Tag Archives: Milton Friedman

Who Shall Care For The Poor?

We should, of course:

Yoda Speaks On Minimum Wage

Posted without comment:

The Fonz Is Going To Jump A Shark

A long time ago there was a really good economist.  Then something happened and now that economist doesn’t exist anymore.

After claiming that aliens would solve our economic woes, now rumors are out that the aforementioned Krugman has claimed that a larger earthquake would drive economic recovery:

“People on twitter might be joking, but in all seriousness, we would see a bigger boost in spending and hence economic growth if the earthquake had done more damage.”

Right.

Reminds me of this:

Milton Friedman went to Asia to visit a jobs project; it seems that a canal needed to be built.  When he arrived on the site, he witnessed that the workers were using shovels and wheelbarrows.  He asked the government administrator why there wasn’t any heavy earth-moving machinery?  The official responded that this was a “jobs program”.

Milton responded, “Well, if that’s the case, why not give them spoons and buckets?”

How Conservatives Want To Destroy Your Food Safty

Nancy Pelosi:

“This is an excuse. The budget deficit is an excuse for the Republicans to undermine government plain and simple. They don’t just want to make cuts, they want to destroy. They want to destroy food safety, clean air, clean water, the department of education. They want to destroy your rights.”

Milton Friedman:

The federal government has spent years considering whether to take steps to help keep dangerous strains of E. coli bacteria out of the food supply, a question that has become even more urgent in the face of a deadly wave of E. coli sickness that swept through Europe and raised alarms on both sides of the Atlantic.

Now, two major American companies, Costco Wholesale and Beef Products Inc., have gotten tired of waiting for regulators to act. They are proceeding with their own plans to protect customers.

Last month, Costco, one of the nation’s largest food retailers, quietly began requiring its suppliers of bagged produce, including salad greens and mixes, apple slices and baby carrots, to test for a broad range of toxic E. coli.

“We know this is where we have to go and there’s no reason to wait,” said Craig Wilson, the food safety director of Costco. In the last two weeks, he said, most produce suppliers have added a test that can detect the strain from the European outbreak as well.

We don’t need government to test our food.

Milton Friedman in a knockout.

What is Greed?

I have been been inundated by hits as a result of an Internet search to “Greed”.  This is what I posted about the word some time ago:

Awhile ago, Neil Boortz offered a challenge to his listeners; Define Greed.

See, Boortz is a Libertarian [good on him!] and the general feeling amongst Libertarians is that greed is used as a descriptor to generalize capitalists.  That is; Capitalists are “greedy”.

I agree with Boortz’s general assertion; Capitalists are NOT all greedy.  And more specifically, capitalism is not necessarily greedy.

However, that doesn’t change the point of the definition of the word “Greed”.

Let me take my shot at the definition:

GREED:  That condition, wherein an individual or organization, willfully attempts to accumulate more of a “thing”, be it money, power or prestige, by restricting the Rights and Liberties of another individual or organization.

Greed is meant to be a negative word.  And that’s fine.

What is wrong is when it is applied to capitalism indiscriminately.

Here is what the master has to say about Greed:

Spoons and Buckets

There is an old story about Milton Friedman.

It goes roughly like this:

Milton Friedman was being escorted past a large construction project by a government finance minister. Friedman observed that all the workers were using shovels and he asked the finance minister why there were no bulldozers or excavators. The minister said “Because, Mr. Friedman, our goal is JOBS.” to which Friedman responded, “If your goal is jobs, give them spoons.”

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Capitalism: A Love Story

Some things require only that we sit back and listen:

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