There is not a line in 'The Wealth of Nations' that is not still applicable to this day. Milton Friedman More Quotes by Milton Friedman More Quotes From Milton Friedman The Founding Fathers envisioned a federal government that trusts its people with their money and freedom, outlining this limited, non-intrusive federal government in...the Constitution, leaving the other powers to people...or to the states. Milton Friedman governmentfatherpeople To the free man, the country is the collection of individuals who compose it, not something over and above them. Milton Friedman individualmencountry The Fed was largely responsible for converting what might have been a garden-variety recession, although perhaps a fairly severe one, into a major catastrophe. Instead of using its powers to offset the depression, it presided over a decline in the quantity of money by one-third from 1929 to 1933 ... Far from the depression being a failure of the free-enterprise system, it was a tragic failure of government. Milton Friedman investinggardengovernment How did we make the transition from using wood to using coal, from using coal to using oil, from using oil to using natural gas? How in God's name did we make that transition without a Federal Energy Agency? Milton Friedman oilagencygovernment The only reason free markets have a ghost of a chance is that they are so much more efficient than any other form of organization. Milton Friedman chanceorganizationghost There is likely to be a lag between the need for action and government ["an individual's" or "a team's"] recognition of the need; a further lag between recognition of the need for action and the taking of action; and a still further lag between the action and its effects Milton Friedman teamgovernmentneeds . . I think the Adam Smith role was played in this cycle i.e. the late twentieth century collapse of socialism in which the idea of free-markets succeeded first, and then special events catalyzed a complete change of socio-political policy in countries around the world by Friedrich Hayek's The Road to Serfdom. Milton Friedman countryideasthinking Rapid increases in the quantity of money produce inflation. Sharp decreases produce depression. Milton Friedman increaserapidsproduce The central banks cannot control interest rates. That's a mistake. They can control a particular rate, such as the Federal Funds rate, if they want to, but they can't control interest rates. Milton Friedman interestwantmistake The important issue is not how much inequality there is but how much opportunity there is for individuals to get out of the bottom classes and into the top. If there is enough movement upward, people will accept the efficiency of the markets. If you have opportunity, there is a great tolerance for inequality. That has been the saving grace of the American system. Milton Friedman issuesclassopportunity Spending by government currently amounts to about 45 percent of national income. By that test, government owns 45 percent of the means of production that produce the national income. The U.S. is now 45 percent socialist. Milton Friedman incomegovernmentmean No major institution in the US has so poor a record of performance over so long a period as the Federal Reserve, yet so high a public reputation. Milton Friedman reputationrecordslong The big issue is whether the United States will succeed in its venture of reshaping the Middle East. It is not clear to me that using military force is the way to do it. We should not have gone into Iraq. But we have. Milton Friedman issuesiraqmilitary What happened was that for every $100 of money, by which I mean the cash that people keep in their pockets, and the deposits they have in the bank, for every $100 of money that there was in 1929, by 1933 there was only $67. The Federal Reserve allowed the quantity of money to decline by a third. While, at all times, it had the possibilities and the power of preventing that from happening. Milton Friedman pocketsmeanpeople He moves fastest who moves alone. Milton Friedman moving One man's opportunism is another man's statesmanship. Milton Friedman another-manopportunitymen Theories can be based on any assumptions, however bizarre. Milton Friedman assumptionbizarretheory Positive economics is in principle independent of any particular ethical position or normative judgment...In short, positive economics is or can be an "objective" science. Milton Friedman short-positiveindependentprinciples The growing role that the government has played in financing and administering schooling has led not only the enormous waste of taxpayers money but also to a far poorer educational system. Milton Friedman educationalrolesgovernment John Lott documents how far 'politically correct' vested interests are willing to go to denigrate anyone who dares disagree with them. Lott has done us all a service by his thorough, thoughtful scholarly approach to a highly controversial issue. Milton Friedman thoughtfulissuesdone
