We have a system that increasingly taxes work and subsidizes nonwork. Milton Friedman More Quotes by Milton Friedman More Quotes From Milton Friedman The fall of the Berlin Wall did more for the progress of freedom than all of the books written by myself or Friedrich Hayek or others. Milton Friedman wallbookfall I think almost every economist would agree that government gets itself in trouble when it tries to interfere with voluntary behavior. Milton Friedman freedomgovernmentthinking The Depression, which started in 1929 was rather mild from 1929 to 1930. And, indeed, in my opinion would have been over in 1931 at the latest had it not been that the Federal Reserve followed a policy which led to bank failures, widespread bank failures, and led to a reduction in the quantity of money. Milton Friedman reductionfederal-reserveopinion Richard Nixon was a very intelligent and able man. And he had the right ideas. But he did not have the adherence to principles that [Ronald] Reagan had. He did some very good things. We owe to Richard Nixon the volunteer army - he got rid of the draft. And that was a major increase in freedom. Milton Friedman armyintelligentmen "Free markets" is a very general term. There are all sorts of problems that will emerge. Free markets work best when the transaction between two individuals affects only those individuals. Most often, a transaction between you and me affects a third party. That is the source of all problems for government. That is the source of all pollution problems, of the inequality problem. This reality ensures that the end of history will never come. Milton Friedman partygovernmentreality There is no person, no theorist so reckless as he who says that the facts speak for themselves. Milton Friedman recklessspeakfacts I'd like to promote lots of things. I'd like to promote elimination of drug prohibition. I'd like to promote parental choice in education through vouchers. Those are two things I think are very urgent and important. They're both more important than the harm which Social Security will do. Milton Friedman choicestwothinking I think there is universal agreement within the economics profession that the decline - the sharp decline in the quantity of money played a very major role in producing the Great Depression. Milton Friedman rolesagreementthinking The Internet is the most effective instrument we have for globalization. Milton Friedman globalizationinstrumentsinternet When you have a time of crisis what happens depends on what ideas are floating around, and what ideas have been developed, and thought through, and are made effective. Milton Friedman times-of-crisisfloatingideas You can travel from one end of the industrialized world to the other and almost the only people you will find engaging in backbreaking toil are people who are doing it for sport. To find people whose day's toil has not been lightened by mechanical invention, you must go to the non-capitalist world. Milton Friedman toilsportspeople The free man will ask neither what his country can do for him nor what he can do for his country. He will ask rather 'What can I and my compatriots do through government' to help us discharge our individual responsibilities, to achieve our several goals and purposes, and above all, to protect our freedom? Milton Friedman responsibilitymencountry [Trade licensing] almost inevitably becomes a tool in the hands of a special producer group to maintain a monopoly position at the expense of the rest of the public. There is no way to avoid this result. Milton Friedman groupsspecialhands Speeches by businessmen on social responsibility...may gain them kudos in the short run. But it helps to strengthen the already too prevalent view that the pursuit of profits is wicked.... There is one and only one social responsibility of business-to...engage in open and free competition without deception or fraud. Milton Friedman responsibilityviewsrunning Freedom is a rare and delicate plant. Our minds tell us, and history confirms, that the great threat to freedom is the concentration of power. Milton Friedman concentrationplantmind The power to determine the quantity of money... is too important, too pervasive, to be exercised by a few people, however public-spirited, if there is any feasible alternative. There is no need for such arbitrary power... Any system which gives so much power and so much discretion to a few men, [so] that mistakes - excusable or not - can have such far reaching effects, is a bad system. It is a bad system to believers in freedom just because it gives a few men such power without any effective check by the body politic - this is the key political argument against an independent central bank. Milton Friedman trustindependentmistake [U]nemployment is ... a side effect of the cure for inflation. Milton Friedman investingeconomicssides The state of our educational system is a disgrace to our country. We have an elementary and secondary school system in which close to half of the youngsters never graduate properly. It's a disgrace that there is more illiteracy today than there was 100 years ago. Milton Friedman educationalcountryschool Our emphasis here is based not only on the growing seriousness of drug-related crimes, but also on the belief that relieving our police and our courts from having to fight losing battles against drug use will enable their energies and facilities to be devoted more fully to combating other forms of crime. Milton Friedman fightinglawblow You never have real changes unless you have a time of crisis. Milton Friedman times-of-crisiscrisisreal
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