Tag Archives: Milton Friedman

Toughen up

Posted on May 27, 2012 by

1. Milton Friedman’s comment, “Capitalism is a profit and loss system. Profit encourages risk-taking. Loss encourages prudence.” 2. Nassim Taleb, author of the Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness, released the prologue of his new book on Anti-Fragility online. In it, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bad Economy, Government, Power of Incentives, Markets, Black Swan | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

The 0.000179%…

Posted on December 18, 2011 by

…is the federal government.  Or, the 535 members of Congress + 1 President. If my calculations are correct, those few currently “control” about the same amount of income as the 3 million, or so, in the much ballyhooed Top 1%.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking, Government | Tagged , , , | 18 Comments

Someone listened for once

Posted on September 9, 2011 by

I was impressed by the New York Times column, Some of Sarah Palin’s Ideas Cross the Political Divide by Anand Giriharadas. After taking some requisite lefty swipes at Palin, Anand tentatively praises her for the substantive part of her speech: … Continue reading →

Posted in Changing Minds, Debate, Government, Politics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Keynesian stimulus in one sentence

Posted on March 14, 2011 by

We’re not sure why you’re not spending your money, but we don’t like it, so we’re going to spend it for you. No?  What am I missing? Unfortunately, when this happens it moves spending from Types 1 through 3 spending, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Everything’s Amazing

Posted on January 15, 2011 by

Here’s an excellent TED video, which is a new take on a classic: How to Build a Toaster.  (Credit: Don Bourdreaux of Cafe Hayek) Plot:  How to build a toaster from scratch if a modern person found himself on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Specialization, Trade | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Unholy Coalition

Posted on December 6, 2010 by

At the 2:40 mark of this video, Milton Friedman says this about government programs: There are always…two groups of sponsors.  There are the well-meaning sponsors and there are the special interests who use the well-meaning sponsors as front men.  Who, … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Government, Politics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Responsibility to the Poor

Posted on September 24, 2010 by

Here’s a nice video of Milton Friedman explaining where the true responsibility lies.  Not the government.  People. The student asserts that it might be the responsibility of the government to help out the poor.  Right about 50 seconds in Friedman … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Government | Tagged | 1 Comment

Great Stossel Show

Posted on June 16, 2010 by

If you’re like me and don’t have the Fox Business News channel in your line-up, you’re missing good television.  Luckily, there’s this thing called Youtube where you can also view his show.  His latest show was on Milton and Rose … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Debate, Economics, Liberty, Markets, Root Cause, Systems thinking | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Milton Friedman – Open Mind

Posted on June 9, 2010 by

Here’s an excellent, and topical, interview with Milton Friedman. Around the 7 minute mark, Friedman says: I have often in talking to audiences, especially liberal audiences, offered them a challenge.  I challenge you to name me a single social measure … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Economics, Feedback, Government | Tagged | 3 Comments

Rising Cost of Health Care

Posted on February 5, 2010 by

In 1978, Milton Friedman addressed the rising cost of health care: About 2:36 in Friedman says something in a way that I have not heard before and I think it’s worth considering. The cost of hospital care has been going … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Health Care | Tagged , , | Leave a comment