunches, complete with plenty of napkins.
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