The great Milton Friedman on 'spread the wealth mentality'

[The Infidel]

What a brilliant man!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi-D24oCa10&feature=related]Milton Friedman: Why soaking the rich won't work. - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRpEV2tmYz4&feature=related]Milton Friedman - Redistribution of Wealth - YouTube[/ame]

 

[The Infidel]

More good stuff from Milton Friedman & Thomas Sowell

Milton Friedman & Thomas Sowell vs. A Welfare Administrator - YouTube

 

[DSGE]

Milton Friedman is probably the best economist of the twentieth century. Those particular videos aren't especially great, but anybody has a free 45 minutes I'd definitely recommend watching the whole interview.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvNzi7tmkx0]Milton Friedman on Donahue #2 - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Baruch Menachem]

Milton Friedman was so good at this. It is a pity so few folks saw his stuff. It must have been great to have been in one of his classes.

 

[Truthseeker420]

Friedman had some reasonable insights into the inefficiencies of government.

However he made a number of unforgivable errors, which ironically endeared him to the Establishment and enhanced his reputation.

First, he trashed Austrian Business Cycle Theory.

Second, he was a fiat money guy, supporting fiat money over gold (up until the end, when he started having doubts – too late in my view).

Third, he supported central banking. How he could be a “free market guy” and support monopoly fiat and monopoly price fixing of interest rates is beyond me.

Fourth, he destroyed Chile by implementing policies which systematically removed social investment and safety nets that (arguably) govts should provide, whilst keeping monopoly fiat in place. He should have advocated the elimination of monopoly fiat and allowed the continuation of social safety nets. He was clearly a tool of the major US banks in Latin America.

Fifth, his policies destroyed New Zealand, partially destroyed Australia, and partially destroyed many other countries including the UK and the US.

Antal E. Fekete does a wonderful job of destroying Friedman’s theories here, in a speech he delivered in late 2006, just after Friedman’s death. He also wrote a brilliant piece critiquing both Keynesianism and monetarism here, entitled (tellingly) Götterdämmerung.

If you are shocked by the title of my post, please read these two pieces immediately.

I will never forget Friedman sitting on the edge of Victoria Harbour in the late 1970s openly admiring the “free market” of Hong Kong. Hong Kong has the highest number of billionaires in Asia but 18% of the population live below the poverty line. Pollution problems are very serious. If you ask the average Hong Konger are they happy I guarantee they’ll say no. Housing is hideously expensive and is a huge tax on the working people (despite the supposedly low rates of tax there). Social services for the aged are extremely poor. Worst of all no one can buy and sell in gold – the monopoly HK dollar is pegged to the US dollar. So the economy is subject to the same mad monetary swings as the US.

It is not so much a “Free Market” as one “Trapped in a Monopoly Money Hell”. If they could be allowed to trade in any currency they liked, I’d be more sanguine about HK. Until that fundamental issue is addressed, the Hong Kong people will never be free.

Milton Friedman was an idiot « Karma is King

 

[DSGE]

First, he trashed Austrian Business Cycle Theory.

Because it's garbage.

Second, he was a fiat money guy, supporting fiat money over gold (up until the end, when he started having doubts – too late in my view).

Third, he supported central banking. How he could be a “free market guy” and support monopoly fiat and monopoly price fixing of interest rates is beyond me.

He was highly critical of the Federal Reserve and named it as the cause for the Depression and most recessions. Friedman wanted Free Banking, but given that it wasn't politically feasible, if we had to be stuck with a central bank he wanted it constrained by a constant money growth rule. In the end he wanted to fix the quantity of high powered money.

Fourth, he destroyed Chile by implementing policies which systematically removed social investment and safety nets that (arguably) govts should provide, whilst keeping monopoly fiat in place. He should have advocated the elimination of monopoly fiat and allowed the continuation of social safety nets. He was clearly a tool of the major US banks in Latin America.

Fifth, his policies destroyed New Zealand, partially destroyed Australia, and partially destroyed many other countries including the UK and the US.

What are you talking about? "His policies destroyed NZ, partially destroyed Aus..."?

Antal E. Fekete does a wonderful job of destroying Friedman’s theories here, in a speech he delivered in late 2006, just after Friedman’s death. He also wrote a brilliant piece critiquing both Keynesianism and monetarism here, entitled (tellingly) Götterdämmerung.

Do you want to give us a quick rundown?

 

[The Infidel]

First, he trashed Austrian Business Cycle Theory.

Because it's garbage.

Second, he was a fiat money guy, supporting fiat money over gold (up until the end, when he started having doubts – too late in my view).

Third, he supported central banking. How he could be a “free market guy” and support monopoly fiat and monopoly price fixing of interest rates is beyond me.

He was highly critical of the Federal Reserve and named it as the cause for the Depression and most recessions. Friedman wanted Free Banking, but given that it wasn't politically feasible, if we had to be stuck with a central bank he wanted it constrained by a constant money growth rule. In the end he wanted to fix the quantity of high powered money.

Fourth, he destroyed Chile by implementing policies which systematically removed social investment and safety nets that (arguably) govts should provide, whilst keeping monopoly fiat in place. He should have advocated the elimination of monopoly fiat and allowed the continuation of social safety nets. He was clearly a tool of the major US banks in Latin America.

Fifth, his policies destroyed New Zealand, partially destroyed Australia, and partially destroyed many other countries including the UK and the US.

What are you talking about? "His policies destroyed NZ, partially destroyed Aus..."?

Antal E. Fekete does a wonderful job of destroying Friedman’s theories here, in a speech he delivered in late 2006, just after Friedman’s death. He also wrote a brilliant piece critiquing both Keynesianism and monetarism here, entitled (tellingly) Götterdämmerung.

Do you want to give us a quick rundown?

I love how Mitlon is blamed by folks for all these problems, but they fail to explain WHY and HOW he was wrong.

 

[ShackledNation]

Milton was a great economist, but he failed when it came to monetary policy. ABCT and the likes of Murray Rothbard made a much better case for free markets than Friedman.

 

[rdean]

Nothing makes a country stronger than deregulating everything and concentrating all the nations wealth into the top 1%.

That's the conservative position. And the top 1% really appreciate that position. They might even throw you a bone. Or not.

 

[The Infidel]

Nothing makes a country stronger than deregulating everything and concentrating all the nations wealth into the top 1%.

That's the conservative position. And the top 1% really appreciate that position. They might even throw you a bone. Or not.

Nothing but rhetorical garbage... thanks for your 'contribution'.

 

[rightwinger]

Did Friedman define raising taxes 4% on the wealthy as "soaking"?

You do realize that when those videos were made that the taxes on the wealthy were significantly higher? How about we agree on a tax rate at what it was when Friedman made that video on Phil Donohue?

 

[rdean]

Nothing makes a country stronger than deregulating everything and concentrating all the nations wealth into the top 1%.

That's the conservative position. And the top 1% really appreciate that position. They might even throw you a bone. Or not.

Nothing but rhetorical garbage... thanks for your 'contribution'.

You mean you don't?

 

[The Infidel]

Did Friedman define raising taxes 4% on the wealthy as "soaking"?

You do realize that when those videos were made that the taxes on the wealthy were significantly higher

Yes I do... and your point is?

 

[The Infidel]

Did Friedman define raising taxes 4% on the wealthy as "soaking"?

You do realize that when those videos were made that the taxes on the wealthy were significantly higher? How about we agree on a tax rate at what it was when Friedman made that video on Phil Donohue?

No.... do you remember how much we were in the crapper then too?

I do... the 80's SUCKED!

 

[The Infidel]

Nothing makes a country stronger than deregulating everything and concentrating all the nations wealth into the top 1%.

That's the conservative position. And the top 1% really appreciate that position. They might even throw you a bone. Or not.

Nothing but rhetorical garbage... thanks for your 'contribution'.

You mean you don't?

You make it a sport to be an idiot.... I dont

 

[rightwinger]

Did Friedman define raising taxes 4% on the wealthy as "soaking"?

You do realize that when those videos were made that the taxes on the wealthy were significantly higher? How about we agree on a tax rate at what it was when Friedman made that video on Phil Donohue?

No.... do you remember how much we were in the crapper then too?

I do... the 80's SUCKED!

I never made as much money as I did under Clinton and taxes were much higher. If the Bush tax cuts were so great, why did we get 10% unemployment and a recession?

 

[The Infidel]

Did Friedman define raising taxes 4% on the wealthy as "soaking"?

You do realize that when those videos were made that the taxes on the wealthy were significantly higher? How about we agree on a tax rate at what it was when Friedman made that video on Phil Donohue?

No.... do you remember how much we were in the crapper then too?

I do... the 80's SUCKED!

I never made as much money as I did under Clinton and taxes were much higher. If the Bush tax cuts were so great, why did we get 10% unemployment and a recession?

We didnt.... unemployment went up under Obama because of Obama. He made it a toxic environment for business to flourish.
My life has been a living Hell ever since that bastard got elected.

 

[The Infidel]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjH4QBSwWlg&feature=related]MILTON FRIEDMAN-what alinsky never told obama... - YouTube[/ame]

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

I will never forget Friedman sitting on the edge of Victoria Harbour in the late 1970s openly admiring the “free market” of Hong Kong.

yes Friedman was the economic genius of the 20th Century. He understood that capitalist Hong Kong was 1000 times more prosporous than liberal Red China where 10's of millions were starving to death. This is common sense, just not to a liberal truth seeker.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

If the Bush tax cuts were so great, why did we get 10% unemployment and a recession?

actually the 10% and recession is due to a liberal housing crisis. Its been in all the papers. Did you notice the heads of Fanny Freddie were indicted???