Milton Friedman's "Free to Choose" videos

[BaronVonBigmeat]

Milton Friedman made a series of videos in 1980 titled "Free to Choose", about the virtues of economic freedom:

http://www.ideachannel.tv/

I haven't watched the entire series yet, but I thought Volume 9 : How to cure inflation was pretty good. To paraphrase:

*High taxes = economic pain

*High borrowing = the government gobbles up savings from investors in the capital markets = higher interest rates, as private borrowers compete over a reduced amount of capital = economic pain

*Printing money = allow banks to crank out more money, to make up for what the government gobbled up = lower interest rates, but higher inflation = economic pain

In other words, there is no free lunch and you cannot get something for nothing. The only way to avoid all three is to reduce government spending.

 

[90K]

Milton Friedman made a series of videos in 1980 titled "Free to Choose", about the virtues of economic freedom:

http://www.ideachannel.tv/

I haven't watched the entire series yet, but I thought Volume 9 : How to cure inflation was pretty good. To paraphrase:

*High taxes = economic pain

*High borrowing = the government gobbles up savings from investors in the capital markets = higher interest rates, as private borrowers compete over a reduced amount of capital = economic pain

*Printing money = allow banks to crank out more money, to make up for what the government gobbled up = lower interest rates, but higher inflation = economic pain

In other words, there is no free lunch and you cannot get something for nothing. The only way to avoid all three is to reduce government spending.

He was a true pioneer in economics. I'm more of an opportunity costs kind of guy, but with no free lunch why haven't the fed figured out how to make it work better. Some things change with time and can't be returned and other things never change.

 

[KarlMarx]

Milton Friedman made a series of videos in 1980 titled "Free to Choose", about the virtues of economic freedom:

http://www.ideachannel.tv/

I haven't watched the entire series yet, but I thought Volume 9 : How to cure inflation was pretty good. To paraphrase:

*High taxes = economic pain

*High borrowing = the government gobbles up savings from investors in the capital markets = higher interest rates, as private borrowers compete over a reduced amount of capital = economic pain

*Printing money = allow banks to crank out more money, to make up for what the government gobbled up = lower interest rates, but higher inflation = economic pain

In other words, there is no free lunch and you cannot get something for nothing. The only way to avoid all three is to reduce government spending.

There is no free lunch... wow, what a concept.... perhaps it should be a law....

oh wait... it already is a law.... of Nature, that is....