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Friday, May 17, 2013

Eric Holmberg: Milton Friedman Tries To Help a Future Wall Street Occupier

I’m not sure Michael Moore could give Milton Friedman a good debate at any point in his life. Let alone in his mid twenties like he was in 1978. But this debate between a Classical Libertarian or Liberal, as Milton preferred to be viewed like Milton Friedman and an Occupy Wall Streeter let’s say in Michael Moore, who also happens to be part of the one percent because he went to school got himself a good education, got himself a good job, has been very successful now has his own production company and also happens to come from a blue-collar family from Flint, Michigan, is very interesting.

Mike Moore is obviously not a Roosevelt or a Rockefeller or a Kennedy. He’s a man whose earned every dime he’s made in life. Which is a big part of American capitalism. And yet he seems to feel the need to bash an economic system that’s made him so successful. Versus an economic professor a Classical Libertarian, whether you agree with him or not, at least you always knew where he was on the issues. And he always made a good case for what he believed in.

It’s one thing to come from a blue-collar family where your father makes cars for a living or is a construction worker with a very good job with pay, benefits and so forth with a good future in that company if he stays on course. Or be that person yourself and perhaps follow your father’s footsteps and suddenly see that job and future disappear. For Mexico and China where they can pay workers slave wages and treat them like the dirt they walk on. And then say, “this is what you get from American capitalism. Companies going where they can pay their employees the least.”

Even though that same economic system empowered you to be successful before you lost your job. But it’s another thing to bash a system that’s worked so well for you. Where you’ve taken advantage of every opportunity in front to you. Or at least most of them and now say, “even though this works for me and I now will have enough money where I’ll never have to worry about money again. Because I also have this job that I’m very good at that will allow me to make a lot more money.” And say even though it works for you, we should end it and not allow others to benefit from it.

Just the fact that Milton Friedman would give these lectures and take questions from people, who perhaps didn’t listen to a thing he said and based their questions on what they’ve read from him before is a good thing. Because it gave these students an opportunity to hear another viewpoint. Instead of being stuck in their own ideological world. Where there’s never anyone contradicting them. Which is what political speech is about. The opportunity to make your own case, hear the other side and see where you stand afterwords.

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John F. Kennedy Liberal Democrat

John F. Kennedy Liberal Democrat
Source: U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy in 1960