Milton Friedman on Donahue 1979 (5/5)
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- Опубліковано 6 тра 2009
- Friedman, shows why he is unsurpassed in modern times in defending liberty. He cheerfully decapitates the ideas of a government-controlled economy, over a wide range of examples. His layman's explanation as to how government intervention and the Federal Reserve control of the money supply helped cause the Great Depression is simply outstanding.
One of the best commentaries I heard. Milton Friedman at his best.
I don't know much about Donahue's views, but this is truly an excellent show. It's too bad there isn't more of this on television today.
My gratitude for providing excellent videos.
He is a good listener and a fair interviewer
Thanks a lot for uploading. Friedman is truly outstanding.
I could watch Friedman deflating liberal conceits all day. But I give Donahue some credit for inviting him on in the first place. Many liberals wouldn't have had the courage to set themselves up to be demolished like that.
Milton Friedman was a Liberal. He never claimed anything otherwise.
Shamino1 the true meaning of a liberal.. not what a liberal stands for today. "Liberalism, is a political philosophy or worldview founded on ideas of liberty and equality. The former principle is stressed in classical liberalism while the latter is more evident in social liberalism."
Alexander Kyritsopoulos Thanks for the wikipedia entry. As if I'm not aware of the difference between post-60's Liberalism and pre-60's Liberalism.
I really enjoyed the dialog between the two. Two people completely differing in their viewpoints, but they backed up their views with facts and reality. Fast forward thirty years later and viewpoints are defended only by sound bites and talking someone down. We need a return to this type of discourse!!!
The Undeniable Simple TRUTH. Milton makes it easy for all to understand.
"That is my business and not yours."
.
Wahoo! He had the guts to say it and the clout to get away with it!
@equsnarnd I am not American or do not/never have lived there, but i presume you are correct, because there is nobody i idolise more in economics than Friedman, so there are clearly less human gems around today! I am an Englishman, and would love to see such an inspiring figure in my domestic life. Adam Smith was a Scot, and i have recently obtained his "Wealth Of Nations" so i guess we have such figureheads in UK history also.
man! friedman purposed a voucher program way back in 79!!!! ahead of his time that man!
Dear Milton Friedman:
You are my hero.
I think Phil was very respectful of Professor Friedman, and was for the most part with all his guests.
Truly an intelligent man. I hate to be insulting, but most fools look at how things ought to be, and as pleasant as that may sound it's not realistic, this man over here looked at how things were and how solutions can be found for them.
Milton Friedman, still kicking ass and taking names after he's dead and buried. May there be a million more like him.
@Tracywithafacey And Friedman is sorely missed on the public scene of academics who could speak the language of 'freedom,'
This Friedman interview is timeless. If he'd been listened to 30 years ago (which Reagan mostly did, causing a huge economic boom) we wouldn't be where we are today fiscally. Shame on both parties. Shame on the American people for demanding more and more services from its government without being willing to pay for them. But especially shame on our politicians from refusing to say "There is no free lunch." The American people were fooled into thinking that this debt and senseless printing of mo
It's really great how so many of Friedmans arguments during this interview still represent the backbone of economic studies (I have studied economics myself for 5 years). It would have been interesting to get his opinion about the recent american bank failures. A major bank failure has much more serious consequences than the failure of an ordinary company, since its lenders (including other banks) lose their access to financing, possibly causing them in turn to go bankrupt -->stoneage :)
@koyunbaba73 Good point, very enjoyable to watch because of the play between the two.
It is great to hear Donahue serve up some many statist hanging curves and watch Friedman hit them out of the stadium. It is bewildering that such brilliant man could not apply the non-aggression principle to money the way that he applied it to so many other things. He critcized price-fixing by governmnet, but advocated the Fed keeping the inflation rate stable (although he criticized the Fed for doing a poor job at it). How could he not see that the price of money should be market based too?
Milton Friedman was a genius. It's amazing how nothing he said sunk in to Donahue's thick self righteous skull.
I think it's important that fredom advocates don't blame government for all poverty, unemployment, etc, but simply acknowledge that government activity makes them worse. The best way to handle these societal issues and see their exit expedited is to let freedom erase them.
I want to be like Milton when I grow up.
To Donahue's credit though he does let Friedman talk rather than interrupting him or trying to shout him down.
What a genius he was. RIP Dr. Friedman. Glad you're not here to see history repeat itself.
Brilliant people take the "complex" and make it simple. Dr. Friedman is the Albert Einstein of economics. FREE economic societies are the most prosperous with opportunity for all!
Actually I'd say that Supply is Supply and is altogether different than scarcity. Scarcity simply means that no resource exists in adequate supply to meet the desires of an entire population. It is because of this that the study of economics examines the methods and processes that society as a whole, as well as individuals, corporations, industries and entire economies allocates these 'scarce' resources. You're correct about work, i.e. effort, time, energy, work ethic, etc.., is a scarce re
The missing piece is this: the value of gold is not as a hedge or as a desirable asset, but as a *medium of exchange*. Gold is the ULTIMATE medium of exchange because it preserves its value well over time. There was a great post recently on George Washington's Blog explaining this, which beautifully explains why gold prices rise when inflation is low and fall when inflation is high.
@Siegetower Agreed. If someone tried to interview Friedman today they would likely spend most of the time trying to devolve the interview into some debate about Ronald Regan vs FDR. Then again there aren't a lot of intellectual giants out there these days (and maybe never were) that could stand toe-to-toe with Friedman. His genius wasn't necessarily his ideas (though prefer them myself) it was the way in which he conveyed them and controlled the debate, even with non-economist "common folk".
Say what you will about Donahue - I think he's pretty politically naive, and he shows that here - but he totally revolutionized the talk show format. He handled Friedman with a lot of deference and I don't know of any liberal host nowadays that would be as respectful. We need Milton Friedman now more than ever!
@chrispollock What would you recommend? What would be a reasonable idealist? Is there such a thing? What school of economics to you adhere to?
@LogicalFlawDetector
"A consistent libertarian is a minarchist."
I have a couple questions for you in regards to the consistency of minarchy, if you'd be so kind to answer
1. Do you feel that Minarchy is consistent with the principles of Non-aggression & self-ownership?
2. If no, What principles do you feel are consistent with Minarchism? If yes, please elaborate
You are mostly correct, including your final sentence, in a static world. If your comment was completely accurate we would never have been able to improve the standard of living of average people, by so many multiples, over the lat 150 years. We've essentially been able to produce more of everything, because people were free to innovate and bring goods and services to the market more efficiently.
He is a legendary debater, not because of rhetoric but content.
Who do you think today is close to Miltion Friedam? Any suggestions?
This guy is a very well-schooled guy. He's got more knowledge than I will have in 80 years, I'll tell you that, but I think he gives only the potential causes of things that fit his point, rather than being honest and listing other possible causes. He says the depression was caused by the Fed's fail to act. That may be true, but there are many, many more things that contributed. The same goes for many of his points.
Thank you.....that was funnier than I was even hoping for! Literally laugh out loud funny.
Donahue got OWNED at 2:50!
Man, a lot of people are worried about inflation back then, just wait until hyperinflation hits the U.S. in a few years from now.
Gold is more a hedge against uncertainty than inflation. Gold can be mined, it's not a static supply any more than dollars are. It's pretty speculative.
Inflation was CRAZY in the US (and most countries) during the 1970s.
True, fortunately rental conglomerate securities perform well in high inflation environments.
Friedman's ghost for prez 2012. It would be the best candidate.
What's sad is that nothing Friedman said was tough to understand or didn't make sence. You could teach this stuff to a 3rd grader. But I was never tought this in any of my schooling, including college. I wasn't even tought how to think like that. It's a good thing I was tought how to think and solve problems (not symptoms) at home.
No, he said later in life that he would abolish it. However, given its existence, he said that it should pursue a policy of steady or stable increase of the money supply (I"m going on memory here) of something like 2%. He believed that if we conceeded the existence of the Fed that we could get a better result out of it by "stabilizing" the money supply. Using artificial means to "stabilize" the supply of money is as much price fixing as the energy caps he discusses.
good god he is a genius...... his ideas are timeless
They mentioned Ralf Nader a lot and he campaigned for him in 2000. Friedmen mentioned that Donahue was playing devil's advocate, but in this case, the devil's advocate had stronger passion for what he was saying than most devil's advocates.
@chessNIC Who determines fair? If other companies are willing to pay more for the day’s work then it is the choice of the worker to leave and work for the company that pays more? If the services are not in high demand than the pay is lower. If the worker wants higher pay for that day’s work then he/she needs to acquire additional skill/training to be in a more powerful position within the market. That is the free market system and one that does promote fair pay based on market value.
There is nothing that has a perfectly static supply in this world. If there was then there would be no debate over what to use as money.
Waaay ahead of his time.
while we have more material possessions, one can argue the standard of living for most americans was much higher. it was easier to afford a house, you had closer knit families, degenerative disease was almost nonexistent, a family could survive with just the father working, people had free time and more recreational times, and tighter communities. a car and a tv lasted 10-15 years, along with many other quality goods were not disposable like today. products and material output was superior.
Mike, will all due respect, during the Carter years (and don't you know Carter is so happy Obama came along!!) Interest rates for houses was 18%...auto loans were 14% and we were sitting in Gas lines on the day we were allowed. I do not remember any loans to people who could not repay, as a matter of fact, it was hard to get a loan. Maybe I just don't remember bad credit people getting loans....I know in 1978, we had to jump thru hoops to get a conventional mortgage, and our credit was solid.
@sierrahun1
Yes its important to discuss and challenge the great minds when you have a chance too.
buying pretty much any commodity will provide a hedge against inflation, because the effects of inflation are often represented in the dollar denominated value of commodities rising, hence a hedge
Interesting that Friedman totally neglected to mention gold/silver as hedges against inflation.
@equsnarnd Could not agree more, brilliant comment.
That's not what he said. What he said was "Unfortunately there are no assets which you can confidently acquire with the expectation that they will provide you with a hedge against inflation." Key word= confidently. The fact is you really have no clue what things will do and where the price of gold will be, say tomorrow. He is absolutely correct in his statement. When you quote someone, do it right.
I think I know what you are trying to say: only work produces valueble goods. But still scarcity of materials determines how much of those goods can be produced, no matter how many workers are involved. Besides, work is also a scarce resource, and its "price" in the form of wages is also determined by demand and supply. Supply in turn is another name for scarcity.
So what's wrong with unions that confront the might of accumulated capital with an amalgamation of labor's market power? The fairness of a day's work/pay requires balance.
what a great thinker he was.
Economics is the study of supply and demand and the behavior of markets which are comprised of people otherwise known as consumers. Scarcity or opportunity cost is a component of economics when discussing what "things" should or are being produced such as the concept of guns & butter. In war times guns are of a higher priority. In peacetime butter would be a higher priority. To produce more of one means a corresponding reduction of the other.
I agree.....It is called civilized debate....
Your statement is intriguing considering the fact that many liberals here in the U.S. point to countries like Sweden who possess a heavily regulated economic model and argue that the U.S. should follow this same model.
I'm curios, what do you think rich people do with their money?
the computer industry initially sold its revolution in terms of developing a 'work-free society,' in which people would have more time to develop their interests. what has happened, though, is that computers replaced many jobs once completed by people, and the much-touted high-tech jobs of the information age are not nearly enough to replace those lost to the revolution. consequently, people have less free time as they have to work longer hours at more low paying jobs just to make ends meet
Make your small company great, and the big boys will buy you out (wait for 2nd or 3rd offer). The downside of this is small companies give excellent service, and your customers will groan when you sell..but they will be happy that you were able to get back what you put into your small company. Yes Mr Obama, we DID build our company, worked 7 days a week, 16 hours a day,no money from the government,learned our trade the hard way..working for other people working hard to build up their business.
depends on if Bernanke is serious about when he said he'd unwind the increases in the money supply that were made, once the price level or the cost of living rises. If he is really serious, then we'll be fine. If he's just paying lip service to it, then we could be headed for trouble.
anarchy and liberty is pretty much hand and hand. i dont think we need the state but if we could get the state down to what he said, then i cant complain too much
I'm confident that the price of gold in DOLLARS will go up.
You can tell how frazzled Donahue was getting.
Of course, the last four years wiped out our earned retirement from selling our business....we were in the housing industry. Thank the Lord we had enough money to get us through, But our retirement....gone....poof. Breaks my heart.
What's the price of gold in Zimbabwe dollars? Do you think its going to fall back to $300 Zimbabwe dollars someday?
As for the extremely tiny % of people who actually have a useful or innovative service or product to sell, see #2, #3, and #4 because one of those three is required to get that service distributed.
Your argument undermines itself. You just said that the individual doesn't always know what is best for them (I agree), yet overlooked the fact that government is nothing more than a bunch of individuals as well. If individuals can't even necessarily correctly decipher what is best for themselves, how can you possibly expect individuals in the government to make important decisions for others?
"There are no assets which you can buy which will provide you with a hedge against inflation."
Erm, gold?
@equsnarnd Ye Hannan is brilliant, grass roots conservative of which there is not much to speak of nowadays in the UK, unfortunately :/ I discovered him about a week ago whilst watching some videos from the EU parliament, specifically vids of Nigel Farage, he is amazing! He is hilarious to watch, tells it like it is. I literally yesterday just found out about Hayek, i watched a vid on his Road To Serfdom. I may watch more of him. And yes could not agree more we need a Friedman today.
@666sigma We do have patriots like Milton today. Check out Peter Schiff, Ron Paul, and Jim Rogers to name a few.
@jkorenak Mr, Rockerfeller lowered the cost of oil to a fraction of its previous price.
He made oil available for the poor for cooking, light, heating, etc, things that were luxuries before he came along. so he made life so much better for a huge number of people. You'd rather the oil farmers be comfortable than a much greater number of low-income families?
@KyleSkullz
That's not what I meant, I said 'rulers' in the sense that they 'rule' over people. Anyway, a libertarian's preference for the government is guided only by his need for the existence of a body to safeguard individual rights. Again, this is just a theory. In practice, neither this model nor yours exist, or have existed anywhere in the world. It's impossible to implement and sustain any model to the letter.
In a Free Market people make as much money as the market, the people will bare. Government doesn't set wages except for the Civil Service.
@equsnarnd Are you sure that that's the actual opinion of Phil Donahue? If you recall, at the very beginning of the show it was established that Phil was to play the Devil's Advocate to Prof. Friedman. If Phil were to agree with him the whole time many points wouldn't be made.
@KyleSkullz Did you hear 6:13?
@DraughtOfPeace
I understand the difference, I just think they are consistent with eachother, and that Anarchy is the logical conclusion of the principles of libertarianism..
Libertarianism does not require "rulers" therefore, anarchy is consistent with the philosophy of liberty.
"The great non sequitur committed by defenders of the State... is to leap from the necessity of society to the necessity of the State." - Rothbard
@mike6459
No it isn't. There's almost no correlation between inflation and gold prices.
Notice how the Chicago-school economist never, ever says "buy gold".
.
No wonder Donahue never interviewed Rothbard.
@chessNIC Did you listen to the whole thing? Because their is a minimum wage, a company that is hiring at that wage can get older more experienced employee than a teenager. When that happens the teenagers do not get on the job training, and learning new skills. If your post is all you took in from that segment, then you should really listen to it again.
@spyletu The pubic school is the government. But look at other areas where 3rd parties pay bills such as in insurance. If you have insurance, you don't care what your health care costs, you don't shop around for prices, demand unnecessary medication (like antibiotics for a cold),demand excessive testing just to be sure etc. Let's say they start vouchers and they put a limit of 10k per year per kid. Guess how much all regular private schools will suddenly cost?
Have you ever seen spammers operate on the Internet? They get shut down and penalized all the time, but their crimes pay, and they simply open up shop elsewhere. Spam operations that break the law are highly profitable, and they have not been reduced, they have only INCREASED.
2:56 Elton John makes an appearance. XD Seriously though I really enjoyed watching this, thanks for uploading this!
03:15 Friedman exposes his single most glaring flaw: He cannot bring himself to espouse the one asset which would in fact "hedge against inflation", gold. (or silver)
Friedman was great
I watched this, and I watched "Free To Choose", in which "academics", "politicians" and "experts" offer their views. I'll pick the "average citizens" of these clips over those "august" men of letters any day of the week.
@SpellboundSolution
"Let's live in the real world here."
We both live in the same world.
I believe it ought to be legal for anyone to do anything they want, so long as they do not initiate or threaten the use of violence and coercion the person or legitimately owned property of another. I do not believe this changes depending on what uniform you wear or what organization you work for. Do you disagree?
@tuntitommosille its sickening that this guy had the solutions yet we haven't followed them.
@shadowpal2 You do have someone like Milton Friedman. Please check out Dr. Ron Paul.
6:05 beautiful smile
@2dum2getsocialism It is true that it should be much easier than it is to start a business. There are certain regulations that don't make a lot of sense, but the reason companies grow so large certainly isn't because the little guy is being crushed.It's because larger companies have the means of mass production. They can produce an individual product far more cheaply and efficiently,as well as use their wealth to squash anyone who competes.Look at what Wal-Mart nearly did to K-Mart for example
The arrogance of the woman who asked, "And what are you doing with your money?" I can so tell she wants to be a little tyrant and tell Dr. Friedman how to spend HIS money according to how SHE thinks best.
@romans58snrsvd: Glad to hear it worked out for you, but your sample size of one is not very instructive.
@MrNonintendo
Yea, that's exactly what I was quoting. :-)
@KyleSkullz haha, nice. His son is though! I like David a lot.
You really don't understand what a hedge against inflation is.