Bloviating Zeppelin: Milton Friedman & Equality:

Bloviating Zeppelin

(in-ep-toc'-ra-cy) - a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

Friday, April 09, 2010

Milton Friedman & Equality:

Milton Friedman wrote, in "Free To Choose":

A society that puts equality -- in the sense of equality of outcome -- ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom. The use of force to achieve equality will destroy freedom, and the force, introduced for good purposes, will end up in the hands of the people who use it to promote their own interests."

BZ

P.S.
Personal issues may result in a day or so dearth of posts. More coming.

7 Comments:

Old NFO said...: Good point... sigh...; Thu Apr 08, 06:49:00 PM PDT
Z said...: WHAT a quote there, BZ...if we're not seeing that now......

I hope you're okay...come back soon. xx; Thu Apr 08, 10:32:00 PM PDT
Always On Watch said...: Today, we are living in the time of "forced equality."

And too many Americans see that forced equality as their entitlement.; Fri Apr 09, 06:44:00 AM PDT
Animal said...: Never having heard of Friedman, I spent some time reading about him. Fascinating. Some of his ideas read like science-fiction, almost as if they came from Asimov or Herbert. I wonder what would happen if we put all of his ideas - ALL of them, not just a few, but really what it takes to make them work they way it appears they would - into practice? Although, at the glacial pace government change moves, we'd probably end up putting things into play one at a time, which would pretty much predetermine failure.

Interesting how lots of non-Chicago School economists seem to blame the 2007 economic meltdown on that school of thought. Seems like it's never been tried enough to really determine if it would work?

I also finally linked over to see exactly what a "flat tax" is supposed to be, and that too seems fascinating: everyone pays 25% of their wages, and the gov't pays everyone $10k. A person making $40,000 a year would break even, thus paying "no" taxes. Someone making $4,000 would end up with a $9,000 gov't payment, and someone making a cool mil would pay $250,000. I like it…provided there are precisely zero loopholes.

Thanks for the info, Zep!; Fri Apr 09, 01:02:00 PM PDT
Bloviating Zeppelin said...: Animal:

Two books I would recommend reading would be Milton Friedman and his "Freedom of Choice," and Frederic Bastiat's "The Law."

BZ; Fri Apr 09, 02:15:00 PM PDT
George said...: Hi what do you think then of the Equality act just passed. Do you think that counts as being forced into equality. I have had the educate or legislate many times.; Sun Apr 11, 12:07:00 PM PDT
Bloviating Zeppelin said...: George: I see that you're from Birmingham, UK; can you tell me more about the Equality act upon which you refer?

BZ; Sun Apr 11, 02:24:00 PM PDT

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Bloviating Zeppelin

: Name: Bloviating Zeppelin; Location: Sierra Nevada Mountains, Fornicalia, United States

A former Democrat in my tender and ignorant youth, I am now a Conservative first and, these days, quite a distant Republican with a dash of Libertarian mixed in for good measure. I believe in God, the strength of America, the brilliance of our Founding Fathers, the valor of our military, and the need for Leadership in all forms and on every level. I am not an advocate of censorship as I believe everyone on the Far Left has a God-given right to be painfully stupid -- as I have a right to expose said stupidity. UPDATED NOTE: Recent legal references mandate that I make clear that these writings are ONLY my written OPINIONS and those of no one else. FAIR USE NOTICE - This web site may contain copyrighted material, which may not always have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such images and excerpts are made available for the purpose of analysis and critique, as well as to advance understanding of social, political, media and cultural issues. We believe this constitutes 'fair use' as explained in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law. ADVERTISING: I do NOT, however, ask for nor display advertisements here.

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Friday, April 09, 2010

Milton Friedman & Equality:

7 Comments:

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