Milton Friedman, free market economist, dies at age 94

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who advocated an unfettered free market and had the ear of three U.S. presidents, died Thursday at age 94.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews...ws/16028581.htm

RIP

Edited November 16, 2006 by Gupt

[almaty 19]

good man ....and wise

[Scott & Lai 12]

good man ....and wise

[Identity 0]

The gentleman had the knack of talking to non-academics (ie the man on the street). It's a shame when we lose such as him. We still have Paul Krugman.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The gentleman had the knack of talking to non-academics (ie the man on the street). It's a shame when we lose such as him. We still have Paul Krugman.

He was a bit delusional in the sense he believed that a free market would self-regulate - that through competition, the market would weed out the bad. I'd like to find out what his thoughts were regarding the S&L scandal following deregulation, or more recently Enron.

[I'm Gone 60]

The gentleman had the knack of talking to non-academics (ie the man on the street). It's a shame when we lose such as him. We still have Paul Krugman.

He was a bit delusional in the sense he believed that a free market would self-regulate - that through competition, the market would weed out the bad. I'd like to find out what his thoughts were regarding the S&L scandal following deregulation, or more recently Enron.

From what I remember the S&L problems were brought on by members of Congress sticking their noses in things. Enron was also affected by political influnce.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings_and_Loan_crisis

Whereas insolvent banks in the United States were typically detected and shut down quickly by bank regulators, the Congress and the Reagan Administration sought to kick the can down the road by changing regulatory rules so S&L's would not have to acknowledge insolvency and the FHLB would not have to close them down.

"The Federal Home Loan Bank Board reported in 1988 that fraud and insider abuse were the worst aggravating factors in the wave of S&L failures. The most notorious figure in the S&L crisis was probably Charles Keating, who headed Lincoln Savings of Irvine, California. Keating was convicted of fraud, racketeering, and conspiracy in 1993, and spent four and one-half years in prison before his convictions were overturned. In a subsequent plea agreement, Keating admitted committing bankruptcy fraud by extracting $1 million from the parent corporation of Lincoln Savings while he knew the corporation would collapse within weeks.

Keating's attempts to escape regulatory sanctions led to the Keating five political scandal, in which five U.S. senators were implicated in an influence-peddling scheme to assist Keating. Three of those senators — Alan Cranston, Don Riegle, and Dennis DeConcini — found their political careers cut short as a result. Two others — John Glenn and John McCain — were exonerated of all charges and escaped relatively unscathed."

One of the things he said that most applies to today and our illegal alien problem is that "you can't have open borders and a welfare state."

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The gentleman had the knack of talking to non-academics (ie the man on the street). It's a shame when we lose such as him. We still have Paul Krugman.

He was a bit delusional in the sense he believed that a free market would self-regulate - that through competition, the market would weed out the bad. I'd like to find out what his thoughts were regarding the S&L scandal following deregulation, or more recently Enron.

From what I remember the S&L problems were brought on by members of Congress sticking their noses in things. Enron was also affected by political influnce.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings_and_Loan_crisis

Whereas insolvent banks in the United States were typically detected and shut down quickly by bank regulators, the Congress and the Reagan Administration sought to kick the can down the road by changing regulatory rules so S&L's would not have to acknowledge insolvency and the FHLB would not have to close them down.

"The Federal Home Loan Bank Board reported in 1988 that fraud and insider abuse were the worst aggravating factors in the wave of S&L failures. The most notorious figure in the S&L crisis was probably Charles Keating, who headed Lincoln Savings of Irvine, California. Keating was convicted of fraud, racketeering, and conspiracy in 1993, and spent four and one-half years in prison before his convictions were overturned. In a subsequent plea agreement, Keating admitted committing bankruptcy fraud by extracting $1 million from the parent corporation of Lincoln Savings while he knew the corporation would collapse within weeks.

Keating's attempts to escape regulatory sanctions led to the Keating five political scandal, in which five U.S. senators were implicated in an influence-peddling scheme to assist Keating. Three of those senators — Alan Cranston, Don Riegle, and Dennis DeConcini — found their political careers cut short as a result. Two others — John Glenn and John McCain — were exonerated of all charges and escaped relatively unscathed."

One of the things he said that most applies to today and our illegal alien problem is that "you can't have open borders and a welfare state."

Yes, Reagan was deeply influence by Friedman in believing the government regulations prevented the market from regulating itself. However, as you can see in the above about the S&L fallout - it happened BECAUSE of deregulation.

No doubt he was a smart man, but some of his ideas have been proven to be faulty. I'm wondering if later on towards his last days, if he realized that.