If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.
Isaac Asimov
And in sad news, the speaker of these oft-cited words, Nobel laureate, famed economist, laissez faire advocate and fellow Brookline, Milton Friedman passed away the day before yesterday at 94.
He was outspoken about government staying the heck out of business. On TV he was quoted saying the following:
There are four ways in which you can spend money. You can spend your own money on yourself. When you do that, why then you really watch out what you’re doing, and you try to get the most for your money. Then you can spend your own money on somebody else. For example, I buy a birthday present for someone. Well, then I’m not so careful about the content of the present, but I’m very careful about the cost. Then, I can spend somebody else's money on myself. And if I spend somebody else’s money on myself, then I'm sure going to have a good lunch! Finally, I can spend somebody else’s money on somebody else. And if I spend somebody else's money on somebody else, I'm not concerned about how much it is, and I'm not concerned about what I get. And that's government. And that's close to 40% of our national income.
His view on drugs was controversial but logically sound. He said "I'm in favor of legalizing drugs. According to my values system, if people want to kill themselves, they have every right to do so. Most of the harm that comes from drugs is because they are illegal…It’s because it's prohibited. See, if you look at the drug war from a purely economic point of view, the role of the government is to protect the drug cartel. That's literally true."
Good news: an Geami conected program.
