Milton Friedman on K-12 Education

Tea Anyone?

There has been much ado this week regarding the Tea Party convention being held in Nashville, TN. Most pundits now agree that the Tea Party movement is a legitimate force; however, according to most media outlets, the organizers are having a hard time "getting their act together" and "forming a solid platform" with a "positive message." If that is the measure of a successful movement, then the GOP and the Democratic National Party both have a long way to go. What the pundits must understand is that the Tea Party movement has no formal leadership, is not trying to form a "solid platform," and is not attempting to provide a "positive message." This is a grass-roots movement which wants what Bostonian Samuel Adams did in 1773 - freedom from an oppressive and unresponsive government. This ideal is message enough, and does not require a platform.

NPR has a good article on the Tea Party convention and what they hope to accomplish.

Listen to it here.

Free Trade and the Steel Industry, 1978

Dr. Milton Friedman gives a concise and lucid argument for international free trade at Utah State University in 1978.

Singapore: A Testament to Free Trade

The Discovery Channel is currently showing the "History of Singapore" on their HD Theater network. Among other things, the documentary shows how powerful freedom and free trade can be. Singapore, a small island (275 sq. miles) with no natural resources, has grown to become the 16th largest trading country in the world and 9th richest country in the world (GDP/capita).

If you can not catch in on HD Theater, you may watch the video online below.

Part One


Part Two


Part Three


Part Four


Part Five

Wise and Correct Taxation

“The wise and correct course to follow in taxation is not to destroy those who have already secured success, but to create conditions under which everyone will have a better chance to be successful.”

Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States, 1923-1929

Agree or Disagree

From Bryan Caplan at GMU, three rules for tolerance and honesty in the discussion of ideas:

1. Don't think less of people who sincerely disagree.

2. Do think less of people who insincerely agree.

3. Do think less of people who think less of people who sincerely disagree.

These are as useful in the business world as at GMU.

The Quotable Bastiat

"Who will dare to say that we have been gifted with strength, not to defend our rights, but to destroy the equal rights of our fellow-men?"

From "LAW, Spoilation by", in Cyclopædia of Political Science, Political Economy, and the Political History of the United States, edited by John J. Lalor, first published 1881.

Get to Know the Boom and Bust

Check out the "Learn More" page at Econstories.tv. Books, articles, and podcasts on Keynes and Hayek.

Make sense of the mess in the modern world.

“The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.”

John Maynard Keynes

Economics as Rap

Of all the battles confronting business, perhaps none is more important than the one in popular culture.

Movies, television, and music are powerful influences in shaping public opinion. Oliver Stone can convince more people than the Warren Commission. More people listen to music than read textbooks.

With that perspective in mind, enjoy what may well be the finest example of deep thinking and popular culture, an imaginary rap between the two economists Freidrich Hayek and John Keynes.

Hayek and Keynes held contrasting views of economic policy. Hayek was an advocate of the free market and warned of the dangers caused by easy money and interventionist government policy. Keynes advocated more government intervention to stimulate the economy and liberate it from the control of "animal spirits."

Watch. Enjoy. Learn.

An Old Lie

It is hard to believe that the party of President Obama is a direct descendant of the party of Thomas Jefferson.

In a letter to Thomas Cooper in 1802, Jefferson wrote, "If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy."

Is there any better example of the unreliable nature of political parties? How the party of Jefferson became the party publicly committed to "taking care of" people is a lesson in the weakness of political virtue.

But perhaps the fault lies not in the party, but in the people. Perhaps political parties will become whatever kind of party people want the most.

This appears to be Jefferson's view, for in his letter to Cooper, he does not say we must prevent political parties, businesses, or religious institutions from "wasting the labors of the people." He specifically warns against government.

Today, we joke that the phrase "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you" is one of most popular lies in the world. Reading Jefferson, we see that it is also one of the oldest.