[Choose Ye This Day]

Second transcript of the ten-part landmark PBS series from 1980.

[Choose Ye This Day]

Milton Friedman "Free to Choose" PING.

Please discuss.

(A young Donald Rumsfeld is in this one.)

[JimRed]

He (Adam Smith) was pointing out that in order for a butcher or a baker or a candlestick maker to make an income, he had to produce something that somebody wanted to buy.

What about the so-called "arts" in our society? If no one wants to buy them, why should any of my tax dollars go towards subsidizing them? < /short rant >

[Choose Ye This Day]

"Throughout the world, governments always profess to be forward-looking. In practice, they are always backward-looking. Either protecting the industries that exist, or making sure that whatever ventures they have decided to undertake, are encouraged and developed. This occurs at the expense of the kind of healthy development of new, dynamic, adapted industries that would surely occur if the market were allowed to operate freely. If it were allowed to separate out the unsuccessful ventures from the successful ones. Discouraging the unsuccessful and encouraging the successful."

That's all fine and well for everyone else's industries and businesses, but not MINE. Mine should be protected. < /sarc>

[Choose Ye This Day]

HUGHES: It is true that in the long run we would all be better off with free trade. I agree with Milton. But it's the short run that matters.

LOL! Typical liberal myopia.

[Choose Ye This Day]

I would argue that the social and moral issues are all on the side of free trade, that it is you, and people like you, who introduce protection, who are the ones who are violating fundamental social and moral issues. Tell me, what trade union represents the workers who are displaced because high tariffs reduce exports from this country? Because high tariffs make steel, for example, or other goods, more expensive, as a result, those industries which use steel have fewer--have to charge higher prices, they have fewer employees, the export industries that would grow up to balance the imports--tell me, what union represents them? What moral and ethical view do you have about their interests?

Milton lays the smackdown on the socialist. It had to leave a mark. The guy couldn't/wouldn't answer.

[kitkat]

.

[Choose Ye This Day]

I would like to have a constitutional amendment which would read, "The Congress shall not impose any taxes, any taxes on imports, or give any subsidies to exports, except such as may be necessary."

Anybody have a problem with such an amendment?

[Choose Ye This Day]

As was pointed out in yesterday's thread, this episode and all the others in the "Free to Choose" series can be viewed at Google Video:

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=free+to+choose

[steelyourfaith]

bump ttt