Anybody wanna free lunch?

When corporations are taxed, who really pays?

Prescient words from Uncle Milton Friedman

From chapter five of Milton Friedman’s “Capitalism and Freedom” which was originally published in 1962:

Each recession, however minor, sends a shudder through politically sensitive legislators and administrators with their ever present fear that perhaps it is the harbinger of another 1929-33. They hasten to enact federal spending programs of one kind or another. Many of the programs do not in fact come into effect until after the recession has passed…The haste with which spending programs are approved is not matched by an equal haste to repeal them or to eliminate others when the recession is passed and expansion is under way. On the contrary, it is then argued that a “healthy” expansion must not be “jeopardized” by cuts in governmental expenditures. The chief harm done…is therefore not that it has failed to offset recessions, which it has, and not that it has introduced an inflationary bias into governmental policy, which it has done too, but that it has continuously fostered an expansion in the range of governmental activities at the federal level and prevented a reduction in the burden of federal taxes.

Does any of the above sound familiar? All I read from liberal blogs and Paul Krugman these days is how it would be a bad idea to stop “priming the pump,” cutting government stimulus and spending. To be sure, we can see from the above quote from Mr. Friedman, that this is not a new strategy and it most certainly is not one that has favorable long term results. Anybody want to bet that it will all turn out differently this time?

Self-righteousness and force

Uncle Milton on wealth transfer

Around The Horn...Newsworthy Links And Posts!

1) Good luck in trying to tax the rich to close the deficit.

2) Nearly half of U.S. homes escape taxes.

3) Mortgage rates jump higher as Fed stops buying mortgage-backed securities.

4) Another liberal crusade and another evil chemical that they need to save us from.

5) Milton Friedman on hope.

6) Is the Tea Party like the KKK?

The Free Lunch Myth

"Government is that fiction whereby everybody believes that he can live at the expense of everybody else."---Frederic Bastiat

Milton Friedman - The Social Security Myth

Not an Austrian but still great.

Milton Friedman on Steel Tariffs and Trade

This was back in 1978; it could easily apply to today.

Milton Friedman - Monopoly

Brilliant.

Milton Friedman - Case Against Equal Pay for Equal Work

Milton Friedman was a master in being able to explain difficult concepts in a breezy, easily understood manner. In this video he tackles a subject that is still being discussed today--equal pay for equal work.

HT: Liberty Pen

Happy Birthday, Milton Friedman!!

The Cato Institute's David Boaz wrote a great piece on Friedman several years before his passing that wonderfully outlined his life.

Milton Friedman - Rising Cost of Health Care

I'm back! Here is Uncle Milton on health care. This video is from the late 1970's and the same free market arguments against government mandated health care still apply aptly.

HT: Liberty Pen

Milton Friedman--Socialized Medicine

HT: Liberty Pen

How To Cure Health Care

Milton Friedman on health care and how to fix it.

HT: Cafe Hayek

Wishing Uncle Milty Were Here

There has been a lot of free form myth making by the left lately regarding free-market capitlism and Milton Friedman.

Abolish The Fed!

Milton Friedman at age 92 warns of the temptation of government spending money it does not have.

HT: Liberty Pen

Milton Friedman - Government Regulation

Even in his 90's, Friedman was still a force.

HT: Liberty Pen

Sweden Chooses Voucher Program for Its Schools

The highly socialized nation of Sweden entrusts Milton Friedman’s idea of the voucher system. And guess what? It works.

Milton Friedman--Morality and Capitalism

HT: Liberty Pen

Power of the Market - Freedom

HT: Liberty Pen