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Economist Milton Friedman has died.
The Wall Street Journal (Excerpt) (Subscription required) ^ | November 16, 2006

Posted on 11/16/2006 9:22:30 AM PST by HAL9000

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

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Business/Economy; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: classicalliberalism; economicfreedom; economics; freemarkets; freetochoose; friedman; libertarianism; miltonfriedman; politicalfreedom; sanfranciscovalues
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To: dfwgator
"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

Thanks for reminding us of this quote.

221 posted on 11/16/2006 8:02:27 PM PST by lakey
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To: kcar

Think how many stole their ideas and carved a reputation for themselves from them, but without giving credit where credit was due (e.g., John Kenneth Galbraith).


222 posted on 11/16/2006 8:26:29 PM PST by econjack
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To: HAL9000

RIP Mr. Friedman.


223 posted on 11/16/2006 8:55:50 PM PST by Frank_2001
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To: HAL9000; Mr. Brightside; So Cal Rocket; Wormwood; eyespysomething; Nascar Dad; PghBaldy; ...
Quotes from Free to Choose in honor of Milton Friedman. There is some danger of quoting the premise or thesis without the supporting arguments and data...note that buying the book is an example of voluntary exchange of goods beneficial to all parties... :^).
...A predominantly voluntary exchange economy, on the other hand, has within it the potential to promote both prosperity and human freedom. It may not achieve its potential in either respect, but we know of no society that has ever achieved prosperity and freedom unless voluntary exchange has been its dominant principle of organization. We hasten to add that voluntary exchange is not a sufficient condition for prosperity and freedom.....But voluntary exchange is a necessary condition for both prosperity and freedom.
The key insight of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations is misleading simple: if an exchange between two parties is voluntary, it will not take place unless both believe they will benefit from it. Most economic fallacies derive from the neglect of this simple insight, from the tendency to assume that there is a fixed pie, that one party can gain only at the expense of another.
Restrictions on economic freedom inevitably affect freedom in general, even such areas as freedom of speech and press.
"Equality","liberty"--what precisely do these words from the Declaration of Independence mean? Can the ideals they express be realized in practice? Are equality and liberty consistent one with other, or are they in conflict? ...In the early decades of the Republic, equality meant equality before God; liberty meant the liberty to shape one's own life....Neither equality before God nor equality of opportunity presented any conflict with liberty to shape one's own life. Quite the opposite. Equality and liberty were two faces of the same basic value--...The clue to what Thomas Jefferson and his contemporaries meant by equal is in the next phrase of the Declaration--"endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Men were equal before God. Each person is precious in and of himself. He has unalienable rights, rights that no one else is entitled to invade...."Liberty" is part of the definition of equality, not in conflict with it. Equality before God--personal equality-- is important precisely because people are not identical.

In the past century a myth has grown up that free market capitalism--equality of opportunity as we have interpreted that term--increases such inequalities, that it is a system under which the rich exploit the poor. Nothing could be further from the truth. Wherever the free market has been permitted to operate, where ever anything approaching equality of opportunity has existed, the ordinary man has been able to attain levels of living never dreamed of before. Nowhere is the gap between rich and poor wider, nowhere are the rich richer and the poor poorer, then in those societies that do no permit the free market to operate.

A society that put equality--in the sense of equality of outcome--ahead of freedom will end up with neither quality nor freedom. The use of force to achieve equality will destroy freedom, and the force, introduced for good purposes, will end up in the hands of people who use it to promote their won interest. On the other hand, a society that puts freedom first will, and a happy by-product end up with both greater freedom and greater equality.

The establishment of the school system in the United States as an island of socialism in a free market sea....We believe that the growing role that government has played in financing and administering schooling has led not only to enormous waste of taxpayers money but also to a far poorer educational system than would have developed had voluntary cooperation continued to play a larger role. Few institutions in our society are in a more unsatisfactory state than schools. Few generate more discontent or can do more to undermine our liberty. The educational establishment is up in arms in defense of its existing power and privileges. It is supported by many public-spirited citizens who share a collectivist outlook. But is it also under attack. Declining test scores...One way to achieve a major improvement, to bring learning back in to the classroom, especially for the currently most disadvantaged, is to give all parents greater control over their children's schooling, similar to what those of us in the upper classes have....Parents could, and should, be permitted to use the vouchers not only at private schools but also at other public schools--and not only at schools in their own district, city, or state, but at any school that is willing to accept their child....

...Success in restricting numbers, as in enforcing a wage rate generally requires the assistance of the government. In medicine the key as been the licensure of physicians--that is, the requirement that in order for any individual to "practice medicine," he must be licensed by the state....The boards, or state legislatures, have specified conditions for the granting of licenses that in effect give the AMA the power to influence the number of persons admitted to practice....When unions get higher wages for their members by restricting entry into an occupation, those higher wages are at the expense of other workers who find their opportunities reduced.....But when workers get higher wages and better working conditions through the free market....those higher wages are at nobody's expense.

Inflation is a disease, a dangerous and sometimes fatal disease. The cure for inflation is simple to state but hard to implement. Just as an excessive increase in the quantity of money is the on and only important cause for inflation, so... There is only one cure for inflation: a slower rate of increase in the quantity of money...The problem is not one of knowing what to do....The problem is to have the political will to do it.

The role of competition is a feature of the free market that we have encountered time and again. A worker is protected from his employer by the existence of other employers for whom he can go to work. An employer is protected from exploitation by his employee by the existence of other workers whom he can hire. The consumer is protected from exploitation by a given seller by the existence of other sellers from whom he can buy.


224 posted on 11/16/2006 9:12:25 PM PST by FreedomProtector
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To: FreedomProtector

Thanks for the ping!


225 posted on 11/16/2006 10:12:48 PM PST by Alamo-Girl
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To: HAL9000

RIP Mr.Friedman. Great economist and great thinker.


226 posted on 11/16/2006 11:51:57 PM PST by Reagan Man (Conservatives don't support amnesty and conservatives don't vote for liberals!)
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To: FreedomProtector

Thank you so much for pinging me to that post in honor of the life-work of Milton Friedman. It was good to read those words; it's very good to have them posted here.


227 posted on 11/17/2006 1:22:35 AM PST by .30Carbine (See God in every detail)
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To: Reagan Man

Amen to that!!

Milton Friedman was the man who delivered the massive knock out punch to the Karl Marx school of thought.

This man, through Mrs Thatcher helped to save Britain from the leeches and vermin on the left, we owe him our sincere thanks for that!


228 posted on 11/17/2006 2:19:27 AM PST by snowman_returns (WARNING!...the new lefty's are worse than the old leftys..........much worse!!)
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To: FreedomProtector

"Free to Choose," the video series done by PBS, is one of the few things PBS has ever done that is worthwhile. Even today, nearly 30 years later, it's appropriate.


229 posted on 11/17/2006 5:44:26 AM PST by LS
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To: HAL9000
I have an MBA, took a lot of finance and economics classes, today work in the private sector after 10 years in the military traveling the world. I spent my early years growing up in a more or less "state run" economy in Germany. I have a professional and personal interest in some of the ideas expressed by him.

From what I have seen, experienced, and know to be reality, his theories hold true. What Ronald Reagan was to politics, he was to macroeconomics. One of our times "great minds" has passed away.
230 posted on 11/17/2006 6:22:12 AM PST by Red6 (Weird thoughts -)
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To: HAL9000

What a sad day. I once met Milton Friedman when I was an undergraduate studying Economics at Arizona State University. We called him "Uncle Milty". His writings set me on path to becoming a true convert to free market economics. Along with Hayek and von Mises, Uncle Milty was (and remains), my Economics hero. Rest in Peace.


231 posted on 11/17/2006 7:23:31 AM PST by Towed_Jumper
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To: Towed_Jumper
His writings set me on path to becoming a true convert to free market economics.

A Friedman book in Economics 101 turned me from a McGovernite to a Republican in one quarter back in 1975. He surely changed many lives. We who have had our eyes opened are his legacy.

232 posted on 11/17/2006 7:26:34 AM PST by hunter112 (Total victory at home and in the Middle East!)
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To: Mr. Brightside

Me Too! (after Wealth of Nations in College)


233 posted on 11/17/2006 7:52:19 AM PST by scannell
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To: HAL9000

A loss for all of us. A great man with genius and strength. God grant him rest.


234 posted on 11/17/2006 8:47:55 AM PST by VictoryGal (Never give up, never surrender!)
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To: Temple Owl
That's what I loved most about him. His championing of school vouchers saved many American kids, It will continue to do so in the future.

BUMP for the kiddos!
235 posted on 11/17/2006 9:01:40 AM PST by FreedomProtector
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To: LS; HAL9000; TChris; goldstategop; Dems_R_Losers; the invisib1e hand; KarlInOhio; ...
"Free to Choose," the video series done by PBS, is one of the few things PBS has ever done that is worthwhile. Even today, nearly 30 years later, it's appropriate.

PBS should rerun the "Free to Choose" series in honor of Milton Friedman.

FReepers should suggest the idea to PBS.


Can suggest idea to PBS conveniently here
Other contacts/local station here.

Example note:

Dear PBS,

Please honor the life and work of the 1976 Nobel Prize winning economist, Milton Friedman, who recently passed away, by replaying the video series previously aired on PBS: "Free to Choose". "Free to Choose" is timeless and was very well done. Today, nearly 30 years later, the content is directly applicable.

http://freetochoose.net/tv_1980.html

The Tyranny of Control
Created Equal
What's Wrong With Our Schools
How to Stay Free
236 posted on 11/17/2006 9:35:58 AM PST by FreedomProtector
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To: FreedomProtector
PBS should rerun the "Free to Choose" series in honor of Milton Friedman.

Great idea!! Bump

237 posted on 11/17/2006 9:43:35 AM PST by Tribune7
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To: FreedomProtector

Great idea.

Was that the one that had Arnold touting the free market? If so, it shows that Arnold at least *wanted* to be an economic libertarian/conservative.


238 posted on 11/17/2006 10:20:05 AM PST by RussP
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To: FreedomProtector
revitalize your mind by clicking Here
239 posted on 11/17/2006 10:29:18 AM PST by editor-surveyor (Atheist and Fool are synonyms; Evolution is where fools hide from the sunrise)
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To: RussP
Was that the one that had Arnold touting the free market?

Not sure...don't remember that but that doesn't mean much : ) The transcripts are here:

http://freetochoose.net/tv_1980_transcripts.html
240 posted on 11/17/2006 10:35:18 AM PST by FreedomProtector
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