Wise Words on Regulation and Consumer Freedom from Milton Friedman

It’s time to correct a sin of omission.

In five-plus years of blogging, I haven’t given nearly enough attention to the wisdom of the late (and great) Milton Friedman.

Yes, I did say he was at the top of my list of great economists in a 2010 interview, and I’ve cited what he said about the correct goal of fiscal policy being smaller government rather than fiscal balance.

Moreover, I’ve quoted him many times (here, here, here, here, here, and here) to help explain why higher taxes simply lead to more government spending rather than deficit reduction.

But I’ve never once shared an interview of Friedman, which is a big oversight because of his incredible ability to advocate for economic liberty.

So let’s rectify this mistake. A reader emailed me this video, which purports to show Professor Friedman jousting with a young Michael Moore (yes, supposedly that Michael Moore, though I don’t know if it’s actually him).

But the identity of the questioner isn’t what’s important. Listen to Friedman explain the merits of cost-benefit analysis and consumer choice.

Amen. I love what he said about letting people make their own decisions about how much risk they wish to accept given relative prices.

If you want more Friedmanesque wisdom, I’ve also quoted him on issues ranging from immigration to “temporary” government programs, and from Swedish poverty to tax competition.

He also explained that there are four different ways of spending money, only one of which yields real efficiency (Jay Leno channeled some of Friedman’s wisdom when commenting on Obama shopping for Michelle)

And I’ve even noted that he helped guide the development of Economic Freedom of the World.

P.S. I do have one small disagreement with Milton Friedman. He supported the notion of a negative income tax/guaranteed annual income. His goal was noble, to replace the plethora of counterproductive welfare programs run from Washington, but I think a better approach is to get the federal government totally out of the business of income redistribution.

P.P.S. As I already stated, I don’t know if that was the (in)famous Michael Moore jousting with Friedman, but I can say that the Michael Moore of today is a big hypocrite when it comes to inequality.