Milton Friedman
1912 – 2006
Recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Economics
Champion of Freedom
From ‘The Man Who Saved Capitalism’ by
Stephen Moore in the July 31, 2012 Wall Street Journal
*********
‘Milton
Friedman, who would have turned 100 on Tuesday, helped to make free markets
popular again in the 20th century. His ideas are even more important
today
'No doubt because of
his continued popularity, the left has tried to tie Friedman and his principles
of free trade, low tax rates and deregulation to the global financial meltdown
in 2008. Economist Joseph Stiglitz charged that Friedman’s “Chicago School
bears the blame for providing a seeming intellectual foundation” for the “idea
that markets are self-adjusting and the best role for government is to do
nothing.” Occupy Wall Street protesters were often seen wearing T-shirts which
read: “Milton Friedman: Proud Father of Global Misery.”
The opposite is true:
Friedman opposed the government spending spree in the 2000’s. He hated the
government-sponsored enterprises like housing lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac.
In a recent tribute to
Friedman in the Journal of Economic Literature, Harvard’s Andrei Shleifer
describes 1980 – 2005 as “The Age of Milton Friedman,” an era that witnessed
remarkable progress of mankind. As the world embraced free-market policies,
living standards rose sharply while life expectancy, educational attainment and
democracy improved and absolute poverty declined.”
Well over 200 million
were liberated from poverty thanks to the rediscovery of the free market. And
now as the world teeters close to another recession, leaders need to urgently
rediscover Friedman’s ideas.
I remember asking
Milton, a year or so before his death, during one of our semiannual dinners in
downtown San Francisco: What can we do to make America more prosperous? “Three
things,” he replied instantly. “Promote free trade, school choice for all
children and cut government spending.”
How much should we
cut? “As much as possible.”
Wall Street
Journal Site
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